North Dakota tribal college presidents tighten budgets amid federal funding worries

BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) — Presidents of North Dakota’s tribal colleges say they’re preparing for lean years under President Donald Trump’s administration.

Tribal colleges and universities faced a major funding scare earlier this year after the White House proposed slashing the Bureau of Indian Education’s budget by 90%, Indian Country Today reported. The bureau supports dozens of higher ed institutions serving Native communities across the country, including five in North Dakota.

Both chambers of Congress have since indicated they will keep the funding intact, meaning that the college presidents no longer expect any drastic budget disruptions.

Still, they said they plan to tighten their belts for the time being.

Twyla Baker, president of Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College, said her institution has had to make difficult decisions in light of the uncertainty — including eliminating some positions.

“I know that my facilities budget is so razor thin,” Baker said during a Wednesday panel discussion at the Tribal Leaders Summit at the Bismarck Event Center. “Nothing better break, because it’s going to be bubble gum and duct tape going forward from here.”

She likened the funding situation to a “shell game.” She said even though Congress is expected to approve the Bureau of Indian Education funding, Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College stands to lose out on money from grants from other sources. The college is scrambling to fill in the gaps, Baker said.

Turtle Mountain Community College President Wanda Parisien said her school had $133,000 from the National Science Foundation cut.

For now, the college hasn’t had any other funding pulled, she said.

Russ McDonald, president of United Tribes Technical College, speaks about the impact of federal funding disruptions at the Tribal Leaders Summit on Sept. 3, 2025, at the Bismarck Event Center. (Photo by Mary Steurer/North Dakota Monitor)

“We’re crossing our fingers and hoping that everything stays that way,” Parisien said.

The college presidents stressed that their institutions are major economic drivers for their communities, and provide affordable education to many low-income and first-generation students. Defunding their schools will negatively affect the whole state, they said.

Several presidents also noted that the funding disruption comes at a time when their enrollment has gone up.

They also pointed to a recent impact study that found that for the 2022-2023 fiscal year, North Dakota’s tribal college system brought in almost $170 million to the state’s economy. That equated to roughly 2,100 jobs, according to the report.

“Some in-county students would have left Rolette County for other educational opportunities, if not for TMCC,” Parisien said.

North Dakota’s tribal colleges were established in the late 1960s and early 1970s to serve the five tribal communities that share land with the state. They play a central role in preserving the history, cultures and languages of the tribes, in addition to providing other post-secondary education.

“We need all the states that tribal colleges reside in to know the value of what it is that they have,” Baker said. “This is a good value, and it makes no sense whatsoever to cut funding for tribal colleges across the board.”

Russ McDonald, president of United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck, said that his school is also being conservative with its budget amid the federal funding changes. He said all tribal colleges and universities should be prepared to streamline their finances, but that he doesn’t think there’s a reason to panic.

“We’re going to be all right,” McDonald said. “We’ve been here before as tribal peoples — we’re resilient.”

North Dakota Monitor reporter Mary Steurer can be reached at msteurer@northdakotamonitor.com.