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The American Indian College Fund, founded in 1989, is the nation's premier and largest provider of American Indian Scholarships. The 501 (c)(3) nonprofit works to meet scholarship and other developmental needs at the 31 American tribal colleges and universities. These schools serve approximately 26,000 Indian students representing more than 250 tribes. With support from hundreds of corporations and foundations and thousands of individual donors the College Fund directly impacts Indian communities nationwide through these fully accredited institutions.
 American Indians have the highest dropout rates and lowest educational attainment levels of any racial/ethnic group. This is the legacy of the federal government's forced boarding school policies where Indian children were taken from their homes and stripped of their cultures. But in the early 1970s, a reversal of those policies came when tribes were allowed to take charge of their own educational destinies. Today, tribal colleges are changing the failed history of Indian education by providing a form of higher education like no other.
These small schools combine accredited academics, personal attention and tribal culture. They are about acceptance rather than assimilation; and they work. A mix of two- and four-year schools, the colleges are accredited by the same associations that oversee other educational institutions. Tribal colleges are producing Indian teachers, business people, scientists and tribal leaders. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching calls the colleges "the most significant development in Indian communities since World War II." And they have been more successful in educating Indians than any entity since Columbus landed.
Although the annual tuition at a tribal college is estimated at $1,900 (a fraction of most higher education tuition costs in the United States) the financial burden is great. Few tribal college students can afford the price of education, as roughly 85 percent of the students live at or below the poverty level. According to the U.S. Census, poverty in American Indian communities is nearly three times greater than the national average.
 Most schools are located in isolated reservation areas where rent, food and gasoline prices are extremely high. Many students have long commuting distances-not only for class, but also for groceries and medical appointments. Tuition costs often seem out of reach. With help from the College Fund, students can pay tuition, buy books, and cover basic living- and education-related expenses. Each scholarship awarded to tribal college students through the American Indian College Fund can mean the difference between continuing school or dropping out.
To learn more about the colleges and the American Indian College Fund, please visit www.collegefund.org.
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