Institutions
The College Fund supports Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) in their efforts to strengthen students, emergent leadership, education, language and culture, health and wellness, the environment, and so much more, all moving our mission of transforming Native lives and communities.
Our work in partnership with TCUs focuses on supporting our relatives from cradle to career and beyond. This institutional capacity-building work consists of supporting TCU grantee partners in co-visioning programming, technical support, professional development, research and networking opportunities, and program elements that directly support students’ and communities’ needs.
Cultivating Native Student Success
Cultivating Native Student Success provides tribal colleges and universities the opportunity to examine their current enrollment management approaches and design long-term strategies that include holistic, place-based, and collaborative student supports to promote transformative and systemic change that impacts Native student success.
2025 Cultivating Native Student Success Convening
The American Indian College Fund and AIHEC are excited to host an opportunity to learn, network, and advance TCU Native Student Success.
Native higher education experts, organization partners, and TCU staff will come together to engage in discussions, workshops and breakout sessions about the Native student journey, strategic enrollment management, data storytelling, and the constantly evolving landscape of higher education.
TCU Programs
Our Programs, in partnership with TCUs, strengthen degree programs, support faculty and staff, prioritize students, and engage tribal nation communities across several program areas of targeted impact: Native Arts, Environmental Stewardship, Computer Science, Indigenous Early Childhood Education, Native Teacher Education, Adult Education, Women’s Leadership, Native Student Veterans, and more.
Programs TCU Capacity Support and Impact
2023-2024 Data
$12.9+
MILLION
4960+
34
Tribal Colleges and Universities
Tribal colleges and universities provide dynamic higher education opportunities, most on or near reservation lands. Known for their remarkable programs, culturally-relevant curricula, and familial student care – tribal colleges allow students to further their careers, attain an advanced degree, or better support their communities.
(DRUM) Circles Project
TCU Developing Research in Undergraduate Mathematics
WestEd and the American Indian College Fund have partnered to create greater math success for Native students studying at tribal colleges.
Institutions News
Read blog updates from our institutions teams
KBOCC: Building the Bridge
Tribal elders are an integral part of the Restorative Teachings program, serving as an important link from past to future, and Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College’s program is no different (KBOCC). When the tribal elder who serves as the program’s cultural consultant was interviewed for the position, honesty, integrity, and respect emanated from him as he looked at each of the program’s employees in the eyes and told the stories of the Ojibwe past.
Restorative Teachings: Embracing our Frameworks to Change the World
As we do more, we have to train others to take on more. These were the opening words of Tarajean Yazzie-Mintz, Vice President of Program Initiatives and Director of Early Childhood Education Initiatives at the American Indian College Fund’s 2017 Restorative Teachings Early Childhood Education convene in Denver, Colorado.
SIPI Parents Lead the Way
SIPI has worked hard to make sure its Restorative Teachings Initiative is grounded in community needs and parent voices. Parents were empowered through the initiative to ensure that the program is culturally responsive and meets their children’s needs. They have led the way in defining priority areas for learning since the American Indian College Fund’s Restorative Teachings Initiative was awarded to SIPI in 2016.
Three-Year Environmental Design and Stewardship Program to Restore Native Knowledge for Healthy Earth
Groundwater contamination, erosion, lack of access to healthy foods, and poor air quality are just some of the environmental concerns facing American Indian communities across the United States. Yet indigenous people have long held specialized knowledge that can lead to unique solutions to these challenges.
