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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News & Events
American Indian College Fund Partners with Tribal Colleges and Universities to Support Native Voter Registration
American Indian College Fund Partners with Tribal Colleges and Universities to Support Native Voter Registration
Nine TCUs Receive Micro-Grants to Encourage Participation in Midterm Elections
The College Fund is partnering with nine tribal colleges and universities to raise awareness of voter registration and increase voter turnout.
Denver, Colo., October 1, 2026 — As part of its Reclaim Native Democracy campaign, the American Indian College Fund (College Fund) is providing nine tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) with voter education and engagement micro-grants to promote awareness of the upcoming midterm elections in their communities.These micro-grants support student and community-led activities such as registering to vote, understanding what will be on the ballot, providing access to the polls through transportation assistance and ridesharing coordination, and civic engagement lunch-and-learns on TCU campuses. Each participating TCU received Reclaim Native Democracy branded t-shirts, buttons, and stickers to raise awareness and increase voter turnout.
Reclaim Native Democracy is a multi-year campaign focusing on civic education and engagement across TCU communities. The goal is to inspire a better future by supporting tribal community outreach and dialogue around the importance of voting for the betterment of one’s people. As part of the campaign, the College Fund is asking current TCU students and Full Circle scholars to share their thoughts on voting, democracy, and the future of Native communities. The theme is, “Our ancestors carried the wisdom. We carry the responsibility. Future generations carry the promise.” Students may submit multiple entries, with their first automatically qualifying them for a $25 gift card and all students whose submissions are accepted will be entered into a $500 cash prize raffle. Complete rules and the submission portal can be found at collegefund.org/vote.
The partnering TCUs are:
- Chief Dull Knife College – Lame Deer, Mont.
- College of Menominee Nation – Keshena, Wis.
- Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University – Hayward, Wis.
- Leech Lake Tribal College – Cass Lake, Minn.
- Little Big Horn College – Crow Agency, Mont.
- Nebraska Indian Community College – Macy, Neb.
- Salish Kootenai College – Pablo, Mont.
- Stone Child College – Box Elder, Mont.
- Tohono O’odham Community College – Sells, Ariz.
Whether a tribal college student, a tribal community member, or an ally, the College Fund encourages all Americans to exercise their right to vote in elections. Information about registering to vote can use this state-by-state guide at collegefund.org/vote/register/.
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 $24 million in scholarships and other student support for higher education in 2025-26. Since its founding in 1989 the College Fund has provided more than $434 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.
Journalists —The American Indian College Fund does not use the acronym AICF. On second reference, please use the College Fund.
Photo – The College Fund is partnering with nine tribal colleges and universities to raise awareness of voter registration and increase voter turnout.
Observing Orange Shirt Day and the Dark History of Boarding Schools
Darker aspects of a nation’s history are often depicted as part of its past. Be it the United States, Canada, or any other country born of colonial conquest, we like to think that society has evolved and is detached from any atrocities that came before. Even the Civil Rights Movement, so often represented through black and white photography common at the time, is made to feel like a bygone era. But Ruby Bridges, the first African American child to attend a formerly segregated school in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1960, is only 71 years old today.
Educational institutions were often focused on harming marginalized communities. American and Canadian citizens younger than Ruby Bridges can attest to this fact. One former student’s story sheds light on the traumas of boarding schools that affected generations of Native students.
Phyllis Webstad (Stswecem’c Xgat’tem) is 59 years old today. Like Ruby Bridges, she was only six years old when she was sent off to school. Unlike Ruby, she wouldn’t be coming home that evening or for the next year. Phyllis’ grandmother had gifted her a new, orange shirt for her first day of school. Upon arriving at St. Joseph Mission Residential School in British Columbia, Canada, the staff quickly stripped Phyllis and took away her clothes including the shirt. They never returned it.
Phyllis’ story is not unique. Referring back to old black and white photos, there are many examples of Native students on both sides of the border whose traditional clothing and long hair was removed in portraits and class photos. Captain Richard Henry Pratt, the founder of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, supported the forced assimilation of Indigenous peoples across the continent. He is credited with the phrase, “Kill the Indian in him, and save the man.” Certainly killing, both in the literal and figurative sense, occurred. Hundreds of Native children died at Carlisle Indian Industrial School, thousands in total at residential schools across the nation and generations. Thousands more lost their language, culture, familial ties, and self-identity. The last residential school in Canada closed in 1997, and while boarding school operations largely ended in the United States in the late 1960s, a few schools continue to operate today though now under voluntary attendance. Even as this particular means of forceful assimilation ended, other practices, such as the removal and adoption of children from Indigenous communities to white families continued, despite legislation to the contrary.
September 30 is a day to help remember and honor the Native students who were negatively impacted by the boarding school system. On Orange Shirt Day, so named to honor Phyllis’ story, we share the history of residential schools in full color by wearing orange and talking about a topic many are unaware of or find taboo. In doing so, we highlight the experiences of people still living today rather than letting their stories collect dust as part of an archive. Through sharing these stories, we can uplift the voices of Native youth past and present to ensure such a system is never enacted again.
In preparation for Orange Shirt Day, members of the American Indian College Fund staff handed out orange bandanas to attendees of the 37th Annual Friendship Powwow hosted by the Denver Art Museum earlier this month.
Orange Bandanas at the 37th Annual Friendship Powwow
Orange Bandanas at the 37th Annual Friendship Powwow
Orange Bandanas at the 37th Annual Friendship Powwow
Orange Bandanas at the 37th Annual Friendship Powwow
