Click play to listen to this article.

Administrators at South Dakota's Oglala Lakota College are reacting to the Trump administration's proposal to deeply cut its federal funding.

For the second year in a row, the proposed federal budget for fiscal year 2027 would reduce funding for Tribal colleges and universities by about 90%. Oglala Lakota College President Dawn Frank said Tribal colleges have a critical societal and economic impact, with her college’s alumni contributing nearly $80 million to the region’s economy from October 2022 to September 2023. 

"Tribal colleges are significant in contributing to the economy and giving back to the communities," she said, "and also, it's extremely important in strengthening our students to be in a position to help themselves."

Image

Frank stressed that a majority of Oglala Lakota College students rely on Pell grants. Nationwide, up to 80% of Tribal college students receive them, according to The American Indian College Fund. While TCU funding would be slashed under the current budget proposal, Pell grant funding would increase to address a shortfall, and Pell grant awards would remain the same at $7,395.

Cheryl Crazy Bull, president and CEO of the fund, said she feels the Pell grant funding is a good start, but wants higher award amounts to keep up with inflation. She said that would help students graduate from college with less student loan debt. She added that higher debt can limit their choices, which in turn hurts communities.

"We suspect that it's one of the reasons why Native students graduate from college and are unable to return their home reservations to work," she said, "because they can't make a sufficient income."

According to the National Association of Student Financial Administrators, when Pell grants started in the 1970s, they covered nearly 80% of public college costs. Now that number is around 27%.

Frank said issues with Pell grants and the possibility of deep federal funding cuts make the problem of college affordability even worse.

"We just hope," she said, "that our congressional representatives in the state of South Dakota, and all the other representatives that house TCUs, keep in mind the impact that we're making and continue to advocate for us."

Last year, Congress kept TCU funding flat, rather than reducing it.