{"id":177,"date":"2026-05-23T10:39:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T10:39:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movingservicesamerica.com\/?p=177"},"modified":"2026-05-23T10:39:02","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T10:39:02","slug":"trump-wants-to-cut-tribal-college-funding-by-nearly-90-putting-them-at-risk-of-closing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movingservicesamerica.com\/?p=177","title":{"rendered":"Trump Wants to Cut Tribal College Funding by Nearly 90%, Putting Them at Risk of Closing"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Trump administration has proposed cutting funding for tribal colleges and universities by nearly 90%, a move that would likely shut down most or all of the institutions created to serve students disadvantaged by the nation\u2019s historic mistreatment of Indigenous communities.<\/p>\n

Read more Tennessee\u2019s Law on School Threats Ensnared Students Who Posed No Risks. Two States Passed Similar Laws.<\/a><\/p>\n

The proposal is included in the from the Department of the Interior to Congress, which was released publicly on Monday. The document mentions only the two federally controlled tribal colleges \u2014 Haskell Indian Nations University and Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute \u2014 but notes the request for postsecondary programs will drop from more than $182 million this year to just over $22 million for 2026.<\/p>\n

If Congress supports the administration\u2019s proposal, it would devastate the nation\u2019s 37 tribal colleges and universities, said Ahniwake Rose, president and CEO of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium, which represents the colleges in Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe numbers that are being proposed would close the tribal colleges,\u201d Rose told ProPublica. \u201cThey would not be able to sustain.\u201d<\/p>\n

ProPublica found last year that Congress was underfunding tribal colleges by a quarter-billion dollars per year. The Bureau of Indian Education, tasked with requesting funding for the institutions, had never asked lawmakers to fully fund the institutions at the levels called for in the law, ProPublica found.<\/p>\n

But rather than remedy the problem, the Trump administration\u2019s budget would devastate the colleges, tribal education leaders said.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

The Bureau of Indian Education, which administers federal funding for tribal colleges, and the Department of the Interior, the bureau\u2019s parent agency, declined to answer questions.<\/p>\n

Rose said she and other college leaders had not been warned of the proposed cuts nor consulted during the budgeting process. Federal officials had not reached out to the colleges by the end of the day Monday.<\/p>\n

The proposal comes as the Trump administration has outlined a host of funding cuts related to the federal government\u2019s trust and treaty obligations to tribes. The Coalition for Tribal Sovereignty said last month that the administration\u2019s proposed discretionary spending for the benefit of Native Americans would fall to its lowest point in more than 15 years, which it viewed as \u201can effort to permanently impact trust and treaty obligations to Tribal Nations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Congress passed legislation in 1978 committing to fund the tribal college system and promising inflation-adjusted appropriations based on the number of students enrolled in federally recognized tribes. But those appropriations have consistently lagged far behind inflation.<\/p>\n

The colleges have managed, despite the meager funds, to preserve Indigenous languages, conduct high-level research and train local residents in nursing, meat processing and other professions and trades. But with virtually no money available for infrastructure or construction, the schools have been forced to navigate broken water pipes, sewage leaks, crumbling roofs and other problems that have compounded the financial shortcomings.<\/p>\n

Read more 100 Students in a School Meant for 1,000: Inside Chicago\u2019s Refusal to Deal With Its Nearly Empty Schools<\/a><\/p>\n

Tribal college leaders said they were stunned by the proposed cuts to their already insufficient funding and had more questions than answers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m shivering in my boots,\u201d said Manoj Patil, president of Little Priest Tribal College in Nebraska. \u201cThis would basically be a knife in the chest. It\u2019s a dagger, and I don\u2019t know how we can survive these types of cuts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Congress will have the final say on the budget, noted Rep. Teresa Leger Fern\u00e1ndez, the ranking Democrat on the House Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs, whose New Mexico district includes three tribal colleges. Tribal colleges \u201care lifelines in Indian Country,\u201d Leger Fern\u00e1ndezsaid in a statement. \u201cThey provide higher education rooted in language, culture and community. These cuts would rob Native students of opportunity and violate our trust responsibilities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other members of the House and Senate Indian Affairs committees did not immediately respond to questions from ProPublica. The White House also did not respond to a request for more information.<\/p>\n

Monday\u2019s budget release was the latest in a string of bad financial news for tribal colleges since President Donald Trump began his second term. The administration suspended Department of Agriculture grants that funded scholarships and research, and tribal college presidents spent the past week trying to fend off deep cuts to the Pell Grant program for low-income students. The vast majority of tribal college students rely on Pell funding to attend school.<\/p>\n

Tribal colleges contend their funding is protected by treaties and the federal trust responsibility, a legal obligation requiring the United States to protect Indigenous education, resources, rights and assets. And they note that the institutions are economic engines in some of North America\u2019s poorest areas, providing jobs, training and social services in often remote locations.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t make sense for them to (approve the cuts) when they\u2019re relying on us to train the workforce,\u201d said Dawn Frank, president of Oglala Lakota College in South Dakota. \u201cWe\u2019re really relying on our senators and representatives to live up to their treaty and trust obligation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

But others noted they have spent years meeting with federal representatives to emphasize the importance of tribal colleges to their communities and have been disappointed by the chronic underfunding.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a bit disheartening to feel like our voice is not being heard,\u201d said Chris Caldwell, president of College of Menominee Nation in Wisconsin. \u201cThey don\u2019t hear our message.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more George Mason Is the Latest University Under Fire From Trump. Its President Fears an \u201cOrchestrated\u201d Campaign.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ProPublica found that Congress was underfunding tribal colleges by a quarter-billion dollars per year. 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