Tribal Colleges & Universities

Iḷisaġvik College was formed 1996 under the authority of Title 8 Chapter 2 of the North Slope Borough Code in recognition of the importance of education to the sustained self-determination and local control for its people. In 2005, Iñupiat Community of the Arctic Slope officially authorized Iḷisaġvik College to become a Tribal College in accordance with the Tribally Controlled Community College Assistance Act of 1978.

Programs of study:
Dental Assistant, Data Analysis, Construction Technology, Business Administration, and more.

Diné College is a public institution of higher education chartered by the Navajo Nation in 1968. Originally called Navajo Community College, Diné College was the nation’s first Tribally chartered college. The institution has a main campus in Tsaile, Arizona and seven community-based campuses throughout Arizona and New Mexico.

Programs of study:
Education, Fine Arts, Legal Studies, Public Health, Geographic Information Systems, and more.

In 1998, the Tohono O’odham Nation chartered Tohono O’odham Community College in Sells, Arizona. The College was established to serve the residents of the Tohono O’odham Nation and nearby communities, with the critical goals of preparing students to contribute to the social, political, and economic needs of the Tohono O’odham Nation and the world and preserving the O’odham Himdag (cultural way of life).

Programs of study:
Early Childhood Education, Culinary Arts, Social Service, Digital Media, Business Administration, and more.

Chartered: 2014
San Carlos Apache College (SCAC)—the first Apache-controlled institution of higher education—is a visionary concept rooted in “Go’zhoo” (Spiritual) values and traditional culture of the “N’nee” (Apache word for The People) of the San Carlos Apache Tribe was chartered by the Tribe in 2014. SCAC operates as an accredited site of Tohono O’odham Community College.

Programs of study:
Substance Abuse and Addiction Studies, Liberal Arts, Business Management, and more.

In 2017, the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians chartered CINC to educate and empower Native American students with a culturally relevant curriculum that integrates Native culture, history, and language. With 25 Tribes within a 60-mile radius, CINC administration, faculty, and staff educate, strengthen, and empower our students.

California Tribal College, chartered in 2015 with support from more than 70 California Tribal governments, CTC has been working strategically with education experts and Tribal leaders for more than five years to lay the foundation for an enduring educational institution to serve the needs of Native students.

Haskell Indian Nations University operates under the auspices of the Bureau of Indian Education since 1884. Originally an Indian Boarding School that instructed elementary students, in about 1935 Haskell began to evolve into a post high school, vocational-technical institutional graduating the last high school class in 1965.

Programs of study:
Elementary Education, Environmental Sciences, Business Administration, and more.

Bay Mills Community College (BMCC) is located on the southeastern shore of Lake Superior was chartered in 1984 by the Bay Mills Indian Community and is Michigan’s first fully accredited Tribally controlled college. BMCC meets the educational needs of a wide variety of students through its remote, rural Main Campus, West Campus, Waishkey Bay Farm site, off-campus sites, and online courses.

Programs of study:
Early Childhood Education, Computer Information Systems, Criminal Justice – Corrections, Paramedic, and more.

KBOCC was chartered by the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community on July 12, 1975, founded upon the idea that American Indian students, as members of sovereign nations, deserved an educational system responsive to their needs and concerns. The College creates an academic environment rich in Ojibwa culture to foster understanding of Native American beliefs while promoting and preserving the customs of the Ojibwa people.

Programs of study:
Health Science, Environmental Science, Culinary Arts, Business Administration, and more.

In 1998, Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Council adopted a resolution to establish a Tribally controlled college and formed a governing board of regents in order to increase access to higher education and to expand educational and career opportunities for the Tribal community. The establishment of SCTC was an important step in an educational empowerment process to preserve and maintain the Saginaw Chippewa Tribal culture.

Programs of study: General Science, Native American Studies, Liberal Arts, and Business.

Founded in 1990 to serve the Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) people of the Leech Lake Indian Reservation, LLTC offers postsecondary education grounded in the language, history, and culture of the Anishinaabe.

Programs of study: Indigenous Leadership, Residential Carpentry, Law Enforcement, Early Childhood Education, and more.

Red Lake Nation College was chartered by the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians in 2001 to provide higher education opportunities for tribal members living on and near the Red Lake reservation. RLNC recently opened a branch of the college in Minneapolis.

Programs of study: Social and Behavioral Sciences, Liberal Education

White Earth Tribal and Community College (WETCC) was established on September 9, 1997, by the White Earth Tribal Council. On October 7, 1997, in a two-room humble building in downtown Mahnomen, Minnesota the White Earth Tribal and Community College opened its doors to fourteen Tribal students. WETCC continued to grow over the years and various buildings in downtown Mahnomen were used to house classrooms.

Programs of study: Liberal Arts, Court Advocacy, Office Administration, and Ojibwe Language.

Aaniiih Nakoda College (ANC) is a Tribally controlled college located on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation in northcentral Montana. The college was chartered in 1984 by the Fort Belknap Indian Community Council (FBICC), which serves as the governing body of the Aaniinen (White Clay People, also known as Gros Ventre) and Nakoda (Assiniboine) nations of the Fort Belknap reservation.

Programs of study: Aaniiih Nakoda Ecology, American Indian Studies, Business, Education, Nursing, Industrial Trades, and more.

In October 1974, the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council chartered the Blackfeet Community College by Executive Action to "…provide post-secondary and higher educational services…" to the residents of the Blackfeet Nation and surrounding communities. The Blackfeet tribe took advantage of programs developed from the Indian Education Act of 1972 and the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 to provide adult education.

Programs of study: Elementary Education, Pre-Engineering, Business Management, Legal Studies, Nursing, and more.

Chartered in 1975 by the Northern Cheyenne Tribal Council, CDKC is in the community of Lame Deer, on the 445,000-acre Northern Cheyenne Reservation in southeastern Montana. Accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, the college offers affordable, quality educational opportunities to residents of the Northern Cheyenne Reservation and surrounding communities.

Programs of study: Agriculture/Animal Science, Environmental Sciences, Human Services, Pre-Medical/Pre-Pharmacy, and more.

Chartered by the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes in 1978, FPCC’s mission is to serve the people of the reservation by providing educational opportunities and community service. FPCC’s philosophy is based on the belief that the opportunity for higher education must be provided locally.

Programs of study: Education, Environmental Science, Social Work, Criminal Justice, Welding, Automotive, and more.

Salish Kootenai College is a tribally controlled college chartered in 1977 under the sovereign governmental authority of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. The mission of SKC is to provide quality postsecondary educational opportunities for American Indians, locally and from throughout the United States.

Programs of study: Dental Assisting, Forestry, Hydrology, Business Management, Social Work, Tribal Governance and Administration, and more.

LBHC is a public two-year community college chartered by the Crow Tribe of Indians in 1980. The College is in heart of the Crow Indian Reservation in south central Montana. The College facility has 35,000 square feet of educational space situated on two acres of wooded river valley.

Programs of study: Pre-Medicine/Pre-Nursing, Human Services, Highway Construction, Early Childhood Education, and more.

SCC is an accredited Tribal community college located on the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation in north central Montana, chartered by the Chippewa Cree Business Committee on May 17, 1984. Tribal leaders acknowledged that the establishment of a Tribal community college was necessary for the preservation and maintenance of the Chippewa Cree culture and history, Cree language, and the education and training of the Tribal members.

Programs of study: Rural Public Health, Early Childhood Education, Studio Arts, Building Trades, and more.

Little Priest Tribal College, named after Little Priest, the last true war chief of the Ho-Chunk (Winnebago) people, was chartered by the Winnebago Tribal Council in 1996 to provide quality education for members of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska.

Programs of study: Certified Nursing Assistant, Biology, Business, Teacher Education, and more.

In 1979, following the enactment of the Tribally Controlled Community College Assistance Act, Nebraska Indian Community College established itself as a fully independent two-year college chartered by the governments of three Nebraska Indian Tribes; Omaha Tribe of Nebraska, Santee Dakota Nation, Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska.

Programs of study: Business Administration, Carpentry, Human Services, Pre-Nursing, and more.

Established in 1962 by Executive Order of President John F. Kennedy, the Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts Development was first a high school with a revolutionary approach to arts education. Now, sixty years later, it is the only fine arts college in the world dedicated to the study of contemporary Native American and Alaskan Native arts.

Programs of study: Creative Writing, Broadcast Journalism, Museum Studies, Performing Arts, and more.

Navajo Technical University, formerly Crownpoint Institute of Technology and Navajo Technical College, was chartered in 1979 by the Navajo Nation with a mission of committing to offering quality technical, vocational, and academic degrees and community education in a student-oriented, hands-on learning environment based on the Diné (Navajo) Philosophy of Education

Programs of study: Nursing Assistant, Environmental Sciences, Information Technology, Advanced Manufacturing, Electrical/Mechanical/Industrial Engineering and more.

Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is a community college, funded through the Bureau of Indian Education, United States Department of the Interior. SIPI was established in 1971 at the request of the All-Indian Pueblo Council and other federally recognized tribes to help train American Indian and Alaskan Natives for jobs.

Programs of study: Vision Care Technology, Pre-Engineering, Computer Aided Drafting and Design, Culinary Arts, Business, and more.

Cankdeska Cikana Community College (originally Little Hoop College) was chartered in 1974 by the Spirit Lake Dakota Nation. CCCC provides opportunities that lead to student independence and self-sufficiency through academic achievement and continuation of the Spirit Lake Dakota language and culture.

Programs of study: Pre-Engineering, Fine Arts, Natural Resource Management, Carpentry and more.

Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College was chartered by the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation in New Town, North Dakota. The Three Affiliated Tribes agreed that a local higher education institution was needed to train Tribal members and to function as a positive influence in retaining the Tribal cultures.

Programs of study: Elementary Education, Pre-Engineering, Sustainable Energy Technology, Equine Studies, and more.

In 1973, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Council chartered Sitting Bull College, formerly Standing Rock Community College. Its mission establishes it as "an academic and technical institution committed to improving the levels of education and training, economic and social development of the people it serves while promoting responsible behavior consistent with Lakota/Dakota culture and language."

Programs of study: Elementary Education, Criminal Justice, Business Administration, Building Trades, Practical Nursing, and more.

Turtle Mountain College, a quality higher education institution, was chartered to the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians in November 1972. TMC is located ten miles from the Canadian border in the wooded, hilly, lake-abundant area in north central North Dakota known as the Turtle Mountains.

Programs of study: Elementary Education, Ojibwa Language, Cyber Defense, Business Administration, and more.

UTTC was chartered in Bismarck, North Dakota, in 1969 by the United Tribes of North Dakota Development Corporation and serves the five Tribal nations located entirely or in-part of North Dakota: Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate, Spirit Lake Nation, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, Three Affiliated Tribes (Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation) of the Fort Berthold Reservation, and Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa.

Programs of study: Elementary Education, Fisheries and Wildlife Biology, Paralegal, Business Administration, and more.

The College of the Muscogee Nation was created by an act of the Muscogee Nation Council in 2004. Located in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, the capital of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, the college was organized to serve Muscogee Nation Tribal members and residents.

Programs of study: Natural Resources, Gaming, Criminal Justice, and more.

Oglala Lakota College, chartered by the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council in 1971, Oglala Sioux Tribe serves the Pine Ridge Reservation, which has a population of about 26,000 and covers 3,468 square miles in southwestern South Dakota.

Programs of study: Elementary Education, Business Administration, Lakota Studies, Nursing, and more.

Sinte Gleska University was founded in 1971 on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in south-central South Dakota, home to the Sicangu (Burnt Thigh). SGU provides profound programs to preserve and teach Tribal culture, history, and language and to seek innovative and effective strategies to address the myriad of social and economic concerns confronting the Sicangu Lakota Oyate

Programs of study: Human Services, Art, Business Management, Building Trades, Licensed Practical Nurse, and more.

Sisseton Wahpeton College was chartered in 1979 by the Tribal council of the Sisseton Wahpeton Sioux Tribe. The College serves communities on and surrounding the 105,000-acre Lake Traverse Reservation in northeastern South Dakota, home to the Sisseton and Wahpeton bands of the Dakota people.

Programs of study: Behavioral Science, Early Childhood Development, Multi-Media Technology, Culinary Food Science, and more.

In 1983, the Lummi Indian Business Council recognized the need for a more comprehensive institution to serve the postsecondary educational needs of Indian people living in the Pacific Northwest and chartered the Lummi Community College. In 1989, in acknowledgment of its wider mandate, Lummi Community College became Northwest Indian College.

Programs of study: Business and Entrepreneurship, Museum Studies, Casino Management, Tribal Governance, and more.

The Menominee Tribal Legislature chartered the College of Menominee Nation (CMN) in 1993 to serve Menominee and surrounding residents in northeastern Wisconsin. The college provides opportunities in higher education infused with American Indian culture and prepares students for careers and advanced studies in a multicultural world.

Programs of study: Public Administration, Geosciences, Digital Media, Education, and more.

Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe was founded by the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians in 1982 to serve the Tribe and the local Hayward community. The college maintains an open-door policy with both traditional and non-traditional students attending. Smaller class sizes lead to more individualized attention and support; the student-to-faculty ratio is consistently ten-to-one.

Programs of study: Biology, Agriculture & Natural Resource Management, Small Business, Human Services, and more.