Think Out Loud

New grant program aims to improve access to higher education for Oregon tribal members

By Julie Sabatier (OPB)
June 14, 2022 10:29 p.m.

Broadcast: Friday, June 17

The Oregon Tribal Student Grant program aims to help members of the nine federally recognized Native American tribes in Oregon who are attending eligible colleges or universities in the state. The grant will cover the costs of attendance beyond additional federal and state financial aid and can be used for tuition, housing, books and other expenses. The Oregon Legislature approved the program for one year. It’s unclear if it will continue after the 2022-2023 school year. At least 531 people have started applications, according to HECC. We hear from Sandy Henry, education director for the Cow Creek Band of the Umpqua Tribe of Indians and Ben Cannon, executive director of Oregon’s Higher Education Coordinating Commission, which administers the grant.

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Note: The following transcript was created by a computer and edited by a volunteer.

Jenn Chávez: From the Gert Boyle Studio at OPB, this is Think Out Loud. I’m Jenn Chávez, in for Dave Miller. Oregon State lawmakers have approved a new tribal grant program for Native students for the upcoming school year. The grant aims to help Oregon tribal members attending eligible colleges and universities in the state with the cost of tuition, housing, books and more. The funding is meant to supplement other federal and state financial aid and it has already generated lots of interest. The higher education coordinating commission says, as of Monday of this week, at least 531 students have already started applications. Joining me to talk more about the new Oregon Tribal Grant program is Sandy Henry, education director for the Cow Creek Band of the Umpqua Tribe of Indians. Sandy, thank you so much for being here.

Sandy Henry: Thank you, Jenn.

Chávez: Also joining us today is Ben Cannon, executive director of Oregon’s Higher Education Coordinating Commission, which will administer the grant. Ben, welcome to the show.

Ben Cannon: Thanks.

Chávez: So, Ben, let’s start with some of the basics about this program here. Who exactly is eligible for this new grant?

Cannon: Students are eligible for the grant if they are enrolled members of one of Oregon’s nine federally recognized tribes, and are attending a qualifying Oregon higher education institution. That may be one of our community colleges, one of our seven public universities, or any of our private independent colleges in the state of Oregon. They can be new students to those institutions or they can be continuing students. They can be undergraduates or graduates. So this is a pretty open ended program with wide eligibility for tribal students.

Chávez: And in terms of what things students can use the funds for, is this grant program different from others that the state offers?

Cannon: This program is pretty remarkable in the amount of college costs, college-related expenses that it covers. So unlike many state and federal grant programs that students may be familiar with that are primarily designed to support or defray the cost of college tuition, this program takes into account not only those costs, but also the costs associated with being a student, including housing, books, food, transportation and other living expenses. So the grants in this program are designed to really cover up to the entire cost of attendance for students, once those other non-tuition based costs are also included.

Chávez: Yeah, like I said, at least 531 people have already started applications to this program. How do you feel about the response you’ve seen so far? Are you surprised by the number of people who have applied?

Cannon: Well, that’s really terrific. And we are really grateful for the partnership that we have with Oregon’s tribes, which are working hard to get the word out to their members and support students, or prospective students, who are applying. So we’re excited that over 530 applications have begun. We think we’ll get quite a few more than that. And we’re again really appreciative of the tribes for their work to reach out to their members.

Chávez: And I know that your commission involved folks from all of Oregon’s nine federally recognized tribes to help design this grant program. And that includes Sandy Henry, who’s with us today. Before we get into the details of that process of working together, Sandy, I’m hoping you can give us some perspective from your work as an education director. Working with students, what are some of the greatest barriers or challenges you see them facing around higher education?

Henry: Well, we need to remember that a lot of these folks, these Native American students, are first-generation college students. And so there are some socioeconomic factors that create some barriers to even starting the process. So being able to talk with our students returning, or first time students, and saying, ‘I’ve got this great program that’s gonna take a lot of pressure off you and your family and it’s going to allow you to focus primarily on having a successful academic year’. That’s a huge gift to give our students right off the bat. And then when we start explaining, this means that it’s going to cover your housing, means that it’s gonna cover your food, transportation, all of it. This can cover all of it. You really do see people breathe a pretty big sigh of relief and think, ‘wow, okay, I can do this’. So we’re super tickled to be offering it to our tribal students.

Chávez: And we’re talking about some of the ability for this grant to take students’ minds off other things that may be causing them stress or anxiety about going to college, and be able to focus on their education. For some students, is this grant, for example, allowing them to go to school without having to have a job at the same time?

Henry: Exactly. A lot of our students are full-time employees and trying to go to school at the same time, and you can only imagine what it is to try to balance that academic and work life and be successful at both. So this is an opportunity for tribal folks to just really focus in, hone in on what it takes to be successful in academics. And maybe free up some time for them to be able to engage in some of the other benefits of going to higher education: those Native American student unions, those clubs and organizations that help foster networks so that when once you graduate from college, you can be successful. So I think there’s a lot of hidden benefits, and I don’t think we’re gonna realize what they all are until we’re at the other end of this year when our students give us feedback and say, ‘yeah, that was great’.

Chávez: Yeah. And your ongoing work with students as an education director, I’m wondering what types of higher education do you find that people are interested in pursuing?

Henry: You know, we have a lot of higher education folks that are going into more technical trade, a lot of health education, a lot of nursing students, a lot of folks that are going into the medical world, some part of that, whether it be administrative work or actually hands-on patient care. A lot of our students, are first time right out of high school, and so I think we need to give them just a little bit of grace to do some exploration.

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Chávez: I understand that as a former high school graduate myself. Ben, when HECC started to collaborate with tribal members in designing this grant program, what were your priorities to get out of that going into that process?

Cannon: We were looking for an approach to the program that would address the largest financial issues that tribal students face. And Sandy has spoken to some of the types of things that we heard from tribes. And we were also in our consultation with the tribes, attempting to understand how we could design a process, an application process and verification method that made the process of applying as simple and smooth as possible. Many Oregonians experience working with state government or local government or social services, as challenging, as complicated, even as intimidating. And so we wanted to, through consultation with the tribes, do everything we could to make this a low barrier program for tribal students to access. And one in which they would get a lot of support from tribal folks like Sandy, as well as the state agency. So that’s primarily what we were looking for.

Chávez: And what were some things that you perhaps found particularly interesting, or maybe that surprised you, about what tribal members had to say during this process?

Cannon: We heard overwhelming support from tribal representatives for the type of financial investment that the governor and ultimately the legislature envisioned and adopted through this program. We heard from tribal representatives also, a concern to ensure that a program like this is ongoing, that it isn’t just a one year investment in the part of the state, and then leaving students or their families or communities kind of up in the air about subsequent years. That’s a really important point. And it’s not a commitment that we yet have from the budget writers for the state of Oregon. We also heard, and it’s another important point, that the barriers that Native American students and many students face in post secondary education are not just financial. And so while this program I think is remarkable for the level of financial support that it will provide to tribal students – and we think it will make a big difference in their success – it doesn’t solve all of the challenges that tribal students face when they get to an Oregon college or university. And we have continuing work to do to support tribal students once they arrive or continue at our campuses.

Chávez: Absolutely. And I do want to get back to in just a minute that concern that you mentioned that I think I’ve heard as well, about the fact that so far this has only been approved for one school year. But I do want to ask before I get to that, what kind of changes did you make to the program that came as a result of input from Oregon tribal members in this process?

Cannon: Yeah, I think we definitely focused on the application process and verification process. Some of that was technical, making sure that we had the right systems, and points of contact with tribal governments, to ensure that we were appropriately setting up an easy to access low barrier application and verification process. And then again, I think the conversations that we had with tribal representatives just really reinforced how serious and significant this commitment we are making to tribal students is, and the importance of maintaining it going forward. So it affected the way that we are messaging around this program, particularly to legislators and others in the community who have the opportunity to impact whether this program is continued in the years to come.

Chávez: Got it. Absolutely. Sandy Henry, from your perspective, you’re someone who participated in this process. What level of influence do you feel like Oregon tribes had during the rulemaking process for this grant program?

Henry: I felt like we had a huge input. This program was put together very quickly, and oftentimes in that quick turnaround, there’s a failure to engage stakeholders. We were, as the nine tribes, were involved from start to finish and we were respected, we were listened to. I felt like we were really, really listened to.

Chávez: So you both mentioned that there were changes that were adopted that came from tribal members who took part. Sandy, do you hope for any more changes or updates to potential future versions? What kind of changes?

Henry: I do. We have a lot of tribal members that are interested in going into vocational occupational trades. For example, lineman school is typically a private, for-profit school and education in college. The same can be said for the various beauty schools in Oregon that provide aestheticians, nail techs and hairstylists, etcetera. Those are private for-profits. And there’s gonna be some work that’s going to be done on maybe getting those included in this program. Currently they are not. When I speak for the Cow Creek Band, I know that we do have a large portion of our students who are interested in those vocational/technical kinds of trades, and that getting the certifications that they need, those have to be done through the private for-profit schools. So some of those schools are Pell grant Title Four eligible, which has to do with some federal requirements so that students can fill out a FAFSA and apply for and get subsidized grants and the Pell grants to attend. But under this current way that this program has been set up, those schools are not eligible for participation. So we’re working on that. I have great confidence that we’re going to resolve that and move that forward.

Chávez: Okay, so we are talking about future versions of this grant program, but like Ben mentioned just a moment ago, so far the legislature has only approved this program for one year. Sandy, does that concern you?

Henry: Yes, of course it does. What we don’t want to do is set people up for one year of success followed by no supports and failure. But I really feel like it’s important that we step into this program and embrace it and move it forward, so that we can show the need, so that we can show the need to look at higher education through an equity lens. We know the tribal folks are underrepresented in many professions, certainly underrepresented on college campuses and certainly underrepresented in the classroom as instructors. So I’m hoping that by engaging in this program for this year, and showing the legislature what a need there is, that we can continue to invest in what is an important part of our success and future of the nine tribes and the state of Oregon.

Chávez: Ben, I want to take that point to you. We’re talking about potential concerns about this only being approved for one year so far. Since that’s the case, what happens if students who get grants this year don’t have the access to the same funding next year?

Cannon: Well, they’ll be in a really difficult spot, because particularly for those who are first year students in 2022 and benefit from this grant, they will be in the position in their second year of facing a real shortfall in the amount of funding that they have relative to the first year in order to afford those college costs. For those who are not deterred under that situation, it likely means a lot of borrowing and a lot of debt. And I expect there will be some students who would look at that equation and conclude that it is not in their interest to continue with their post secondary education. Which is why I think it is absolutely vital that the legislature and the next governor maintain this program. This investment on the part of the state of Oregon for 2022, in our tribal students, is remarkable, and the governor and legislature deserve great credit for what they have done to set aside $19 million dollars for the upcoming year. We have to sustain this program for students who are, I think, receiving an implied commitment on the part of the state, and the state should not break that promise to those students. So this will be at the top of our agenda for advocating to the next governor and to the 2023 legislature for sustaining the program.

Chávez: Okay. Say this does happen. This does continue forward. Sandy, I would love to ask you what are your hopes for the long term impact of this program for education access in Oregon’s tribal communities for the impact on the lives of these students?

Henry: Again, we pull back and you look through an equity lens. When you look at the public school system, and you look at the number of people of color that are teaching Native Americans, that are teaching, having that first impact on tribal students, we are horribly underrepresented, right? Most tribal kids go into classrooms and don’t see a tribal person standing in front of them teaching. So I’m hoping to have some impact there. Hoping to have some impact on the healthcare situations as well because again, tribal folks who are seeking healthcare, trying to get into the healthcare system, do not see they are reflected, right? They don’t see tribal professionals. I’m hoping to change that. I’m hoping that’s part of what changes. I’m hoping that this opens the door for tribal students to see what their potential could really be, that it brings them into a different kind of opportunity, a different kind of ability to dream big and move forward. Tribal folks think in terms of generations: seven generations down the road, what kind of impact are we making that affect people seven generations down the road? I’m hoping this is that kind of program. That we may not see in the next five, 10 years, but hopefully as we move down the road, we’re going to see those kinds of impacts.

Chávez: Well, Sandy, Ben, thank you both so much for joining us today.

Guests: Thank you. Thank you.

Chávez: I’ve been speaking with Sandy Henry, education director of the Cow Creek Band of the Umpqua Tribe of Indians and Ben Cannon, executive director of Oregon’s Higher Education Coordinating Commission. Students are encouraged to apply to the Oregon Tribal Grant program by August 1st.

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