Walt Lamar: Get behind the American Indian Graduate Center

Back in the late 1960s tribes were looking for ways to get their voices heard in Washington and in their states. Robert Bennett, the first Director of the American Indian Law Center, a lawyer and member of the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin who had been the Commissioner of Indian Affairs in the Johnson Administration, recognized a need for more tribal members to get graduate educations so they could effectively implement change for our people. Together with John Rainier of Taos Pueblo, they planted the seeds of the “American Indian Scholarships” organization that eventually became the American Indian Graduate Center (AIGC).

AIGC has become an essential resource for students seeking higher education, using over 90% of its funds directly for student services and scholarships. A partnership with the Gates Millennium Scholars program through the United Negro College Fund has allowed AIGC through its counterpart AIGCS (Scholars), Inc., to support undergraduate studies as well. Inclusion of AIGC in the recent settlement from the Cobell trust fund has the potential to add the equivalent of $12 million to AIGC's endowment. However, the much-appreciated addition is not immediately available; in fact, it may take up to 10 years to reach the intended amount.

Twelve million dollars doesn't go as far as it used to, though—at current prices, that would cover 600 master's degrees or 80 medical degrees. Right now, 13 percent of Native Americans earn a college education, compared to 30% for the rest of the country. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 1.5 million of the approximate 5.2 million Native Americans are 18 and under. Even if only 13 percent of those kids pursue a college education, that's 200,000 young Native Americans who will strive to earn an undergraduate degree without crippling themselves or their family with debt. Put that way, the Cobell settlement is clearly just a drop in the bucket. Even the $1.6 billion Gates Millennium Scholars program only expects to fund 1,000 hardworking students a year. Fifteen percent of those are American Indian or Alaska Native community members who apply through AIGC Scholars, which makes about 150 new awards annually.