Promoting Higher Education for Native Americans in Minnesota

This fall, Minnesota launched North Star Promise with a promise about free tuition. But like other free tuition initiatives for Native American students, it’s not quite as simple as it sounds. The basics are very appealing.

“North Star Promise provides free college tuition to help make education after high school possible for more Minnesota students and families,” is written on the Minnesota Office of Higher Education website. “The North Star Promise program is open to all Minnesota residents with a family Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) below $80,000, as reported on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).”

While this is not a program specific to Native Americans, the state’s four tribal colleges are eligible institutions along with Minnesota State Colleges and Universities and all University of Minnesota campuses. These are last-dollar funds, which means it covers a student’s remaining costs for tuition and fees after all other aid—scholarships, grants, stipends and tuition waivers—has been awarded, and it does not cover the cost of housing, food, transportation, books or supplies.

“One of the concerns I have is many college-bound students do not have the tools or the know how of securing adequate funding before they go to college,” says Dr. Karen R. Francis-Begay, governing council chair for the National Institute for Native Leadership in Higher Education. “Communication is key on how the funding works to benefit students.”

Challenges to Qualify

Francis-Begay references a program at the University of Arizona—the Arizona Native Scholars Grant—a grant program that promises tuition, and college fees for Native American Arizona residents pursuing their first bachelor’s degree. When the grant was introduced, the message that resonated was a tuition free program for any Native American student who was an enrolled member of one of Arizona’s 22 federally recognized tribes.

“The message that people are going to catch onto is free tuition, but that wasn’t the case,” Francis-Begay says. “The grant is provided after all other forms of financial assistance is put towards tuition, like a Pell Grant.”Anita Hanson, president of Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College (FDLTCC)Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College (FDLTCC)

 If there are a lot of resources that are being targeted for tuition—other scholarships, other grants—the institution has to apply that funding towards tuition, which might leave the student with little to no actual free tuition from this specific grant, says Francis-Begay. “Students and their families don’t understand the inner workings.”

Dr. Gresham D. Collom, an assistant professor in the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy and Development at the University of Minnesota (UM) notes that many tuition programs specifically created for indigenous students include confusing eligibility requirements that ultimately” increase the administrative burden on students that may make it less likely for students to apply.”

There are 11 federally recognized American Indian tribes in Minnesota. Among the requirements for some Native American specific scholarships are uploading tribal I.D. annually, getting a signed form from the tribe proving descendancy, community service and an essay requirement.

An example of where even completing a FAFSA—a requirement of North Star Promise—can  clash with Native American culture is provided by Tiffany Gusbeth, vice president of student success services of the American Indian College Fund (College Fund). In the 2022-23 academic year, the College Fund supported more than 4,000 Native American scholars in 43 states to attend 267 colleges and universities. Of them, 2,718 were first-generation college students.

“Cultural values are guiding in some of our familial structures that are not mainstream, are not going to be easily captured in a FAFSA and actually present really confusing questions for students who live in intergenerational homes, who are being raised by relatives who aren’t parents or guardians,” says Gusbeth. “One of the first 10 questions that a student encounters in the FAFSA is ‘Who is your parent or guardian and what is their income information?’ If you’re being raised by your aunt or uncle, which may be very common and familiar in your community, that’s going to be super confusing and shut you down immediately.”

Positive Potential

Minnesota also has the American Indian Scholars Program, which was established in the 2023 legislative session. This program provides a first-dollar tuition and fee-free pathway to a Minnesota State or University of Minnesota institution for Minnesotans who are enrolled members or citizens of any federally recognized tribe or Canadian First Nation. This is for individuals who have not already earned a bachelor’s degree. The Minnesota Office of Higher Education is projecting that 2,000 students will benefit from this program during the 2024-25 academic year.

As of the end of September, preliminary data from the Minnesota Office of Higher Education showed that the Minnesota State colleges and university system had awarded 12,990 North Star Promise scholarships and the University of Minnesota system had awarded 3,721 scholarships. Demographic information about the recipients was not available. The Minnesota State system is seeing a 7% increase in enrollment. The state’s FAFSA filing rate is up 11% from last year.

“Luckily, the North Star Promise only includes FAFSA completion and is one of the less burdensome promise programs in the United States for students,” says Collom. “While there are FAFSA webinars available, I believe community and family focused FAFSA and financial aid workshops in tribal communities might be an effective way to promote college going overall among indigenous students.”Elementary Education Bachelors Graduates at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College (FDLTCC)

Anita Hanson, president of Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College (FDLTCC), located in Cloquet, Minnesota, says the existence of both the American Indian Scholars Program and North Star Promise is critically important. At Fond du Lac, many of the students receive Pell funding along with American Indian Scholars Program funding, so North Star Promise may not necessarily impact the college’s American Indian students, but that could change going forward.

FDLTCC is both a tribal college and a community college part of the state system. The college offers two-year associate degrees, short-term certificates and a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education. Among the larger two-year programs are law enforcement, nursing and human services. On-campus enrollment is approximately 615 students. That doesn’t include FDLTCC’s college in the high school program.

“The diversity of the institution is what we believe is one of our greatest strengths,” says Hanson. “Some of our tagline is ‘We’re a union of cultures.’ That is something that identifies this institution for over 30 years. Our American Indian students can still learn about their history, their language, their culture by the curriculum that we offer, and non-Native students can learn about American Indian people. We’ve got that unique Native and non-Native environment.”

The state has provided emergency support funding for FDLTCC students, which Hanson describes as a huge help for students who experience barriers. Among the necessities that these funds have covered are car repair, utility bills and groceries. “It’s a game changer for many of our students,” she notes.

The Metro-Wide American Indian Graduation Celebration facilitates conversations between tribal colleges and four-year institutions.

The Circle of Indigenous Nations (COIN) at UM provides community, holistic support for students. Director Nizhoni Marks says what the support entails depends on a student’s needs. Among the resources available is the COIN American Indian & Indigenous Scholarships list. Additional financial support includes student employment opportunities, and COIN helps students navigate that process. UM also has the Office of Native American Affairs, which facilitates communication and consultation with tribal nations to improve UM systemwide to better serve Native communities and learners.

Essential Supports for Success

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2022 the college enrollment rate for 18-to-24-year-olds who identified as Native American or Alaska Native was 26%.

“It’s not just the financial resources they need; they need support services that actually encourage them to stay in college,” says Gusbeth.
The College Fund conducts research and publishes reports addressing issues facing indigenous students in higher education. A plan for mainstream colleges and universities has been laid out for intentional engagement in recruitment and retention. A vital component is developing culturally reflective support services.

“In Minnesota, I know there has been more effort in building relationships between state agencies and tribal communities and tribal colleges and universities,” Collom says. “I hope this leads to stronger pathways for students through articulation agreements, extended institutional funding to support the costs associated with transfer beyond tuition/fees, and increased student support and community building/strengthening efforts at four-year institutions.”

Hanson says she would like to see an increase in Pell Grant funding and additional resources for tribal colleges so they can increase staffing to better serve their students. This can lead to an increase in the number of students who transfer to four-year institutions.

“Financial support is always one of the best ways that you can increase the number of American Indian students,” Hanson says. “It’s also the institutions themselves providing the supports that are needed for diverse populations and making sure the students feel welcome. That they have folks that look like them teaching at those four-year universities. That’s beyond the financial piece. … Making sure that it’s an embracing environment for all who enroll.”

For those students enrolling at UM, COIN reaches out to every Native American and indigenous student to welcome them and let them know about available resources. COIN has an elders-in-residence program through which UM students have access to cultural knowledge speakers and language speakers. Events and activities happen throughout the academic year.

UM holds a Native and indigenous kickoff event for first-year students and transfers, which is a two-and-a-half-day immersive experience held before the university’s welcome week. Part of the early outreach includes recruitment for a living-learning community, the American Indian Cultural House, which generally has 10 to 20 students that receive more individualized programming throughout the academic year.

“By allowing students to participate and be a part of cultural activities either on campus or off campus in the community and bringing people to campus who are from various tribal communities…enables them to see others like themselves and creates a sense of belonging,” says Marks. “Students today are able to develop culturally in higher education spaces. It wasn’t always like this historically. Providing that for students allows them to have some grounding.”

Advanced Degrees

“Overall, I believe Minnesota has some of the most progressive and promising policies to support indigenous college students,” says Collom. “There are definitely ways to strengthen these policies, including conducting extensive research on implementation, communication and student experiences accessing state funding.”

Gusbeth notes that a Gallup Tribal College Alumni Survey statistic shows that 76% of Native American students desire to work for their communities. Graduating debt free enables them to pursue graduate school and then careers that may not have been an option if they had incurred substantial debt while an undergraduate.

“Removing debt as an issue that they have to overcome after college opens up the door for them to show up for their communities,” Gusbeth says.
UM begins to introduce undergraduate students to the possibilities of advanced degrees and professional schools early on. Many of the students looking in that direction are firm in their commitment to serve tribal communities, whether on tribal land, a reservation or in urban areas. Institutions that strengthen Native nation building are growing, and that is increasingly evident in Minnesota.

“Supporting grad students through their educational journey is vital, and what I hope to accomplish as director of COIN is to provide those connections and access opportunities for those students in graduate school spaces,” says Marks. “It’s one of the things that COIN can do in the future. We can be the connecting piece to bridge them to those opportunities and provide them the access that they need.”