Fabrication lab (top), a classroom, gymnasium, and Wellness Center all at Navajo Technical University.
photos by Kristen Goodfriend
Since the tribal college movement began more than five decades ago, TCUs have been expanding their offerings and gaining visibility. Today there are 32 fully accredited TCUs offering an impressive menu of credentials — several have expanded from two-year schools offering associate degrees, certificates, and apprenticeships to also offering bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and one — Navajo Technical University — now offers a PhD. Still others remain degree- and certificate-granting two-year institutions, often with an associated four-year school for smooth transfers.
For a solid academic program grounded in cultural values and traditional knowledge — all with a reasonable price tag — TCUs are worth looking into.
Here we have separately highlighted 13 TCUs that would qualify for inclusion on our exclusive Top 200 roster.
College of Menominee Nation
Wisconsin | menominee.edu
Diné College
Arizona | dinecollege.edu
Haskell Indian Nations University
Kansas | haskell.edu
Institute of American Indian Arts
New Mexico | iaia.edu
Navajo Technical University
New Mexico | navajotech.edu
Northwest Indian College
Washington | nwic.edu
Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College
North Dakota | nhsc.edu
Oglala Lakota College
South Dakota | olc.edu
Salish Kootenai College
Montana | skc.edu
Sinte Gleska University
South Dakota sintegleska.edu
Sitting Bull College
North Dakota/South Dakota | sittingbull.edu
Turtle Mountain Community College
North Dakota | tm.edu
United Tribes Technical College
North Dakota | uttc.edu
The following TCUs may not yet qualify for inclusion on the Top 200, but they are fully accredited, and many are actively expanding their programs and courses.
From left: The library at Blackfeet Community College; a lab at Saginaw Chippewa Tribal College
Blackfeet Community College (Library); Saginaw Chippewa Tribal College (lab)
Montana | ancollege.edu
Bay Mills Community College
Michigan | bmcc.edu
Blackfeet Community College
Montana | bfcc.edu
Cankdeska Cikana Community College
North Dakota | littlehoop.edu
Chief Dull Knife College
Montana | cdkc.edu
Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College
Minnesota | fdltcc.edu
Fort Peck Community College
Montana | fpcc.edu
Ilisagvik College
Alaska | ilisagvik.edu
Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College
Michigan | kbocc.edu
Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College
Wisconsin | lco.edu
Leech Lake Tribal College
Minnesota | lltc.edu
Little Big Horn College
Montana | lbhc.edu
Little Priest Tribal College
Nebraska | littlepriest.edu
Nebraska Indian Community College
Nebraska | thenicc.edu
Saginaw Chippewa Tribal College
Michigan | sagchip.edu
Sisseton Wahpeton College
South Dakota | swcollege.edu
Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute
New Mexico | sipi.edu
Stone Child College
Montana | stonechild.edu
Tohono O’odham Community College
Arizona | tocc.edu
White Earth Tribal and Community College
Minnesota | wetcc.edu