Volume XI Spring 2000 Issue #3
Tribal colleges score legislative triumph
By Marjane Ambler
With the support of the White House, the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) won a significant victory in Congress in November. House and Senate conference committee members gave the tribal colleges a $4 million increase over last year’s funding for a total of $35.3 million. While still far below the level authorized and needed by the tribal colleges to support their core operational costs, it is the largest amount ever appropriated since 1978 when Congress first passed the Tribal College Act (P.L. 95-471). The legislation funds 25 of the tribal colleges. A major blow to another AIHEC member, the Institute for American Indian Arts (Santa Fe), marred the appropriation. The institute lost 50 percent of its operating funds. (See separate story.)
The victory was especially surprising because of the highly political nature of the budget and appropriations negotiations this year. “Leadership in both houses of Congress and the White House recognized the extraordinary accomplishments of the tribal colleges over the years despite our drastic underfunding,” said Janine Pease-Pretty on Top, Ed.D., the president of AIHEC in 1998-99. She is also the president of Little Big Horn College in Montana.
The Congressional leaders noted the extreme funding disparities between the tribal colleges and the average community college, she said. A report by AIHEC and the Institute for Higher Education Policy revealed the differences and showed that the tribal colleges are operating on less than was appropriated for them in 1981. The appropriation for this year still falls far below the amount authorized. It provides approximately $3,430 per Indian student, which is only 57 percent of the amount promised by Congress ($6,000). It is also significantly lower than the estimated $4,740 per student that state community colleges get.
AIHEC Executive Director Veronica Gonzales credits Congressional supporters, especially Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD), who fought hard to increase tribal college funding. (There are five tribal colleges in South Dakota.) AIHEC also credited Lynn Cutler and Mary Smith of the White House staff, Assistant Secretary for the Interior Kevin Gover, Jack Lew of the Office of Management and the Budget, and Carrie Billy of the White House Initiative on Tribal Colleges and Universities. Pease-Pretty on Top said AIHEC relied heavily upon Gonzales for their successful legislative strategy and for key meetings with Congressional and White House staff.
Because of their unique dependence upon the federal government, tribal college presidents often encounter confusion about the Interior appropriations. This year, they were questioned about why a new Department of Education grant program for tribal colleges would not suffice. (See separate story about Title III.) Tribal colleges, like other colleges and universities, receive tuition from students as well as private and public grant funds for special programs. However, unlike other colleges and universities, they must depend upon the federal government to support their core costs. Located on federal trust lands, they cannot rely upon state funds or local property taxes. Competing for short term grants cannot substitute for the basic support funds, especially since most grants address specific programs or academic disciplines.
Dr. Bob Lorence, president of Northwest Indian College in Washington state, explained that he must balance his budget by operating with salaries and benefits that are 25 percent to 60 percent less than neighboring state community colleges for comparable positions. The difference may seem small between the $3,430 per student that tribal colleges will get this year and the $6,000 per student that Congress promised them. However, when multiplied by several hundred students, the difference for each college is significant. Dr. Elden Lawrence, president of Sisseton Wahpeton Community College in South Dakota, said, “Each year SWCC has to find ways to make up for a $200,000 deficit due to lack of basic support funds.”
“Clearly, the tribal colleges are long overdue for this increase,” said Pease-Pretty on Top. She credited decades of work by tribal colleges’ presidents, students, and AIHEC staff, explaining their concerns to people in the administration and the Congress. “The tribal colleges have found partners in the cause of education that made this appropriations step possible.