Creating more opportunities for college-bound Cherokees

The Cherokee Nation this year funded a record number of tribal citizens to attend college and pursue their dream of higher education. In the fall semester, our Education Department awarded 4,167 scholarships to Cherokees, and all of those students who reapplied and qualified for a scholarship were offered a $2,000 scholarship this spring semester.

 

A fact that we can all be proud of is this: There are more Cherokee students pursuing a higher education than ever in our tribal history. Personal opportunities for expanded education lift our entire tribe; they mean better jobs and create healthier, stronger families.

 

Another growing segment in our higher education population is the number of concurrent enrollees in our area high schools. We started helping Cherokee high school juniors and seniors with college classes in the fall of 2013. The number of youth taking advantage of this assistance has almost doubled from the 215 students we started with three short years ago. These are high-schoolers who are either graduating early or have scored high enough on their ACT and have a GPA that warrants college classes. We cover the tuition, books and fees for the qualified applicants.

 

Cherokee Nation has stepped up its scholarships for these youth, as state education budgets have constricted. It is another example of how our tribal government is stepping in to fill the education gaps in northeast Oklahoma. We have made our youth a priority. It is not fair to them that the state’s funding for education prohibits them from fulfilling their dreams. We have some motivated students who have taken advantage of the increased opportunities and will begin their college career with 30 hours of credit already complete.

 

Not one Cherokee who applied and qualified has been denied the opportunity to pursue a higher education. With so many talented and educated citizens, it bodes well for the future of our tribe.

 

The tribe’s budget for these scholarship programs is more than $13 million this year, and the bulk of that funding is collected from the tribe’s motor fuels tax funds. Cherokee Nation College Resources is the department that manages all of the tribe’s scholarships, and it actively communicates with schools throughout the 14 counties to help students understand and apply for a wide variety of scholarships. For more information on Cherokee Nation scholarships, call 918-453-5465.