Winds of Change - College 2017 - 55

Tribal

Clockwise from top: Southwestern
Indian Polytechnic Institute,
Navajo Technical University,
Aaniiih Nakoda College

COLLEGES AND
UNIVERSITIES
Affordable, accommodating, and academically competitive, TCUs have many pluses

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: SOUTHWESTERN INDIAN POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE; NAVAJOTECH.EDU; AANIIIH NAKODA COLLEGE

I

f you're looking for a budget-friendly school
that offers a solid education while celebrating
traditional culture, a tribal college can be a
great choice. The nearly three dozen fully accredited
schools in this category were established specifically to
educate Native students and preserve Native culture
while offering a path to a career at a reasonable cost.
And because they are located on or near reservations,
they make a quality education accessible to students in
remote areas. For many students, a tribal college is a
great first step to further education.
Inspired in part by the self-determination
movement of the 1960s, the first tribal college was
founded in 1968 as Navajo Community College.
While some TCUs have remained degree-granting
two-year institutions, that first school, now known as
Diné College, has grown from its community college
roots into an institution that offers baccalaureate
degrees as well as associate degrees and certificates.
What's more, five TCUs - Navajo Technical
University, Oglala Lakota College, Sinte Gleska University, Sitting Bull College, and the Institute of American
Indian Arts (IAIA) - now offer master's degrees.
It's important to keep in mind that the course
work at accredited TCUs meets the same standards
as the credits at mainstream colleges and universities
- the big difference is the emphasis on indigenous
culture and language throughout the curriculum.
TCUs are competitive, as evidenced by the 12 that
have made the Winds of Change Top 200 Colleges for
Native Americans list: Diné College, Haskell Indian
Nations University, IAIA, Navajo Technical University,
Northwest Indian College, Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish
College, Oglala Lakota College, Salish Kootenai
College, Sinte Gleska University, Sitting Bull College,
Turtle Mountain Community College, and United
Tribes Technical College. Here are some facts about
the other accredited TCUs:

SCHOOL

LOCATION

CHARTERED

Aaniiih Nakoda College
(Fort Belknap)

Harlem, MT

Bay Mills
Community College

TCUs at a Glance
➤ Educating nearly 30,000 students
➤ Attract non-Natives as students
and faculty
➤ Located on or near reservations, and
the majority are tribally operated
➤ Keep costs low: average cost of
attending in 2013-2014 was $14,168

TRIBE

DEGREES

# STUDENTS # FACULTY
(approx.)

(approx.)

1984

Gros Ventre and
Assiniboine

AA/AS/AAS

200

20

Brimley, MI

1984

Anishinaabek

AA/AS/AAS

500+

19 (ft)

Blackfeet Community
College

Browning, MT

1974

Blackfeet Nation

AA/AS/AAS

475

40

Cankdeska Cikana
Community College

Fort Totten, ND

1974

Spirit Lake
Dakota Nation

AA/AS/AAS

400

35

Chief Dull Knife College

Lame Deer, MT

1975

Northern Cheyenne

AA/AAS

360

13

College of Menominee
Nation

Keshena, WI

1993

Menominee Nation

AA/AS/AAS/BS

600

50

Fond du Lac Tribal
and Community College

Cloquet, MN

1987

Anishinaabe

AA/AFA/AS/AAS

2,300

95

Fort Peck
Community College

Poplar, MT

1978

Fort Peck Assiniboine
and Sioux

AA/AS/AAS

450

50

Ilisagvik College

Barrow, AK

2006

Inupiat

AA

300

53

Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa
Community College

Baraga, MI

1975

Ojibwa

AA/AS/AAS

100

22

Lac Courte Oreilles
Ojibwe Community
College

Hayward, WI

1982

Lac Courte Oreilles
Band of Lake Superior
Chippewa

AA/AS/AAS

500

63

Leech Lake Tribal College

Cass Lake, MN

1990

Anishinaabe

AA/AS/AAS

350

27

Little Big Horn College

Crow Agency, MT

1980

Crow

AA/AS

400

35

Little Priest
Tribal College

Winnebago, NE

1996

Winnebago

AA/AS

150

6 (ft)

Nebraska Indian
Community College

Macy, NE

1979

Omaha, Santee Sioux,
and Winnebago

AA/AS/AAS

180

12

Saginaw Chippewa
Tribal College

Mount Pleasant, MI 1998

Anishinaabe

AA

150

17

Sisseton Wahpeton
College

Sisseton, SD

1979

Sisseton Wahpeton
Oyate

AA/AS/AAS

260

20

Southwestern
Indian Polytechnic
Institute

Albuquerque, NM

1971

All Indian Pueblo

AA/AS/AAS

560

16 (ft)

Stone Child College

Box Elder, MT

1984

Chippewa Cree

AA/AS

400

25

Tohono O'odham
Community College

Sells, AZ

1998

Tohono O'odham

AA/AAS

200

27

White Earth Tribal and
Community College

Mahnomen, MN

1997

Anishinaabe

AA

125

12

SOURCE: COLLEGEFUND.ORG

aises.org

2017-2018 SPECIAL COLLEGE ISSUE * WINDS OF CHANGE 55
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