26th Annual Special College Issue • 2019-2020Tribal Colleges and Universities

img1Tribal Colleges and UniversitiesAffordable, accommodating, and academically competitive, TCUs have many plusesInspired in part by the self-determination impetus of the 1960s, tribal colleges and universities have grown and thrived in the intervening five decades. All are fully accredited and on a mission of educating Native students while preserving Native culture and offering a path to a career at a reasonable cost.Like the first tribal college founded 51 years ago — Diné College — many were originally two-year schools that have since expanded to offer bachelor’s degrees, while others remain degree-and certificate-granting two-year institutions that are often a springboard to further education. So far five TCUs — Navajo Technical University, Oglala Dakota College, Sinte Gleska University, Sitting Bull College, and the Institute of American Indian Arts — offer master’s degrees. Each one is a budget-friendly school that offers a solid education grounded in traditional culture. And because they are located on or near reservations, they make a quality education accessible to students in remote areas.There are now nearly three dozen tribal colleges and universities, and nearly 30,000 students have chosen this route to a degree. The course work at TCUs meets the same standards as the credits at mainstream schools — the big difference is the emphasis on Indigenous culture and language throughout the curriculum. TCUs are also competitive, as evidenced by the 14 that have made it onto the Winds of Change Top 200 Colleges for Indigenous Students (see box below).»Aaniiih Nakoda College (Fort Belknap)Harlem, MT

ancollege.edu
Chartered: 1984
Tribe: Gros Ventre and Assiniboine
Degrees: AA/AS/AAS
# of students: 200
# of faculty: 20»Bay Mills Community CollegeBrimley, MI

bmcc.edu
Chartered: 1984
Tribe: Anishinaabek Degrees: AA/AS/AAS# of students: 500+
# of faculty: 19 (full time)»Blackfeet Community CollegeBrowning, MT

bfcc.edu
Chartered: 1974
Tribe: Blackfeet Nation Degrees: AA/AS/AAS# of students: 475
# of faculty: 40»Cankdeska Cikana Community CollegeFort Totten, ND

littlehoop.edu
Chartered: 1974
Tribe: Spirit Lake Dakota Nation
Degrees: AA/AS/AAS
# of students: 400
# of faculty: 35»Chief Dull Knife CollegeLame Deer, MT

cdkc.edu
Chartered: 1975
Tribe: Northern Cheyenne
Degrees: AA/AAS
# of students: 360
# of faculty: 13»Fond du Lac Tribal and Community CollegeCloquet, MN

fdltcc.edu
Chartered: 1987
Tribe: Anishinaabe
Degrees: AA/AFA/AS/AAS
# of students: 2,300
# of faculty: 95»Fort Peck Community CollegePoplar, MT

fpcc.edu
Chartered: 1978
Tribe: Fort Peck Assiniboine
Degrees: AA/AS/AAS
# of students: 450
# of faculty: 50»Ilisagvik CollegeBarrow, AK

ilisagvik.edu
Chartered: 2006
Tribe: Inupiat
Degrees: AA
# of students: 300
# of faculty: 53»Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community CollegeBaraga, MIkbocc.edu
Chartered: 1975
Tribe: Ojibwa Degrees: AA/AS/AAS# of students: 100
# of faculty: 22»Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community CollegeHayward, WIlco.edu
Chartered: 1982
Tribe: Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Degrees: AA/AS/AAS# of students: 500
# of faculty: 63»Leech Lake Tribal CollegeCass Lake, MN

lltc.edu
Chartered: 1990
Tribe: Anishinaabe
Degrees: AA/AS/AAS
# of students: 350
# of faculty: 27»Little Big Horn CollegeCrow Agency, MT

lbhc.edu
Chartered: 1980
Tribe: Crow
Degrees: AA/AS
# of students: 400
# of faculty: 35»Little Priest Tribal CollegeWinnebago, NE

littlepriest.edu
Chartered: 1996
Tribe: Winnebago
Degrees: AA/AS
# of students: 150
# of faculty: 6 (full time)»Nebraska Indian Community CollegeMacy, NE

thenicc.edu
Chartered: 1979
Tribe: Omaha, Santee Sioux, and Winnebago
Degrees: AA/AS/AAS
# of students: 180
# of faculty: 12Saginaw Chippewa Tribal CollegeMount Pleasant, MI

sagchip.edu
Chartered: 1998
Tribe: Anishinaabe
Degrees: AA
# of students: 150
# of faculty: 17»Sisseton Wahpeton CollegeSisseton, SD

swcollege.edu
Chartered: 1979 Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate
Degrees: AA/AS/AAS
# of students: 260
# of faculty: 20»Stone Child CollegeBox Elder, MT

stonechild.edu
Chartered: 1984Tribe: Chippewa Cree
Degrees: AA/AS
# of students: 400
# of faculty: 25»Tohono O’odham Community CollegeSells, AZ

tocc.edu
Chartered: 1998
Tribe: Tohono O’odham
Degrees: AA/AAS
# of students: 200
# of faculty: 27»White Earth Tribal and Community CollegeMahnomen, MN

wetcc.edu
Chartered: 1997
Tribe: Anishinaabe
Degrees: AA
# of students: 125
# of faculty: 12
TCUs on the Top 200College of Menominee Nation, Diné College, Haskell Indian Nations University, Institute of American Indian Arts, Navajo Technical University, Northwest Indian College, Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College, Oglala Lakota College, Salish Kootenai College, Sinte Gleska University, Sitting Bull College, Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute, Turtle Mountain Community College, United Tribes Technical CollegeCoverUniversity of MontanaWelcome from AISESMastheadIntelThe Student BodyCherokee NationThe Student Body continuedThe Student Body continuedGetting InThe PhD ProjectStudent Loan SmartsThe Top 200 Colleges for Indigenous StudentsHow to Read the DataThe Top 200 Colleges for Indigenous StudentsThe Top 200 Colleges for Indigenous StudentsThe Top 200 Colleges for Indigenous StudentsThe Top 200 Colleges for Indigenous StudentsThe Top 200 Colleges for Indigenous StudentsThe Top 200 Colleges for Indigenous StudentsThe Top 200 Colleges for Indigenous StudentsThe Top 200 Colleges for Indigenous Students10 Canadian Schools to KnowTribal Colleges and UniversitiesCollege ProfilesCollege Profiles continuedAdvertiser IndexLast WordOpportunities in Academia and BeyondUnited States Postal Services