ɫ�ش�ý (ɫ�ش�ý) strongly opposes the proposed changes to the federal Pell Grant program in the current reconciliation bill, in addition to the funding cuts recommended in the recently released Department of the Interior’s FY 2025-2026 budget. 

The recommendations, including raising the full-time enrollment threshold and eliminating Pell Grants for students enrolled less than half-time, would cause increased and irrecoverable challenges to students. These challenges would also disproportionately affect the rural communities that are entwined with Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs).

As expressed in the Tribal College Journal , “Pell grants are the foundation of college affordability for TCUs, which serve predominantly low-income, first-generation, and American Indian and Alaska Native students. In the 2022-2023 academic year, nearly 69% of first-time, full-time TCU students nationwide received Pell support, far above the national average for two-year public institutions.” 

“ɫ�ش�ý, along with other tribal colleges and universities (TCUs), has been experiencing real and potential threats to federal funding since the onset of the current administration, first with the DEI order and funding freeze. In the proposed budget, we are facing cuts that will decrease access to Pell grants for our students, 72% of whom would be negatively impacted by these changes. Our student demographic is, on average, a 36-year-old woman attending part-time. Requiring students to take more courses to qualify for full-time funding, or ending access for less than half-time enrollment, would severely restrict access to higher education for those we serve,” said ɫ�ش�ý Interim President Karen Breit.

“Last week, we saw proposed deep cuts to tribal higher education funding in the federal FY2026 budget recommendations. If these recommendations pass, they would be devastating to TCUs that depend significantly on federal funds for operations. This not only impacts ɫ�ش�ý itself, but also the $20.9 million local economic impact that was reported in our Economic Impact Study released in February 2024,” shares Breit.

Federal funding critical to TCU higher education is slated to be reduced by 83%, from $127.4 million in FY2024-2025 to $22.1million in FY2026, while an “annual program dedicated to construction and capital improvements at 1994 Tribal Land Grant institutions is proposed for a 100% reduction - from $8 million to $0.” 

The proposed funding reduction would be catastrophic, forcing many TCUs to close their doors entirely. Already operating on bare minimum budgets, TCUs cannot absorb further cuts without eliminating programs, student services, and staff. Such losses would reverse decades of progress in education, economic development, and self-determination for Tribal nations and their communities.

ɫ�ش�ý joins its voice to the urging of AIHEC in asking Congress to recognize the essential commitments of these previously established funding sources. In a recent impact study, ɫ�ش�ý’s effect on its local and regional community was found to be pronounced and influential.  

It is only through the continued support and collaboration of local, regional, and federal governments that the University can continue having these stated impacts, furthering its mission of promotion, perpetuation, and nurturance of American Indian language and scholarship.

###

1: “Pell Grant Changes Threaten Native Student Access and Local Economies,” Tribal College Journal. Jun 02, 2025. 
2: “AIHEC Urges Immediate Action to Prevent Devastating Cuts to Tribal College and Native Education Funding,” Red Lake Nation News. Jun 04, 2025. 

3: “2024 Economic Impact Study,” ɫ�ش�ý. /leadership