Tohono O'odham Community College thriving as it tries to weather proposed deep cuts to tribal college funding

The first eight graduates of a new program run by the University of British Columbia Okanagan, the En’owkin Centre, and the Nicola Valley Institute of Technology received their bachelor's of nsyilxcən language fluency degrees. The program is one of the ways the syilx Nation is revitalizing their language, which is critically endangered. Students spend their first two years learning from fluent speakers in the community and the second two years working on a capstone project that includes an internship.

Diné College, the first tribally-controlled accredited college, provides over 1,300 students with opportunities to learn cultural traditions and the Navajo language, alongside traditional academic subjects. The school helps preserve the Navajo language, arts, skills, and customs by teaching it to younger generations. Learning Navajo traditions and language helps students make stronger connections with elders and they find the Indigenous philosophies that the school was founded on useful for overcoming obstacles, like finding ways to continue their education during the coronavirus pandemic.

The MassReconnect program makes community college free for students over 25 without a bachelor’s degree, while the MassEducate program helps cover tuition and fees for all Massachusetts residents. Since the programs were launched, the state has seen both enrollment and student retention rates go up, and students are transferring from community colleges to four-year universities.

The United States Department of Education made federal Pell Grants available to college students who are incarcerated to help cover school expenses. This spurred the development of new prison education programs and partnerships with colleges.

The Indigenous Teacher Education Program at the University of Arizona trains budding educators to better support students in Tribal communities, with the goal of increasing the number of Indigenous teachers in the school system. Since launching in 2018, the program has produced more than 50 graduates.

Amantaní spearheads a range of initiatives to improve educational opportunities for students in remote areas of Peru, such as its Ethical Trade program, in which artisans sell traditional goods both to support themselves and to help fund fellowships covering students’ tuition costs. The organization is also focused on helping indigenous students embrace their cultural heritage and languages.

The Muckleshoot Cohort is an Indigenous-led doctoral program in educational leadership that is built around Indigenous culture and knowledge. The initiative, which encourages students to reclaim their Native identities and tackle generational trauma related to the colonized education system, graduated 10 students in its inaugural class.

Montana's Indian Education for All program ensures that both Native and non-Native students have the opportunity to learn the history and culture of local Indigenous peoples, such as through an experiential bison harvest.

The Yale Prison Education Initiative allows cohorts of 12 to 15 people to take credit-bearing college courses and earn a degree while incarcerated. The program now offers two-year associate’s degrees and four-year bachelor’s degrees in three different prisons across Connecticut.

Cal Poly Humboldt's Native American Studies Department created an Indigenous food sovereignty research lab through a student-led, community-driven process that now supports Indigenous students' cultural connections, advances traditional ecological knowledge research, and demonstrates how Indigenous knowledge can be valued in higher education.