American Indian College Fund

In the wake of the civil rights and American Indian self-determination movements of the 1960s, tribal leaders realized they would have to take control of the direction of education in order to reverse centuries of misguided and failed federal education policies.

In 1968, the Navajo Nation created a first-of-its-kind educational institution - a college controlled by the tribe, located on the reservation and established specifically to provide higher education to tribal members. With that monumental event, the tribal college movement was born. Since then, the number of tribal colleges and universities has grown to 32, located in 11 states and serving more than 250 American Indian Nations from every geographic region in the United States.

Tribal colleges are beacons of hope for social and economic change in the communities they serve. These institutions are vital to Native America and beneficial to the country as a whole because they help Native communities in the fight against poverty. At the same time, tribal colleges preserve language and culture by integrating these important elements into their curriculum.

Check out their website here: http://www.collegefund.org/about/history.html