APPLICATION DEADLINE IS MAY 31st – APPLY NOW!
Wi’áaşal (Great Oak) Future Leaders Scholarship Fund
for Most Enrolled California Tribal Members
Established in 2019, The Wi’áaşal (Great Oak) Future Leaders Scholarship Fund was born out of the longstanding traditions, values, and vision of the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians – who have demonstrated their commitment to education and economic development, time and time again. Today, their impact is expanded through the Wi’áaşal (Great Oak) Future Leaders Scholarship, which provides greatly needed support to Native students across the state of California.
The Wi’áaşal (Great Oak) Future Leaders Scholarship Fund is open to most enrolled California tribal members.
Up to $20,000 is available each year to students seeking vocational, associates or bachelors degrees at any accredited, nonprofit college, university or vocational program.
Eligibility:
- Enrolled in a certificate, associate or bachelor’s degree program at an accredited, non-profit college or university
- Full-time enrollment
- Registered as an enrolled member of an eligible California tribe (listed below)
Eligible California Tribes:
- Alturas Indian Rancheria
- Bear River Band of the Rohnerville Rancheria
- Big Lagoon Rancheria
- Big Pine Paiute Tribe of the Owens Valley (previously listed as the Big Pine Band of Owens Valley Paiute
- Shoshone Indians of the Big Pine Reservation)
- Big Sandy Rancheria of Western Mono Indians of
- California (previously listed as the Big Sandy Rancheria of
- Mono Indians of California)
- Big Valley Band of Pomo Indians of the Big Valley
- Rancheria
- Bishop Paiute Tribe (previously listed as the Paiute-
- Shoshone Indians of the Bishop Community of the Bishop Colony)
- Bridgeport Indian Colony (previously listed as the
- Bridgeport Paiute Indian Colony of California)
- Buena Vista Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians of California
- Cahto Tribe of the Laytonville Rancheria
- Cahuilla Band of Indians (previously listed as the Cahuilla
- Band of Mission Indians of the Cahuilla Reservation)
- California Valley Miwok Tribe
- Cedarville Rancheria
- Chemehuevi Indian Tribe of the Chemehuevi Reservation
- Cher-Ae Heights Indian Community of the Trinidad Rancheria
- Chicken Ranch Rancheria of Me-Wuk Indians of California
- Cloverdale Rancheria of Pomo Indians of California
- Cold Springs Rancheria of Mono Indians of California
- Colorado River Indian Tribes of the Colorado River Indian Reservation, Arizona and California
- Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians of California
- Elem Indian Colony of Pomo Indians of the Sulphur Bank Rancheria
- Elk Valley Rancheria
- Enterprise Rancheria of Maidu Indians of California
- Ewiiaapaayp Band of Kumeyaay Indians
- Fort Bidwell Indian Community of the Fort Bidwell Reservation of California
- Fort Independence Indian Community of Paiute Indians of the Fort Independence Reservation
- Fort Mojave Indian Tribe of Arizona, California & Nevada
- Greenville Rancheria (previously listed as the Greenville
- Rancheria of Maidu Indians of California)
- Grindstone Indian Rancheria of Wintun-Wailaki Indians of California
Guidiville Rancheria of California - Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake
- Hoopa Valley Tribe
- Hopland Band of Pomo Indians (formerly Hopland Band of Pomo Indians of the Hopland Rancheria)
- Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel (previously listed as the Santa Ysabel Band of Diegueno Mission Indians of the Santa Ysabel Reservation)
- Inaja Band of Diegueno Mission Indians of the Inaja and Cosmit Reservation
- Ione Band of Miwok Indians of California Karuk Tribe (previously listed as the Karuk Tribe of California)
- Kashia Band of Pomo Indians of the Stewarts Point Rancheria
- Kletsel Dehe Band of Wintun Indians (previously listed as the Cortina Indian Rancheria and the Cortina Indian Rancheria of Wintun Indians of California)
- Koi Nation of Northern California (previously listed as the Lower Lake Rancheria)
- La Jolla Band of Luiseno Indians (previously listed as the La Jolla Band of Luiseno Mission Indians of theLa Jolla Reservation)
- La Posta Band of Diegueno Mission Indians of the La Posta Indian Reservation
- Lone Pine Paiute-Shoshone Tribe (previously listed as the Paiute-Shoshone Indians of the Lone Pine Community of the Lone Pine Reservation)
- Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla and Cupeno Indians (previously listed as the Los Coyotes Band of Cahuilla & Cupeno Indians of the Los Coyotes Reservation)
- Lytton Rancheria of California
- Manchester Band of Pomo Indians of the Manchester Rancheria (previously listed as the Manchester Band of Pomo Indians of the Manchester-Point Arena Rancheria)
- Manzanita Band of Diegueno Mission Indians of the Manzanita Reservation
- Mechoopda Indian Tribe of Chico Rancheria
- Mesa Grande Band of Diegueno Mission Indians of the Mesa Grande Reservation
- Northfork Rancheria of Mono Indians of California
- Pinoleville Pomo Nation (previously listed as the Pinoleville Rancheria of Pomo Indians of California)
- Pit River Tribe (includes XL Ranch, Big Bend, Likely, Lookout, Montgomery Creek and Roaring Creek Rancherias)
- Potter Valley Tribe
- Quartz Valley Indian Community of the Quartz Valley Reservation of California
- Ramona Band of Cahuilla (previously listed as the Ramona Band or Village of Cahuilla Mission Indians of California)
- Redwood Valley or Little River Band of Pomo Indians of the Redwood Valley Rancheria California (previously listed as the Redwood Valley Rancheria of Pomo Indians of California)
- Resighini Rancheria
- Robinson Rancheria (previously listed as the Robinson Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians, California and theRobinson Rancheria of Pomo Indians of California)
- Round Valley Indian Tribes, Round Valley Reservation (previously listed as the Round Valley Indian Tribes of the Round Valley Reservation)
- Santa Rosa Band of Cahuilla Indians (previously listed as the Santa Rosa Band of Cahuilla Mission Indians of the Santa Rosa Reservation)
- Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians of California
- Sherwood Valley Rancheria of Pomo Indians of California
- Susanville Indian Rancheria
- Tejon Indian Tribe
- Timbisha Shoshone Tribe (previously listed as the Death Valley Timbi-sha Shoshone Tribe and the Death Valley Timbi-Sha Shoshone Band of California)
- Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation (previously listed as the Smith River Rancheria)
- Torres Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians (previously listed as the Torres-Martinez Band of Cahuilla Mission Indians of California)
- Utu Utu Gwaitu Paiute Tribe of the Benton Paiute Reservation
- Washoe Tribe of Nevada & California (Carson Colony, Dresslerville Colony, Woodfords Community, Stewart Community, & Washoe Ranches)
- Wilton Rancheria
- Wiyot Tribe (previously listed as the Table Bluff Reservation—Wiyot Tribe)
- Yurok Tribe of the Yurok Reservation
Related Pages
Students Social Media
News & Events
May and Stanley Smith Charitable Trust Partners with American Indian College Fund to Support Native Student Veterans
May and Stanley Smith Charitable Trust Partners with American Indian College Fund to Support Native Student Veterans
Fellowship program will support the success of Native student veterans at TCUs
May 17 2024, Denver, Colo.— The American Indian College Fund (College Fund) has received a $50,000 grant from the May and Stanley Smith Charitable Trust to implement a six-month fellowship focused on empowering Native student veterans to success. The Naabaahii Ółta’í (Student Warrior): Native Student Veterans Peer-to-Peer Program is a mentorship opportunity that builds relationships between veterans based upon their shared experiences.
The Native Student Fellows will collaborate to develop and implement a community-based project that will support the overall health and wellness of their TCUs and communities. This opportunity will help the participating Native student veterans discover how to best fill their roles both on and off campus. Each TCU involved in the project will receive $9,000 to support programmatic efforts.
American Indian College Fund President and CEO, Cheryl Crazy Bull, said, “We appreciate being able to honor the Native men and women who support our country through military service. The Naabaahii Ółta’í (Student Warrior): Native Student Veterans Peer-to-Peer Program allows fellows to use the skills learned in the armed forces to take up mantles of leadership in a new way on tribal college campuses and in their home communities.”
Both of the selected Native Student Fellows, Cynthia Jones and Tori Benally, shared their thoughts on the importance of this program. Jones said, “As an Indigenous Female Veteran, I have endured many challenges that have come before me, the voices of my ancestors through their songs and prayers have bestowed upon me, I now can see myself as a leader of my family and community.”
Benally added, “Being a part of this scholarship, has taught me how to become a leader as a woman. To stay ahead and to be prepared to help give an experience of knowledge to those who need it. Mental health is a mental crisis that’s often overlooked. Knowing there is help is what our culture needs, being involved to provide guidance is the best felling ever.”
About the American Indian College Fund— The American Indian College Fund has been the nation’s largest charity supporting Native higher education for 34 years. The College Fund believes “Education is the answer” and provided $17.4 million in scholarships and other direct student support to American Indian students in 2022-23. Since its founding in 1989 the College Fund has provided more than $319 million in scholarships, programs, community, and tribal college support. The College Fund also supports a variety of academic and support 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 and is one of the nation’s top 100 charities named to the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance. For more information about the American Indian College Fund, please visit www.collegefund.org.
Journalists—The American Indian College Fund does not use the acronym AICF. On second reference, please use the College Fund.
American Indian College Fund Launches “Make Native Voices Heard” Voting Campaign
American Indian College Fund Launches “Make Native Voices Heard” Voting Campaign
Campaign shares stories of why Native votes matter and how to register
May 14, 2024, Denver, Colo.— Native Americans are more impacted by the law than any other group in the United States. Native students in higher education, or seeking a higher education, in particular are impacted by federal and state laws impacting funding for education, such as Pell Grants, student loans, and federal funding for tribal colleges and universities (TCUs), 70% of which comes from federal sources. To ensure Native students, community members, and their allies are represented and heard at all levels of government, the American Indian College Fund (College Fund) is launching its “Make Native Voice Heard—Vote!” campaign to encourage Native people to register and vote on Tuesday, November 5.
In addition to ensuring Native voices are heard with regard to higher education, voting also gives Indigenous communities representation within laws and policies that guide Native nations, including housing, health care, early childhood education, energy programs, and reservation infrastructure. Other critical issues such as the high rate of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, environmental protections, and economic development in the balance, Native voices need to be heard at every level of government.
One hundred years ago on June 2, the U.S. government unilaterally extended U.S. citizenship to Native Americans with the passage of the Indian Citizenship Act. As dual citizens of their Tribal Nations and the United States, members of federally recognized tribes have the right to register and participate in both non-Tribal (federal, state, and local) elections and Tribal elections to decide who should represent them.
Cheryl Crazy Bull, President and CEO of the American Indian College Fund, said, “Native people were often deterred from exercising that right, and continually litigated for that right to be honored. Only in 1958, 38 years after the Indian Citizenship Act, did Native voters participate in elections in all 50 states. By voting in tribal, local, state, and national elections, Native people exercise their legal right to vote and honor the ancestors that fought for it, while ensuring we have a say in our futures as Native people and sovereign Nations.”
To make Native voices heard and exercise the right to vote, every Native citizen must register to do so in their state of permanent residence. The College Fund’s Make Native Voices Heard web page shares information on how to register to vote in every state at https://collegefund.org/vote/register/.
As part of the campaign, the College Fund will also share information about how to make a voting plan and ways voting impacts Native communities in big ways. Native students, tribal college presidents, faculty, and staff and others are also invited to share their reasons for voting and voting plan in blogs and videos at https://collegefund.org/vote/. It is also offering $500 awards to TCU students who are leading voter education events.
For more information on how to submit a blog or video, grants for voter education events, and to follow the campaign, visit https://collegefund.org/vote/ or follow the College Fund on Facebook at American Indian College Fund and Native Pathways.
The campaign will run from now through early November.
About the American Indian College Fund— The American Indian College Fund has been the nation’s largest charity supporting Native higher education for 34 years. The College Fund believes “Education is the answer” and provided $17.4 million in scholarships and other direct student support to American Indian students in 2022-23. Since its founding in 1989 the College Fund has provided more than $319 million in scholarships, programs, community, and tribal college support. The College Fund also supports a variety of academic and support 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 and is one of the nation’s top 100 charities named to the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance. For more information about the American Indian College Fund, please visit www.collegefund.org.
Journalists—The American Indian College Fund does not use the acronym AICF. On second reference, please use the College Fund.
Megan Red Shirt-Shaw, a member of the Oglala na Sicangu Lakota and director of Native Student Services, shared on Instagram she was also told she was in violation of the Regents’ policy for including her tribal affiliation on her email signature.