Think Indian Community Awareness Grants
Think Indian Community Awareness Grants of $2,500 are available to student groups and accredited higher education institutions. These grants encourage institutions who serve Native students to promote the positive message of “Think Indian,” the vibrancy of Native students, and the highlight the support provided by Native scholarship programs to their campus and community.
“Think Indian” was originally created as a public awareness campaign to promote the American Indian College Fund, and the many ways that its scholars contribute to, and change our world. Its message connected so deeply with Native students and institutions that it was revived in 2018, specifically to promote the College Fund’s scholarship, and other student programs.
The American Indian College Fund has created a grant program to highlight its “Think Indian” campaign, and scholarships program for Native students. The grants are intended to encourage institutions who serve Native students to promote the positive message of “Think Indian,” the vibrancy of Native students, and the highlight the support provided by Native scholarship programs to their campus and community. Projects must engage or include Native students.
Student groups and institutions can use grant funds for any activity or project that will promote the “Think Indian” campaign and scholarships in their community. Programs can include, but are not limited to:
- Informational, social or artistic events
- Art displays, installations or murals
- Music performances or video screenings
- Local awareness, publicity or marketing campaigns
- Online/social media campaigns
- Participation in existing campus or community events
- Themed volunteer or service events (including Native vote or census projects)
CLICK HERE to view summaries of the 2019 awarded projects.
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Latest American Indian College Fund Student-Designed Pendleton Blanket “Journey” Now Available for Purchase
Belle Brings Plenty, United Tribes Technical College Graduate, Created the Winning Design
Belle Brings Plenty with her winning student blanket, “Journey.”
Denver, Colo., June 9, 2026 — United Tribes Technical College graduate (2025) Belle Brings Plenty (Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe) is the 2025 winner of the Tribal College Blanket Design. Her design, Journey, is now available for purchase as part of the 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 sales from the blanket collection provides nearly $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.
Brings Plenty graduated this semester with a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice from United Tribes Technical College. Her design was selected from a pool of 33 submissions from talented Native artists attending tribal colleges.
Brings Plenty first drafted her design on a pair of parfleche (rawhide) earrings, a medium she was more familiar with, before transferring it to a blanket.
Her design was created in honor of her late brother, Cole Brings Plenty, who passed in April 2024. She says her design elements are deeply symbolic and meant to wrap people in love whether they are experiencing grief or welcoming new life.
The geometric shapes are used in traditional Lakóta artwork. The dragonfly at the center is a symbol of healing medicine. The dragonfly is a traveler and the star symbols surrounding it represent that Star Nation. The squares along the borders are comprised of quillwork and beadwork designs to honor Brings Penty’s lineage of quill workers and beaders. The diamond shapes in the background also speak to her parfleche work, a nod to her roots as an artist.
Even the colors she chose hold significance. The red and blue symbolize life and death. The blue background also honors the Wakíyan Oyáte (Thunder Being Nation) in recognition of the blessings they’ve provided her people. Lakóta words for each symbol and color used have been included in the design, and even their cream color is a reference to the shade of the rawhide Brings Plenty prefers to work with. The Lakóta word for “journey,” Oómani, can be read in this ledger art aspect of the design.
“I just want people to be able to connect with this blanket in their own ways. I hope people can be able to wrap themselves in this blanket and feel loved,” Brings Plenty says.
The Tribal College Blanket Design Competition is an annual contest open to all Native TCU students. Applications open every November on the College Fund’s website at https://collegefund.org/pendleton. The contest seeks to create greater recognition for promising Native student artists’ work, to provide valuable design experience working with an internationally known brand, and to give students scholarships and cash awards to assist with college costs. The program also helps the College Fund and Pendleton honor the richness of Native arts, cultures, and stories by sharing original Native student designs with the public.
Journey can be purchased online from the American Indian College Fund’s collection on the Pendleton web site at https://www.pendleton-usa.com/home-blankets/featured/american-indian-college-fund/ and in select Pendleton retail stores.
About Pendleton Woolen Mills — Weaving iconic designs since 1863, Pendleton operates two of America’s remaining woolen mills located in Pendleton, Oregon and Washougal, Washington. With six generations of family ownership, Pendleton is focused on a legacy of creating quality lifestyle products with timeless styling. Inspiring customers for 160 years, Pendleton products are available at Pendleton stores across the US, select retailers worldwide, and on pendleton-usa.com.
About the American Indian College Fund — The American Indian College Fund has been the nation’s largest charity supporting Native higher education for 37 years. The College Fund believes “Education is the answer” and provided more than $23 million in scholarships and other student support for higher education in 2024-25. Since its founding in 1989 the College Fund has provided more than $391 million in scholarships, programs, community, and tribal college support. The College Fund also supports a variety of programs at the nation’s 35 accredited tribal colleges and universities, which are located on or near Indian reservations, ensuring students have the tools to graduate and succeed in their careers. The College Fund consistently receives top ratings from independent charity evaluators. It earned a four-star rating from Charity Navigator, a Platinum Seal of Transparency from Candid (Guidestar), and the “Best in America Seal of Excellence” from the Independent Charities of America. The College Fund was also named as one of the nation’s top 100 charities to the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance. For more information about the American Indian College Fund, please visit collegefund.org.
Photo 1 – Belle Brings Plenty with her winning student blanket, “Journey.”
Video Embed: Check out the video of the student-designed blanket “Journey” by Belle Brings Plenty.
Journalists—The American Indian College Fund does not use the acronym AICF. On second reference, please use the College Fund.
Circle of Hope Spring 2026
| Spring 2026 |
Circle of Hope
Holding Onto Hope
Dear Friends and Relatives,
As I write this, I’m filled with so much gratitude and hope as we wrap up the College Fund fiscal year and begin planning for the 2026-27 academic year. While this year has been a journey of ups and downs, I remain so grateful for many things.
I am grateful that together we have been able to create a pathway to greater economic stability, particularly for our Tribal Colleges and Universities. This demonstrates that when external factors beyond our control change dramatically and rapidly, if we ground ourselves in the foundation of our culture to keep us focused, responsive, and pragmatic, we are better able to defy any storm. I remain steadfastly optimistic for the future and the continued growth and economic stabilization of Native nations and individual access to higher education because our graduating scholars are well prepared to join in the efforts to strengthen both nations and individuals. Their educational and career choices and pathways will build better futures for all. From healthcare workers, to teachers, to environmentalists, to lawyers – scholars are focused on the long-term health and economic stability of both communities and individuals. This gives me tremendous hope for the future of our country, for all its citizens, and especially for Native peoples and communities.
As always, my hope is interwoven with my gratitude for you and all you have done and will keep doing to stay focused with us on solid, continuous, stable progress and growth. When we first began this journey, the deficits at times seemed overwhelming, but that only provided the motivation and inspiration for us to work harder and smarter – and together we are steadily raising our voices and perspectives and achieving our goals for stronger, healthier people and communities. I see it in both our students and tribal college leadership – and even in my own family and home community.
These past many months have been a great reminder to me of all we have accomplished, all that is still to be done, and, most importantly, that unexpected challenges spotlight gaps and areas of vulnerability that we might not have otherwise seen as quickly or clearly. Responding to those gaps and vulnerable areas, both from short- and long-term perspectives, contributes tremendously to sustainable economic stability and growth.
Thank you for your commitment, your persistence, the stability you provide through your support, and for walking with me on this very important path to stronger, healthier Native nations and people.
With gratitude,
President and CEO
American Indian College Fund
The True Measure of Success
Kianna (Diné/Navajo)
Columbia University | Politics and Education
Kianna’s journey began with her family’s hope for a better life. It carried her far from home, but never beyond the reach of community – or the support of friends like you who helped keep the path open.
Kianna is Diné, a member of the Navajo Nation from New Mexico. “For me, family and community have always been my north star,” she says. She grew up in a close family where money was tight, but education was the answer. Her parents raised five children while taking college courses, working multiple jobs, and doing their best to keep food on the table and the power on at home.
Her mother was the first person Kianna saw graduate from college. While her mother went to school, Kianna’s father cared for the children. Then, when her mother began working, her father returned to school. Her grandmothers stepped in, too, helping take Kianna and her siblings to school and other activities.
“My family believed in our potential,” Kianna says. “And it only made sense to honor their efforts by doing my best.”
From an early age, Kianna understood that education was not something one person achieved alone. It was something many people could work together to make possible.
She also knew it remained out of reach for many Native students like her.
When Kianna began thinking about college, her parents told her honestly that they could not afford to help. With four siblings still at home, the cost would have come at their expense. Even choosing where to attend school was shaped by financial pressure. A major university across the country in New York City was not only prestigious – it also offered the financial aid she needed.
Kianna left everything familiar and enrolled at Columbia University, determined to make her time away from family meaningful and to represent Indigenous talent and culture.
The transition was difficult. Far from home, she missed the closeness of family and friends. Native people seemed invisible to professors both in the curriculum and in the classroom. At times, the isolation, expense, and pressure of college felt overwhelming.
“At times, I feared that I would become another statistic of a college dropout,” she says.
But Kianna remembered she was not alone – and how important relations are to Native people. She found other Indigenous students on campus who understood what she was feeling. Their support helped her see that she belonged, and that there was work to do to help other Native students.
Even in New York City, Kianna relied on lessons from her upbringing. “Education is an opportunity not for yourself but for your entire community,” she says.
A scholarship from the American Indian College Fund helped create that opportunity.
For Kianna, the scholarship was more than financial support. It helped her cover the remaining costs her family could not help with – but it also provided encouragement at a critical moment.
“It really made me believe that what I was doing was actually worth it,” Kianna says. “There were people outside my family who really believed in the journey I was undertaking.”
Kianna went on to earn her bachelor’s degree in political science and recently graduated from Teachers College, Columbia University, with a master’s degree in politics and education. Today, she is using her education to serve Indigenous communities and help Native youth imagine futures filled with possibility.
“The impact I really want to make is to take all of those tools, stories, and different strategies back home to my community, Diné, Navajo Nation, and also Indigenous communities nationwide.”
She is well on her way, having worked in admissions, advocated for Indigenous student spaces, conducted research focused on Native students, engaged with Tribal communities on issues, and supported Native youth leadership pathways. In the future, she hopes to continue expanding her impact on education through Tribal law.
For Kianna, success is not measured by wealth or status. It is measured by harmony – by the ability for her family and her community to receive what they need and give what they can.
When friends and relatives like you give to the American Indian College Fund, you help Native students like Kianna continue when college feels financially out of reach. You help them rise above financial hardship, stay connected to their culture, and carry their education home with purpose.
As Kianna says, Native students need more than words. They need people willing to meet them halfway. Thank you for being that person.
Congratulations,
Graduates!
Because you believed, they achieved
More than 1,900 Native scholars took home a degree this May – the majority of whom will return to their home communities to work, serve, and lead.
As these scholars step forward with their degrees, they carry not only their own hard work, but the encouragement of people like you who believed in them all along. Thank you for helping them reach this moment.
The number of Native students supported annually by the College Fund has steadily increased in recent years. With support from friends and relatives like you, we helped a record 6,900 Native students pursue a degree last year.
Since 1989, the College Fund has provided more than 181,000 scholarships, $207.8 million in scholarship dollars, and $390.7 million dollars to support TCUs and Native college students. Thank you for being part of every milestone our scholars reach!
Thank you for being part of every milestone our scholars reach!
Because of You, More Is Possible
As we honor this year’s graduates, we look ahead with hope – and invite you to learn,
speak up, and stand with the students who follow.
Learn
Staying informed is always one of the best ways to support Native students! In our rapidly changing world, our students need to know they can count on people like you who understand the issues in their lives.
Act
Native students are small in number, but with your help they can be heard. Lend our scholars your voice: let all of your elected officials know you support Native higher education and are watching how they vote!
Give
Your support could be the difference for a student at risk of pausing their education. As other financial support disappears, applications rise. Together, we will fund as many as possible!
Read Previous Newsletters
| Winter 2026 |
FEB 2, 2026
| Fall 2025 |
NOV 7, 2025
| Summer 2025 |
SEPT 3, 2025
