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.
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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
Indian Boarding Schools: Education Was Never the Point
What happened at boarding schools was not education. Native people have always educated— and continue to educate—our youth in our languages, medicine, soil management, forestry, watershed management, animal husbandry, meteorology, astronomy, navigation, self-governance, and more.

Press Release
American Indian College Fund Student-Designed Pendleton Blanket “Drum Keepers” Available for Purchase
The 2023 winning Tribal College Blanket Design, Drum Keepers, is now available for purchase. The blanket is the latest addition to Pendleton Woolen Mills’ American Indian College Fund collection. The acclaimed lifestyle brand from Portland, Oregon has created wool blankets in partnership with the College Fund for more than 20 years. A portion of the blanket line’s sales provide approximately $50,000 in annual Native student scholarships. Pendleton also contributes to a scholarship endowment that, combined with the total of scholarships disbursed, exceeds $2.5 million. Trey Blackhawk (Winnebago) is a graduate of Little Priest Tribal College with a degree in liberal arts who is currently working on an applied sciences degree.

FOR STUDENTS
American Indian College Fund Honors 35 Tribal College Students of the Year and Dr. Michael Oltrogge, President, Nebraska Indian Community College, as Tribal College and University Honoree of the Year
The American Indian College Fund honored 35 tribal college and university students with 2022-23 Student of the Year awards and scholarships, and Dr. Michael Oltrogge, President of Nebraska Indian Community College, with its 2022-23 Tribal College and University Honoree of the Year at a ceremony held Sunday, March 5 at the Albuquerque Convention Center in New Mexico.

Programs
Making an Impact: The Importance of High School Equivalency Programming
The College Fund’s Native Students Stepping Forward: Dollar General Adult Education Program supports underserved Native students to prepare for and obtain high school equivalency (HSE) credentials. This program addresses a critical gap in the education pathway that allows more individuals the chance to pursue post-secondary education and meaningful careers.
Featured News

College Fund and Its Scholars Share How—and Why—to Make Higher Ed More Accessible for Native Students
American Indian College Fund scholars Samantha Maltais, Tori McConnell, and other Native American college students and alumni weigh in on what mainstream higher education institutions can do to make reparations for taking Native land.
THE AMERICAN INDIAN COLLEGE FUND NAMED A 2021 COLORADO TOP WORKPLACE
The American Indian College Fund was awarded a Top Workplaces 2021 honor for the third year in a row. The College Fund has been the nation’s largest charity supporting Native higher education for 31 years.
Earth Day: The Importance of Native Graduates in Environmental Studies and Green Collar Jobs
People across the nation will be celebrating Earth Day this Thursday, April 22. But for Tribal communities, Earth Day is year-round. The American Indian College Fund provides Tribal colleges and universities and their students study and internship opportunities that allow them to make a deeper impact on the environmental health of their communities.
Student News

Traditions for Native Grads more than Feathers, Moccasins and Regalia
Last week the 2016 graduating class at Salish Kootenai College (SKC) celebrated its graduation. Located on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana, SKC has served the Flathead Valley since 1978. This year the school awarded baccalaureate degrees in the arts and sciences; associate degrees in the arts and sciences and associates of applied sciences; and and certificates to 127 graduates.
Minnesota Tribal College Embraces Commercial Tobacco-Free Health
As an institution that seeks to honor and embrace their culture, Leech Lake Tribal College (LLTC) works diligently to model Anishinaabe values. In August 2014, LLTC officially became commercial tobacco-free, prohibiting use of all commercial tobacco products on campus other than for ceremonial use.
American Indian College Fund A Sponsor of 2016 Montana Tribal College Career Fairs
The college fairs give students an opportunity to contemplate their higher education and career options. The American Indian College Fund will be attending each event and will have scholarship information available for students, and is sponsoring a $500 scholarship for a luck winner at each career fair site. People can also visit with representatives from in-state and out-of-state colleges and universities, technical and trade schools, military branches, agencies, and career representatives.
News from our Progams Team

College Fund Programs Team
SIPI: Supporting Our HSE Students During the Coronavirus Pandemic
By Jim Snyder, SIPI HSE...
Spring Resurgence: GED classrooms open to students
The Oglala Lakota College Community Continuing Education/GED department is slowly transitioning out of online-only programming as the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic lessen. Now more than one GED student at a time can be in the college centers, as long as there is still only one student and tutor per classroom.
Sinte Gleska University GED Tutor Comes Full Circle
by Sherman Marshall, SGU Adult...
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
