By: Gresham Collom, PhD, University of Minnesota
Oneewe (thank you – Munsee) for reading our monthly Indigenous Student Financial Aid Opportunities blog series! This is a space for us to share updates on our project, describe programs and policies we find during data collection, and reflect on interesting developments we see in the data.
We will release a final database of funding opportunities for Indigenous students in early 2025. In the meantime, we want to share information we think can help students, practitioners, and policymakers.
In this post, we reflect on 5 Midwest states that implemented state-level policies: Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin. We identified a total of 55* financial aid opportunities across Indiana (4), Michigan (6), Minnesota (8), North Dakota (23), and Wisconsin (14). Across the 5 states, nine financial aid opportunities exist at the state level, one at the system level, and 37 at the institutional level.
In Indiana, we identified three state, zero system, and one institutional level opportunity available to Indigenous students.
Indiana’s Native American Indian Affairs Commission offers three scholarships statewide, all funded by the state’s sale of Indiana Native American license plates. There are a limited number of scholarships available, however, with funding based on eligibility requirements and demonstrated financial need.
The Sloan Foundation (who also funds our project) partners with several institutions across the United States through the Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership (SIGP). In Indiana, Purdue University partners with SIGP to provide funding for Indigenous Students pursuing graduate programs in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math). The program also supports students by offering research experiences, professional development, faculty mentoring, and access to a nationwide network of alumni.
In Michigan, we identified one state-, zero system-, and five institutional-level opportunities available to Indigenous students.
At the state level, Michigan offers one of the nation’s oldest tuition waivers for Indigenous Students, the Michigan Indian Tuition Waiver. Established in 1974, the waiver offers tuition-free college at Michigan public colleges and universities for all eligible applicants. The waiver is available to both full and part-time students, all majors, and is not dependent on academic performance or other merit requirements. However, to receive the waiver students must be a legal resident of the state, an enrolled Tribal Member, and certify they have at least ¼ Native American Blood (a potentially controversial measurement of Indigenous identity).
In Minnesota, we identified three state-, one system-, and four institutional-level opportunities available to Indigenous students.
Established during the spring 2023 legislative session and beginning in fall 2024, the American Indian Scholars Program provides statewide first-dollar funding for undergraduate students enrolled in any Minnesota State or University of Minnesota institution. Funding is available to Minnesota residents enrolled in a federally recognized Tribal Nation or Canadian First Nation, or for out-of-state students enrolled in a Minnesota Tribal Nation. The most comprehensive statewide program identified so far. We love that funding is first-dollar (meaning more money will hopefully go to the students with the most need), and the inclusion of Minnesota Tribal Members living out-of-state.
Augsburg University’s American Indian Recognition Full Tuition Program covers tuition and fees as a last-dollar scholarship for eligible students with family incomes under $150,000 and covers 100% of unmet need (tuition/fees minus the student’s estimated family contribution determined by FAFSA) for students with family incomes over $150,000. The program is available to currently enrolled students, and first-year and transfer students. Funding is available to both enrolled Tribal members, as well as direct descendants (child or grandchild) of an enrolled Tribal member. Further, funding is available to both in-state and out-of-state students. This is one of the few programs identified so far available to both first-descendants and out-of-state students. Other programs we’re currently aware of include the University of Minnesota, Morris, and Fort Lewis State University.
In North Dakota, we identified one state-, zero system-, and 22 institutional-level opportunities available to Indigenous students.
At the state level, North Dakota offers the Native American Scholarship, providing up to $2,000 annually to eligible students attending any accredited institution in the state. The scholarship is open to N.D. residents who are enrolled members of a federally recognized Tribal Nation, who also maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0. Students must apply annually, and funding is limited.
No institutions in the state provide full tuition waivers. However, we identified 14 policies at the University of North Dakota, with aid ranging from $350 to $10,000 per student awarded.
In Wisconsin, we identified one state-, zero system-, and 13 institutional-level opportunities available to Indigenous students.
Announced in December 2023 and implemented in fall 2024, the University of Wisconsin – Madison the Wisconsin Tribal Educational Promise Program is notable for several reasons. The program, while still classified as last-dollar, covers the full cost of attendance (i.e., tuition, fees, and room/board) for Wisconsin Native Students enrolled in a WI federally recognized Tribal Nation. The opportunity is available to both full-time and part-time students for up to eight consecutive semesters (four years), including summer terms and terms spent studying abroad. UW-Madison is also piloting the Tribal Educational Promise Program for J.D. and M.D. students, which covers the full costs of in-state tuition and fees rather than the full cost of attendance. While these opportunities provide comprehensive support, questions remain concerning the strict eligibility requirements and the potential impact on student participation.
Call to action: Three ways you can support our project
As we await the release of our publicly available website tool for students, there’s three ways you can stay involved:
- Read more about our project methodology and overall findings here.
- Access our draft dataset of currently identified financial aid opportunities for Indigenous students. If you see a financial aid opportunity that is no longer active, or if you are aware of any opportunities we did not include in our list, please let us know!
- Keep an eye out for future snapshots throughout the year. Share our posts with your networks, especially students who may be eligible for funding opportunities.
Please feel free to reach out to our project manager, Misti Jeffers (misti.jeffers@wisc.edu), if you have any questions on the project!
*Please note, as we continue to reach out to administrators directly to verify our understanding of these financial aid policies and programs, the counts described in this initial post may change prior to the release of the final dataset.