'Well, hallelujah': University of California to offer free tuition for Native American students
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In a state with more than 100 federally recognized tribes, the University of California system announced earlier this month that it will be offering Native American students free tuition and fees. The students must be in-state residents and belong to federally recognized Native American, American Indian, or Alaska Native tribes, according to a letter system President Michael Drake wrote chancellors of the University of California campuses.
“The University of California is committed to recognizing and acknowledging historical wrongs endured by Native Americans,” Drake wrote. “I am proud of the efforts the University has made to support the Native American community, including the creation of the UC Native American Opportunity Plan, and appreciate our conversations to date on all the ways in which we can better support Native American students.”
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The free tuition offering will be funded through a combination of state and university financial aid programs, and it will launch this upcoming fall, Drake wrote.
There are about 500 undergraduate students and 160 graduate students who meet the funding requirement of being California residents and members of federally recognized tribes, according to The Los Angeles Times.
But there are also more than 50 tribes that are not federally recognized. For those students, the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria (FIGR) announced that it would be providing the University of California system with a $2.5-million scholarship.
“In the spirit of our ancestors we are driven to take care of our environment and our people,” FIGR Tribal Chairman Greg Sarris said in a statement the Times obtained. “Inclusivity is our responsibility and we’re pleased to extend scholarships to California Native Americans from non-federally recognized tribes.”
Clyde Hodge, a former president of the California Indian Education Association from the Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma, praised the system funding decision. “Well, hallelujah,” he told NBC-affiliated KCRA. “We’ve been thinking that was a good idea for California natives for a long, long time. To open that up to all the federally recognized tribes is a long-needed thing.”