Scholarships For Native American Students
Every year, the American government sets aside millions of dollars for Scholarships for Native American students and individuals for many reasons. It can be for college tuition, starting a business or even building a home. There are student loans for Native Americans which they can obtain for studying purposes or even just starting a business.
You can actually find helpful information about financial aid programs for Native Americans at these sites:
Native American Direct Loan Program for Veterans
Native American Scholarships and Grants
There is a wide selection of Native American grants available for registered American Indian tribal members. There are Native American grants for education, housing, caring for elderly tribal members, cultural renewal, environmental protection, and tribal economic development. And that’s just to name a few!
The first step to applying for these grants or scholarships is to produce a certificate or show evidence that you are indeed from a line of Native Americans. If you are not sure if you are a member or if you are eligible for tribal membership, contact your ancestral tribe or go to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) Tribal Leaders Directory because they lists all federally recognized tribes, as well as contact information for local tribal leaders and BIA offices. Once you got this underway, you are one step closer to getting that scholarship.
If you search the internet you will be amazed at how many supporters Native Americans have in terms of money for education and personal purposes that are necessary to build a life. One example of this is the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1966 which created a block grant that gives money annually to low-income Native Americans to help them with their lives. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) also are able to provide home ownership and housing rehabilitation opportunities available specifically for Native Americans.
The Seva Foundation, which awards grant money anywhere from $500-$5,000 for grass roots or native people initiated programs. In truth, Seva awards $50,000 annualy in small grants to urban and rural communities in the US; this includes Native Americans as well. The good thing about the Seva grant is that it is specifically created for native led and initiated projects. They only accept Native Americans as beneficiaries too.
Another resource you can use is CodeTalk, which is an interagency with Native American website designed specifically to deliver information from government agencies and other organizations to Native American communities. If you do your research well, there are hundreds more scholarships for Native American students. You just need to look and be determined. You can be also eligible for other types of scholarship that has nothing to do with your ethnicity. Just make sure you have a good GPA to show.
