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Read Ceilidh Kern’s full reporting here: Federal cuts would be ‘death knell’ for North Dakota tribal colleges, campus presidents say
North Dakota’s tribal colleges are facing an existential threat as a proposed 75% reduction in federal funding could force schools to shutter their operations, according to campus leaders.
Freelance journalist Ceilidh Kern investigated the systemic funding crisis for the North Dakota Monitor. In her reporting, she found that schools like United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck depend on federal dollars for the majority of their funding–for UTTC, that funding accounts for roughly 70% of their budget.
Kern reports 2025 federal spending sat at $196 million nationally, and a $150 million cut, as proposed, would leave schools with few options.
When asked what “day one” of these cuts would look like, Kern painted a grim picture.
“To be honest with you, they’d have to begin preparing to close. UTTC’s president, Russ McDonald, said that they might have enough money in reserves to get them through, you know, one more school year. But yeah, these cuts would mark the end for these colleges that rely so much on federal funding to continue their operations.”
The recent threat of closure comes on top of a long history of systemic underfunding. Kern cites a ProPublica investigation that revealed current federal per-student funding sits at just under $8,700, whereas if the government had followed through with adjustments for inflation as agreed upon, those colleges would receive closer to $40,000 per student today. This adds up to a $250 million annual shortchange.
“These schools have already been tightening their belts for a long time. Historic underfunding has meant they’ve had to put things like competitive pay or facility maintenance on the back burner. Questions about the future of TCU funding–over the past couple of years specifically–have driven them to not launch new initiatives or programs out of fear that they would need that money later,” Kern says.
For Indigenous leaders, this proposal is a direct violation of the “trust responsibility,” as legal and historical treaties forged between tribal nations and the United States government included the guarantee of education.
In Kern’s reporting, Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College President Twyla Baker said that Native nations already “prepaid [for this education] with the land this country occupies.”
“When I asked a few different college presidents about this issue of historic underfunding and its impact on their schools, I was met with sighs. They said that their institutions have been underfunded, and that they’ve had to make hard budgeting decisions as a result of that, and had to get really creative with trying to find funding from other sources. They also expressed frustration with the fact that a certain level of funding was promised to them under the law, and they’ve never seen that promise fulfilled,” Kern says.
Despite these extreme limitations, the successes of tribal colleges remain undeniable. A system-wide economic study found that North Dakota’s tribal colleges inject nearly $170 million into the state’s economy in a single year.
“I asked one of the presidents about what full funding under the law would mean for her college. She said that given tribal colleges success and achievements with this limited funding, you know, with full funding–I have a quote here–[she said,] ‘I can only imagine what we would be able to do.'”
Tribal colleges and universities offer important perspectives for students, along with resources that support growth in small communities. Kern’s sources indicated that while these schools not only grow the state’s economy, “they provide an essential service by teaching these students in their own communities and incorporating tribal culture into their teaching,” Kern says. They also secure access to opportunities for education and jobs in rural communities that may not exist otherwise.
It’s important to note that anyone can attend a tribal college, but the cultural component is what makes them special. Kern adds that Cynthia Lindquist, former president of Cankdeska Cikana Community College, said that these schools reinforce students’ identity and remind them of the vital role Native Americans have played in this country’s success.
Uncertainty remains on whether Congress will step in to override the administration’s budget proposal, as they did last year.
Read Ceilidh Kern’s full reporting here: Federal cuts would be ‘death knell’ for North Dakota tribal colleges, campus presidents say
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