The future of my nation begins with my education.

The future of my nation begins with my education.
Our Vision
The vision of the American Indian College Fund is for healthy, self-sufficient, and educated American Indian and Alaska Native people.
Since its founding in 1989, the American Indian College Fund has been the nation’s largest charity supporting Native student access to higher education.
We provide scholarships and programming for American Indian and Alaska Native students to access higher education. And once students are in college, we provide them with the tools and support to succeed.
President Cheryl Crazy Bull of the American Indian College Fund shares how your support helps Native American students—and why it matters more than ever.

Celebrate Native Graduates Across Indian Country
We’re celebrating the strength, dedication, and achievement of Native scholars nationwide. Whether earning a diploma, certificate, or college degree—your journey is powerful. Congratulations on investing in yourself and your future!
Featured News
Advocacy Works: Save Pell Grants!
Your Calls Worked with the Senate.
Next Step: Call Your Representatives
On behalf of American Indian students, of which more than 75% rely upon Pell Grants for Funding, we thank you for your ongoing work to engage with your elected officials regarding Pell Grants. As a result of your letters and calls, there has been significant progress in the Senate version of the bill affecting Pell Grants.
But our work is not finished! The next step to save Pell is to push for the House of Representatives to accept the Senate provisions in the final reconciliation package by July 4th!
Tribal College Blanket Design Contest
The latest student-designed blanket from the American Indian College Fund and Pendleton Woolen Mills is here. Created by Diné artist Angelena Cheama, Infinite Prayer honors Navajo weaving traditions and the strength of generational prayers. Proceeds support Native student scholarships.


Tribal College Blanket Design Contest
The Tribal College Blanket Design Contest, now in its seventh year, elevates the voices, work, and representation of tribal college and university (TCU) students through a high-profile platform to recognize and develop the work of promising artists through internationally distributed products—while providing TCU students with additional scholarship opportunities. The winning designs are featured in Pendleton’s American Indian College Fund collection, which features wool blankets. Pendleton, which has worked with the College Fund since 1995, has provided over $1 million in scholarship support for American Indian and Alaska Native students attending TCUs.
Featured Reports
Report on Native Higher Education Success Strategies
The American Indian College Fund held a joint convening with the Brookings Institute and the Institute of Higher Education Policy to examine the status of Native higher education policy and create a proactive, strategic approach to increase policy engagement for Native students and their allies. This report highlights the findings and recommendations of the convening and lays the groundwork for further activities. Read the executive summary, the full report, or view the webinar to learn more.
Cheryl Crazy Bull Publishes Brief on Native Student College Access
The Campaign for College Opportunity published “Ensuring College Access and Success for American Indian/Alaska Native Students,” authored by Cheryl Crazy Bull, President and CEO of the American Indian College Fund, as part of its “Affirming Equity, Ensuring Inclusion, and Empowering Action,” a national initiative that elevates best practices supporting the college preparation, admission, affordability, and success of minoritized students that came in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to curtail the use of race in college and universities admissions. The Campaign’s national initiative seeks to ensure America does not return to an era of exclusion in higher education.
Show More
Despite centuries of trauma connected with education as an assimilation tool, American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) peoples have remained resilient and advocated tirelessly to achieve equal opportunity in higher education, building a movement to restore Native culture and community life with the creation of tribally controlled colleges and universities (TCUs). Yet the participation of AIAN people in higher education remains low with 16% of AIAN people ages 25-64 earn a bachelor’s degree compared to 32% of the rest of the U.S. population. The number of Native youths in higher education is significantly less than that of the rest of the U.S. population and substantially decreased over the last 10-15 years.
President Crazy Bull urges all colleges and universities to strive for ensuring equal opportunity, inclusion, and creating a strong sense of belonging on their campuses, and for learning from TCUs to build education institutions that honor Native identity and empower these students to succeed. “Ensuring College Access and Success for American Indian/Alaska Native Students” presents the current state of higher education access and completion for American Indian/Alaska Native Students (AIAN) and details a series of best practices and recommendations that ensure AIAN students can succeed in higher education without abandoning their cultures. The brief also explores how leaders at the federal, state, and institutional level can ensure access to higher education for AIAN students in ways that affirm their cultures and the unique sovereign political status of American Indian and Alaska Natives.
Our Impact
$310.6
MILLION
Invested into Native Communities
159,652
SCHOLARSHIPS
Awarded since 1989
93%
OF OUR SCHOLARS
Give back to their communities
How Your Donations are Used
4%
Management and General
23%
Fundraising

73%
Scholarships, Programs, and Public Education
A Commitment to Donors
Best Charity
Certified by America’s best charities
Charity Navigator
View our Charity Navigator profile
BBB Wise Giving Alliance
View our give.org charity profile
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.
Watch: Jasmine Neosh on the Importance of Supporting Tribal Colleges
Jasmine Neosh (Bear Clan, Menominee) is a College Fund ambassador and third-year law student at the University of Michigan. Live from Ann Arbor, she highlights the need to protect federal programs that expand Native students’ access to tribal colleges.
Once burdened by student loan debt and housing instability, Jasmine found opportunity at the College of Menominee Nation, where she earned her undergraduate degree and gained valuable research experience. Her tribal college education prepared her for law and natural sciences graduate studies at Michigan, equipping her to serve her community.
She urges College Fund scholars and supporters to advocate for Native higher education initiatives in Washington.
Recent Blog Posts

From Our President
Back-to-School
Cheryl Crazy Bull, CEO and President of the American Indian College Fund shares how important tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) are and how critical it is for mainstream institutions to have support readily available for Native students.

Press Release
American Indian College Fund Awards Three-Year American Indian Law School Scholarship to Jade Araujo to Attend Harvard Law School
Jade Araujo, an enrolled member of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah) in Massachusetts and a descendant of the Tlingit and Koyukon Athabascan tribes in Alaska, is the third person to have been awarded the American Indian College Fund Law School Scholarship. Araujo is a senior at Stanford University who will graduate in June with a degree in political science and will enter Harvard Law School in the fall. She is the daughter of Todd Araujo (Aquinnah Wampanoag) and Jaeleen Kookesh (Tlingit and Koyukon Athabascan).

FOR STUDENTS
American Indian College Fund Hosts Virtual Annual Summer of Success Conference
The American Indian College Fund (College Fund) will host its Fifth Annual Summer of Success Conference: Cultivating Connections into Success from May 19 to May 21. This three-day, interactive online event is tailored to high school and college students, staff, faculty, and families, centering Native culture, experiences, and determinants of college success.

Programs
Fostering Culture and Community: Chadwick Kramer’s Impact on Native Education in Bismarck
Chadwick Kramer, an elder and Cultural Responsive Coordinator for Bismarck Public Schools, is dedicated to providing Native students with culturally enriching opportunities through the Indigenous Education Program. Inspired by his own experiences and his grandmother’s teachings, Chadwick creates welcoming spaces for all students to explore Native traditions, fostering lifelong learning, cultural understanding, and community connection.
Featured News

American Indian College Fund Names 2021-22 Indigenous Visionaries
Indigenous community leaders create positive change in their communities. The American Indian College Fund is committed to developing women leaders across Indian Country through its Indigenous Visionaries Program in Tribal communities where tribal colleges and universities are located.
American Indian College Receives $1 Million Grant
The American Indian College Fund (College Fund) announced that it has received a $1 million grant from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) to support the College Fund’s work helping Indigenous students access a higher education. The College Fund’s work creates greater education equity in Native communities, while lifting families out of poverty.
The Mitchell Museum of the American Indian
Honors Cheryl Crazy Bull
at 12th Annual Dr. Carlos Montezuma Awards
The Mitchell Museum of the American Indian (Mitchell Museum) honored three individuals for significant contributions to Native American society, culture, and history at the 12th Annual Dr. Carlos Montezuma Honorary Lecture and Awards on November 18.
Student News

Student Success — Managing Your Time as Student
Failing to manage your time effectively can lead to stress, which is detrimental to your health and the well-being of those around you. By using effective time management to balance work, school, and family life, you will be better equipped for the road ahead as a student and beyond.
Student Success — Self-Care
Life is full of big and small stresses, often simultaneously. Stress can come as a result of trauma, burnout, compassion fatigue, or other sources. Whatever the cause, establishing consistent self-care practices can help. Without self-care, you risk adopting unhealthy coping habits to find relief and escape.
Student Success — Giving Back
Black Elk said, “Everything the power of the world does is done in a circle.” Your education is part of that circle. As your vision of the future unfolds, we hope you will share what you have learned with others.
News from our Progams Team

College Fund Programs Team
Professional Learning Community Supports Graduating Students
Author: Kim Owen, Graduation...
SIPI Engages a Virtual Dialogue to Improve Early Childhood Teacher Education Programming
SIPI Engages a Virtual Dialogue to Improve Indigenous Early Childhood Teacher Education Programming
The Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute utilized its Ihduwiyayapi grant to consult community and Indigenous thought leaders to improve the Indigenous Early Childhood Education program curriculum and develop a virtual dialogue series of 4 guest lectures featuring Indigenous scholars and teachers.
American Indian College Fund’s Ihduwiyayapi Advancing Indigenous Early Childhood Education (IECE) Builds Community of Practice for Indigenous Educators
American Indian College Fund’s Ihduwiyayapi Advancing Indigenous Early Childhood Education (IECE) Builds Community of Practice for Indigenous Educators
College Fund in the News

Tribal Colleges Face Uncertain Future Amid Federal Funding Cuts

Higher Education for Native Students at a Crossroads

Tribal College Campuses Are Falling Apart. The U.S. Hasn’t Fulfilled Its Promise to Fund the Schools.

Cheryl Crazy Bull Publishes Brief on Native Student College Access

Jasmine Seeks Role as Voice for Her People and Environment as University of Michigan Law Student
