Cutting tribal college funding a threat to learning culture, self-determination, graduates say

FORT YATES, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) – New graduates of Sitting Bull College said proposed funding cuts to tribal colleges could mean losing schools where tribal citizens are best able to thrive.

At the college, Lakota traditions are part of everyday life, said Deanna Milda, who on Thursday graduated with a bachelor’s degree in social work.

Students participate in smudging ceremonies, learn traditional songs and take classes where the Lakota language is integrated into the curriculum, she said.

“We’re able to normalize our culture again and not feel othered,” said Milda, one of roughly 80 Sitting Bull College students to walk the stage. Many students wore beaded graduation caps.

Milda, who spent most of her childhood living on the Standing Rock Reservation, said attending the college allowed her to stay connected with her family and her community.

Schools like Sitting Bull College depend on federal subsidies for a large part of their budgets. The U.S. government provides this funding as part of its treaty obligations to support tribal nations.

The federal government is considering slashing this support, however.

The Department of Interior has proposed cutting more than $150 million in funding for tribal higher education for the 2027 budget year.

It’s the second year in a row that the federal government has proposed downsizing its support for tribal colleges and universities.

Dallas Goldtooth, a writer, actor and activist, delivered the ceremony’s commencement address.

Sitting Bull College isn’t just a school, said Goldtooth, who is of Mdewakanton Dakota and Dine heritage. “It is an act of sovereignty.”

Sitting Bull College was founded in 1973 by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s council. Leaders wanted tribal citizens to have the opportunity to pursue college degrees in the community.

The establishment of Sitting Bull College and other tribal colleges was an important step in tribes’ ongoing pursuit of self-determination, Goldtooth said.

“Sitting Bull College was not supposed to exist — but it exists because this tribal nation decided to invest in it,” he said.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, North Dakota’s former governor, was questioned this week by a congressional committee about the proposed cuts to tribal colleges and universities.

Burgum called the amount the federal government is spending per student at some tribal colleges “way out of whack.”

“I’m not sure we’re giving a high-quality experience,” he added.

Burgum said other schools are providing good educations to a large number of Native students without the same kind of subsidies from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He pointed to Arizona State University, which as of 2025 had more than 3,000 Native students, as one example.

During Sitting Bull College’s ceremony, student speaker Jalyssa McLaughlin said small tribal colleges offer support that larger schools can’t. She graduated with an associate degree in business administration.

At Sitting Bull College, classes are small, so instructors are able to form closer relationships with students, she said. McLaughlin said teachers there notice when students are struggling and need extra help.

“If I was to go to another college, I wouldn’t have gotten that,” she said.

Reach North Dakota Monitor reporter Mary Steurer at msteurer@northdakotamonitor.com