Arizona Tri-Universities for Indian Education Statewide Meeting

The Arizona Tri-Universities for Indian Education convened a statewide meeting on June 12, at Northern Arizona University. The organization, focused on enhancing Native American college access, has been in existence since 2000 with members representing various colleges and universities throughout the state of Arizona and New Mexico.

Leaders throughout the state discussed Tribal Higher Education Programs and the financial support provided to students. The Office of Navajo Nation Scholarships and Financial Assistance (ONNSFA) presented on their Empower Database System that has helped streamline their scholarship application and awarding process and has also made it more efficient for universities and colleges to process the required financial need analysis. In 2018, ONNSFA awarded 201 students at the University of Arizona with scholarships totaling more than $603,000.

Tribal scholarship funding plays a major role in Native American retention and graduation.  A large portion of these funds comes from the federal government and is administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs house within the U.S. Department of the Interior. Recently, the U. S. House Committee rejected the Trump administration’s request to eliminate the Tribal Scholarship Program which has a budget of $40 million.  The House Subcommittee on Interior Affairs has, instead, recommended that the Tribal Scholarship Program’s annual funding increase to $52 million.