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Native American College Scholarships
Out of all of the recognized minority groups in the United States, Native Americans probably comprise the smallest group in terms of population. According to the United States Census Bureau, in 2000 the number of Native Americans made up only 0.8% of the population of the US. Most of those who claimed Native American heritage — eight out of ten people — are of interracial background, i.e. African American or Caucasian and Native American ancestry.
Because of this small number of Native Americans, there were not many options for scholarship monies for Native American students for a long time. Native Americans set up their own tribal colleges and universities to educate the members of their tribes and nations. Native American peoples also established tribal scholarships. These scholarships are available to students who are members of recognized Native American tribes and are offered directly through tribal organizations like the All Indian Pueblo Council Scholarship Grant Program.
There are also several federally funded scholarship programs offered to members of federally recognized Native American tribes. There are currently 563 Native American tribes that are recognized as individual political societies by the United States federal government, and only members from these tribes qualify for federal scholarship monies.
Also, as with many minorities, scholarships are available through both professional organizations like the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, and from minority-focused institutions like the American Anthropological Society. Professional organizations are concerned with furthering Native American employment in specific job markets that are traditionally dominated by white males, while organizations like the American Anthropological Society are focused on furthering the educational opportunities of all minorities.
List of Native American Scholarships
- Cherokee Nation Higher Education Scholarship — $500 to $1000 awarded each year to 1200-1500 Cherokee Nation Members who are undergraduate students.
- Displaced Homemaker Scholarship — $1500 awarded each year to varied number of Native American undergraduate and graduate students.
- Gates Millennium Scholars Program (American Indian Graduate Center) — $500 to $40000 awarded each year to 150 Native American undergraduate or graduate students.
- Judith McManus Price Scholarship — $2000 to $4000 awarded each year to 3 Native American and other minority undergraduate and graduate students majoring in urban and regional planning.
- Koniag Education Foundation Academic/Graduate Scholarship — $500 to $2500 awarded each year to Alaskan Native Koniag, Inc. shareholders undergraduate and graduate students.
- Math, Engineering, Science, Business, Education, Computers Scholarships — $500 to $5000 awarded each year to 180 Native American undergraduate and graduate students.
- Minnesota Indian Scholarship Program — $3300 to $6600 awarded each year to varied number of Minnesota Native American undergraduate students.
- Native American Leadership in Education (NALE) — $500 to $5000 awarded each year to up to 30 Native American undergraduate students.
- Osage Tribal Education Committee Scholarship — $200 to $400 awarded each year to 150-250 Osage Tribal members who are undergraduate students.
- Tribal Business Management Program (TBM) — $500 to $5000 awarded each year to up to 35 Native American undergraduate and graduate students majoring in business.
Paying for school is not easy, but we are here to help. OEDb's student finance section will help you find the money you need to pay your tuition and other college expenses. We cover scholarships, college grants, and student loans. Scholarships and grants are both forms of "free money", meaning they don't need to be paid back. Scholarships are typically awarded by businesses or individuals, with the money being earmarked specifically for tuition. They can be awarded based on a student's location or by religious affiliation, such as Catholicism or Islam. Grants are typically awarded by governments or non-profit organizations and the money often can be applied to several different expenses a student may incur, not solely tuition. They can be awarded based on location or ethnicity, for instance African American or Hispanic. Loans are not considered "free money", because unlike scholarships and grants, they do need to be paid back after graduation. Common federal loans include Perkins and Stafford. Loans are also available by location.