Earlier this year, the Trump administration proposed a budget for the 2026 fiscal year that included a nearly 83% cut in funding for tribal colleges and universities (TCUs), a reduction that would severely impact every one of the 37 TCUs in the United States.
The news devastated TCU leaders and supporters, who wondered whether they would be able to keep their doors open, not only for the next semester but for years to come. They sought to remind the federal government of its trust responsibilities to tribal nations and spoke of everything that the schools contributed to the national economy.
Then, on Sept. 15, the U.S. Department of Education announced plans for a one-time $495 million investment for historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and TCUs. According to the department, this would essentially double the funding for TCUs. But there was a catch involved: The money would come from cuts to what the department described as “ineffective and discriminatory” programs that were “not in the best interest of students and families.”
In conversations with High Country News, three TCU presidents — Shelly C. Lowe (Diné) of the Institute for American Indian Arts, Leander Russ McDonald (Spirit Lake Nation) at the United Tribes Technical College and Sean Chandler (Aaniinen) of Aaniiih Nakoda College — discussed their response to the funding cuts and described how they drew resilience from their own communities’ strengths and hopes. They also offered advice to others navigating the same or similar situations.
These interviews have been edited for length and clarity.
HCN: What was your initial reaction to the news of the budget proposal that would reduce funding for TCUs?
Sean Chandler: Of course, anxiety, nervousness. If anybody gets news that something major is going to possibly come about, there’s shock, and I’m sure a little bit of panic will set in. But what I felt as a leader, I feel like I needed to absorb everybody else’s panic — which there certainly was. There was staff, even students, calling, worried, (asking): “Are we going to be able to have a school?”; “Am I going to be able to go to school?”; “Am I going to be able to get this scholarship?” or “Am I going to have a job at this time?” All of that was coming to us, so I just had to reassure (them) that we were going to do all we can to not let that happen.
Leander Russ McDonald: I got scared; I knew that type of hit would devastate us. On the accreditation side — to stay in good standing with the Higher Learning Commission — was that if we’re going to shut down a program, there needs to be a process to that work as well. We have to teach out those programs or those courses; if we’re unable to, (then we) transfer those students out to a similar program at another institution. So it just begs the question that if we don’t have the money to operate and cannot teach those programs, then where does that leave us as an institution in regard to fulfilling our accreditation requirements for our accrediting bodies? Not only would we not have the funds to operate, but we (would) lose our status as an accredited college moving forward if we’re unable to fulfill those commitments as an educational institution.
Shelly C. Lowe: I just started (as IAIA university president on Aug. 25), but I was working in the federal government prior to coming here, so I was not surprised by the news. But I am also aware that the president’s budget is just one part of the process of federal budgeting, and that Congress is, in the end, the decision-maker for how the federal budget is going to be set.
Not only would we not have the funds to operate, but we (would) lose our status as an accredited college moving forward if we’re unable to fulfill those commitments as an educational institution.
HCN: What has your institution done to prepare for the current academic school year in light of the news about budget cuts that came out at the end of the last school year?
SC: We planned as a team to cut down on certain things. All the work is meaningful, but we started flagging things and priorities: If something is more important that we keep doing and something might be put on the back burner, we see if we can keep doing the activity or travel that it is.
We advocated for our tribal colleges and stated that we’re institutions chartered by our tribe — connected to our tribal sovereignty — to run our own higher educational institutions and that we’re not part of the regular DEI activities that were being targeted. I think we’ve done a good job in displaying that and informing our congresspeople, our lawmakers and the administration about who we are.
SCL: Since the spring semester, after the news of the presidential budget’s suggestions to decrease TCU funding, the administration, faculty, staff and alumni really got to work contacting congressional members, contacting their elected officials in their state to make sure that they were aware of how important the institution is. A lot of that work played a critical role in ensuring that the House passed a very nice budget for us for this next year, which we’re waiting on the Senate, of course, to approve and to ensure that we were forward-funded for half of our academic year so far. We have been preparing for the school year, as we always have, just doing a lot of the background work to ensure that Congress is aware of the good work that we do.
LRM: I sent out an email to our workforce and let them know to not be worried, that we had some reserve money and we were financially sound. So there was nothing to worry about, at least for this year. Earlier in the year, we pulled in what we were doing and became real cautious in our decision-making and how we’re going to approach the upcoming fiscal year. Toward April, when we’re doing our budget formulation, we really looked at paying bills and not really entertaining any new initiatives, especially those that were of significant cost to us. Kind of just pulling in, to kind of protect ourselves for the upcoming year, and we didn’t really look beyond that.
HCN: TCUs are an important example of tribal sovereignty and education equity and accessibility, where they serve as vital hubs for many Indigenous communities. How will you all maintain those responsibilities and continue to support students and their educational pursuits?
LRM: Well, without that funding, I don’t know how we would maintain that work. We’re in agreement with you in regard to how we operate. I can use myself as an example: I’m a graduate of Cankdeska Cikana Community College on the Spirit Lake Reservation and I would most likely not have gone on to school without our tribal college and university. Then I went on to school at the University of North Dakota, (where I) completed my bachelors, master’s and Ph.D. They provided a foundation for me. My folks had some college, but they never completed a degree. The understanding of how to go to school and how to access funding, the Pell Grant and other things — I kind of went in cold on that, and the (tribal) college was great about providing advice in how to access those funds and technical assistance in filling out the forms and teaching me how to seek out scholarships that helped me fund my education.
SCL: IAIA is very unique: We are a federally chartered institution by the United States government through legislation. Part of our mission is to really support Indigenous art and culture. And the maintenance and the carrying on of that art and culture really does point back to federal legislation that we saw affecting tribal communities, (such as) the (American) Indian Religious Freedom Act — the ability for tribes to actually take their traditions and be able to participate in those traditions and offer those traditions to their community members.
SC: We have a track record of doing all of those things: supporting our students physically, mentally, spiritually. We’ve done all of those things, even with less funding than we’ve had. When tribal colleges were first formed, the struggles they went through starting out (were) real humble beginnings within abandoned buildings that had no heat or electricity. But somehow they did it. Those are all the things that really fill my confidence: that we can continue to do this, and sometimes that means looking in places we might not have looked before for funding.
Note: HCN asked Lowe a follow-up question about student support in light of a recent free-press situation where an IAIA student was placed on probation for publishing information that displeased IAIA administrators. (Lowe responded via email).
HCN: How are IAIA and you supporting students during these challenging times?
SCL: IAIA is unwavering in our support for students, including our student journalists, to express themselves consistent with IAIA policies and applicable law. My focus right now is listening to our community. The IAIA Student Services Committee reviews and revises our Student Handbook policies annually, and I will be working with students, faculty and staff on this process to ensure our policies related to student media and free expression are clear, accessible and consistently applied. Our goal is always to provide a campus climate where students feel safe, supported, and empowered to learn and to speak.
HCN: What I continue to admire about our communities is our resilience. What are you all doing at the school to keep going and remember what’s most important?
SC: When we have our student gatherings, we continue to reinforce that they’re in the right place and that it will be OK: Just draw up on their strength and think about what our ancestors went through, and we should be able to get through these challenges — but that doesn’t mean we relax either. We still have to work hard and become educated and become prosperous, so that we can give back and provide something good and great for the next generation.
SCL: One of the things is ensuring that we turn to our mission and our vision, and also continue to promote the values that we have here at the institution: values based on reciprocity, culture and care, excellence and service, service leadership. And all the work that we are doing is going to tie back to those values that we hold, that we encourage our students to think about on a regular basis.
We have to have this positive attitude and use some of our cultural values and express the importance of being good relatives to one another.
LRM: Especially as a president, I think it’s our responsibility to motivate our workforce, motivate our students and share with them the importance of higher education. It’s our responsibility as employers and employees to have a similar perspective in our interactions with students. We have to have this positive attitude and use some of our cultural values and express the importance of being good relatives to one another.
HCN: What message do you have for other colleges/universities that cater to Indigenous students and might be in the same position?
SC: Continue to be that strong voice and role model for not only the students, but the staff, too, because everybody’s morale could possibly be affected, and everybody looks to the leadership. Continue to advocate; we can’t ever rest — that’s just the way it is.
LRM: Take every opportunity to share your story, share what successes you’ve been having with your students. Visit with potential partners, whether it’s tribal, state, federal or other tribal colleges and universities, to share the good things that are happening on your campus.
Be prepared to speak to Congress when we need to, be prepared to tell our stories and the impact that we have, not just within our institutions.
SCL: It’s very important that we are all aware of what is happening in the administration, who our supporters are, that we are able to connect with one another, (that we) share resources with one another in terms of reaching out to Congress to tell them of the importance of TCUs and institutions that serve tribal communities, to remind them about the trust responsibility and tribal sovereignty in every way that we can, and to really be all hands on deck. Be prepared to speak to Congress when we need to, to be prepared to tell our stories and the impact that we have, not just within our institutions.
HCN: What was your reaction to this news about the investment of funds for TCUs and HBCUs?
SCL: IAIA is still reviewing the Department of Education’s announcement of a one-time investment for HBCUs and tribal colleges, so I’m not able to comment on the specifics at this time. What I can say is that tribal colleges, including IAIA, remain underfunded, and both Congress and the administration have enduring responsibilities to tribal nations and to TCUs through treaties and the federal trust responsibility. The Department of Education’s long-standing Title III support has been vital to IAIA — strengthening student advising, technology and academic programs — and we look forward to continued, consistent investment in our students and communities.
SC: It’s great news to me. It’s a testament to all the work we’ve been doing, advocating for our tribal colleges and who we are. We’ve been low-funded all these years, and to get that meaningful increase, it means a lot, because our budgets were pretty slim. It’s going to help us relax a little more and do more things.
LRM: Tribal colleges and universities welcome this increase in support, which will have a real impact on our students, faculty and the tribal communities we serve. With federal funding for TCUs more than doubling this year, we will be able to strengthen workforce development, cultural programming and degree pathways. At the same time, higher education funding should uplift American Indian and Alaska Native students everywhere; redirecting resources may mean some students gain opportunities while others lose them, and that is not a lasting solution for our communities.
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