Oregon Tribal Student Grant to stop unfair treatment of Indigenous people

Posted Nov. 1, 2022

By Jayden Starr

Cub Reporter

The Oregon Tribal Student Grant has been established by the State of Oregon to stop the unfair treatment towards the Indigenous communities’ education.

Representatives recently noticed the inequality towards Indigenous students' ability to get an education, and decided to tackle the problem. These representatives decided these Indigenous communities have been working hard enough, deserving education like other civilians.

Indigenous communities who have worked in favor regarding businesses, never owned the businesses or owned their own business, due to unfair treatment towards the community. This goes for other communities, too.

Oregon lawmakers have administered $19 million towards the Oregon Tribal Student Grant for Indigenous students during the 2022-2023 school year who are attending/going to attend university or college. This grant applies to Indigenous communities, there’s other grants for other communities, due to each state having different grants.

There’s an application for students who’re native to the nine federally recognized tribes in Oregon. These tribes will be able to obtain the education they deserve. The benefits regarding the Oregon Tribal Student Grant towards Indigenous communities is the community being included and meeting other students from other communities who have unique perspectives about the world.

The nine federally recognized Oregon tribes who are eligible to apply for this grant:

• Burns Paiute Tribe.

• Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians.

• Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde.

• Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians.

• Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.

• Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs.

• Coquille Indian Tribe.

• Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians.

• Klamath Tribes.

Students also have to be enrolled or be accepted into a Oregon university or college and submit a FAFSA or ORSAA for the 2022-2023 school year. The universities that are accepting this grant are listed at List of Participating Schools.

This education grant will unfortunately be funded for the 2022-2023 academic years until Oregon’s legislature renews the grant for any further academic years to come, which includes the academic years of 2023-2024. This is based on the funds for the grant and how the grant turns out.

The education grant helps cover the usual cost concerning attendance, tuition, and funding for tribal students who are attending/are going to attend university or college. Tribal students are allowed to apply for the grant in the fall, but if they’re not able to, they're allowed to apply during the winter or spring terms. So far, around 450 tribal students have applied for the education grant.

The USA was built upon a prosperity concept called ‘The American Dream.’ Unfortunately, that prosperity concept wasn’t a reality for multiple communities. The USA had a history regarding civilians not considering the education for People of Color and Indigenous communities.

An example of the prosperity concept not being reality could be a young student who attends a well funded highschool in a safe neighborhood, a local community college nearby, and resources that influenced their ability to obtain a higher education, then that student's chances peculiar to being accepted into university and receiving scholarships or grants towards their education, are much higher than those belonging to other communities.

Citizens who were allowed to own property and establish businesses, weren’t allowed to be People of Color or Indigenous communities until around the year of 2020. There’s multiple citizens who expect heritage within specific communities, compared to others, whose ancestors were focused upon survival and couldn't establish authorized businesses consequent to themselves, due to fear regarding harassment, sabotage, or death.

There’s too many neighborhoods that aren't receiving enough funding for their communities' accessibility to social services, resources, funding for educational tools, sufficient educators, etc. These students most likely had unique circumstances within their households that affected them, along with their capability to focus upon their studies. Rather than focusing upon building themselves a future, they focused upon survival.

It’s unfair for those students to be excluded in distinction to scholarships or financial assistance, due to their inability to participate in volunteering organizations, being involved within their campus, or within their communities.

There’s situations where students had to focus more upon keeping jobs to assist their family amidst bills, perhaps they had to babysit or raise their siblings. It’d affect their grades, stress levels, and focus upon studies.

If a student manages to keep their grades up, and is willing and ready to approach the challenge regarding higher education, they should be encouraged to do so without extra stress due to debt. The experiences in different households vary, some individuals had relatives staying in their houses, others had to juggle their school life with their work life and house life.

Some students had to be raised in a rough environment, deal with loved ones disencouraging them, and relatives/friends not being there for them. Certain communities perhaps had to switch schools due to their family often moving houses/apartments regarding job offers, making the students start over, and find new friends.

These education grants make life easier for these communities, giving them a chance to focus upon what they desire for their future. It makes these communities’ worlds brighter and less depressing, relieving the stress peculiar to paying certain amounts of money towards universities for each term.

The perspectives about the world and life itself vary differently based upon the student. Some individuals may view the world being cruel and hateful, but others may view the world being problem-solving or perfect. When these communities have the chance to meet other communities and learn amongst others, it helps them grow.

Meeting new communities helps how individuals go amidst their day. When these communities have the chance to learn these views and perspectives, they can go back to their communities and allow their community to learn what they learned.

The community learns via what their own communities learn from their folk and other communities alongside them, having them grow their character, grow their communities’ character, and receive a better understanding related to the world around them.

Individuals may never consider other students' experiences, but when they learn about their experiences, they realize the differences in distinction to their own experiences. Meeting others who have these unique experiences and perspectives about the world can help an individual view the world differently than how they did before.

“Never give up on your dreams. There is support. There is hope. There are people who care and want to help you achieve your dreams,” Career Center Assistant, Tiara Primus said. “You are not going through this journey alone. We can, will, and are more than capable of assisting you be the best version of you. Let us.”

If students realize they're growing within an environment that'll support them, they're willing to leap for the stars. Individuals leap higher when they know there's a net to catch and support them when they approach their life goals.

Individuals don’t have to overwork themselves as they did before the grant was established. The education grant allows these communities to make a name for themselves, prioritize professional development, and studies. University shouldn't be a pain to enroll into, these communities have been judged, have worked way too hard, deserve to be accepted into college.

Studying should be more than enough work. These communities shouldn't have to suffer from sleep deprivation at 19 years old. It’s difficult for these students to study if they’re often overwhelmed along with being in an exhausted mental state.

It serves to benefit all communities if there’s an assurance belonging to ‘There’s individuals who will protect and support another individual if they take a leap of faith into their future, the community they reside in will catch them and won't permit them to fall.’

For further information, please visit the Oregon Tribal Student Grant Website or if students who are going into university or college for the 2022-2023 years, and considering applying, please visit the Application online.