Tribal Colleges – Their present and the challenges they face
– Royce Young

Tribal colleges and universities are unique American institutions that offer opportunities for Native Americans to pursue higher education within their own cultural and regional contexts. Generally located on or near Indian reservations, tribal colleges and universities aim to preserve and communicate traditional native culture, provide higher education and career or technical opportunities to tribal members and improve economic opportunities within the reservation community.

As of 2001, 32 tribal colleges have emerged, created by American Indians tribes for American Indians, though the colleges are not exclusive to those of American Indian descent. These colleges are located in areas with large concentrations of Native Americans, mainly in the upper Midwest, the Pacific Northwest and the Southwest.

There are seven tribal colleges in Montana, five in North Dakota, four in South Dakota, three in Minnesota, three in New Mexico, two each in Michigan, Nebraska, and Wisconsin, and one each in Arizona, California, Kansas and Washington. Of these tribal colleges and universities, 24 are community colleges and offer the associate's degree and technical and vocational certificates, six offer bachelor’s degrees and two offer master's degrees. In light of the tribes' federal sovereign status, however, tribal colleges and universities receive barely, if any, state funds. Therefore, they are primarily dependent on federal assistance for their core operating expenses through oversight by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

The majority of tribal colleges and universities are located on isolated Indian reservations. As a result, most of them have small enrollments, often less than 1,000 students. While smaller classes allow these tribal colleges to offer more individualized teaching, they also struggle with limited resources in part due to their smaller enrollments. As of 1994 tribal colleges served approximately 15,000 full-and part-time students according to the National Center for Education Statistics. The average age of tribal college students has become younger in recent years, from 30 down to 27, as students are choosing with greater frequency to enroll directly in a tribal college after graduation from high school. The majority of students are more likely to come from families with lower levels of educational attainment and are often first-generation college students. Many students also receive some form of federal financial aid.

To help overcome these economic and educational barriers, tribal colleges offer their students opportunities for self-determination and academic and career success. This is done through an array of diverse, comprehensive, academic and technical course offerings; a culturally built curriculum that incorporates native values, beliefs and customs and a variety of academic and student support services. Another important characteristic is that at least 30 percent of the faculty are Native American and Alaska Natives as compared to less than 1 percent of all faculty at all other public postsecondary institutions. This gives students native role models and mentors, some of whom are tribal elders, who bring cultural awareness, sensitivity and specific expertise to the classroom. As native faculty, they also have a greater understanding of students' academic and personal situations.

Tribal colleges and universities remain seriously underfunded compared to the varied support received by mainstream higher education institutions. This will continue to be the case as these institutions increase in number and compete among themselves for the limited resources available to them. A shortage of funds already has led to poorer facilities due to delayed building maintenance and construction, limited classroom materials and laboratory equipment, few on-campus residence halls for students and poorly paid administrators, faculty and staff.