In a bold expression of sovereignty, American Indian tribal governments began chartering their own institutions of higher education in the 1960s. The first tribal college, like all that followed, was established for two reasons: (1) the near complete failure of the U.S. higher education system to address the needs of—or even include—American Indians and Alaska Natives; and (2) the necessity of preserving our culture, language, lands, and sovereignty for future generations. The guiding vision of the Tribal College Movement is an education system founded on traditional knowledge and focused on a prosperous future through job creation and community expansion.

In 1973, the first six tribal colleges established the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) to provide a support network to more effectively influence federal policies on American Indian and Alaska Native higher education. Today, AIHEC has grown to 36 tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) in the United States. Each of these institutions was created and chartered by its own tribal government or the federal government for the specific purpose of providing higher education opportunities to Native students through programs that are holistic, supportive, and locally and culturally based.

Cultural values are embedded in AIHEC and the TCUs’ mission statements, their work, and in college life. AIHEC advances the Tribal College Movement through a broad range of policy efforts to ensure tribal higher education is acknowledged and supported by federal law and policy. AIHEC does this through monitoring congressional and federal agencies’ actions, developing strategies, and advocating for TCU priorities. Additionally, AIHEC aims to build and foster relationships with key stakeholders, policymakers, and tribes to advance tribal higher education through state and federal legislation and executive actions.

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AIHEC’s government affairs team engages directly with TCU presidents, faculty, and staff on barriers and challenges they face that could potentially hinder the educational experience for their students. Additionally, the team brainstorms and compiles TCU priorities to be incorporated in larger authorizations such as the Farm Bill, the Higher Education Act, and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, among others. These priorities include both statutory fixes and the creation of new programs.

Tribal college students and leaders meet with U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer of North Dakota to share their stories and discuss TCU priorities.

AIHEC engages with numerous committees to advance TCU priorities. In the House of Representatives, the organization works with the natural resources, education and workforce, agriculture, and appropriations committees. In the Senate, AIHEC likewise interfaces regularly with several committees, including the Indian affairs; health, education, labor, and pensions; agriculture; and appropriations committees. Through these committees, AIHEC is able to work with key partners on TCU priorities through various funding mechanisms. These partnerships are critical to AIHEC’s work now and in the future.

One major component of congressional relations is the appropri­ations process. This is extremely important, as 74% of TCUs’ operational funding comes from the federal government. The appropriations process is the method by which the U.S. Congress allocates funding to government agencies and programs. This is an annual process that funds the coming fiscal year, which runs from October 1 to September 30 of the following calendar year. This process usually involves several steps.

First, there is the release of the president’s budget, when indi­vidual agencies and programs announce their budget justifications and requests to Congress, outlining spending priorities for the next fiscal year. Next, the House and Senate appropriations subcommittees hold hearings on priorities and accept written testimony. Members of Congress draft letters of support for certain programs and ask their colleagues to sign on.

Eventually, the House and Senate appropriations committees each draft and pass 12 individual appropriations bills, which fund various government functions. Key appropriations bills for TCUs include interior, environment, and related agencies; labor, health and human services, education, and related agencies; agriculture, rural development, the Food and Drug Administration, and relat­ed agencies; commerce, justice, and science; and energy and water.

Each chamber passes its own appropriations bill. Afterwards, they must reconcile differences between their respective bills to develop one bill. Each chamber then seeks to pass the conferenced bill. Once both chambers approve, the bill goes to the president for a signature or veto.

Unfortunately, Congress does not always follow this formal process. Often, Congress will resort to passing a continuing reso­lution (CR) to extend the previous fiscal year’s terms, conditions, and spending levels for a short period of time into the new fiscal year. A CR enables Congress to buy more time to negotiate these appropriations bills.

Throughout this process, AIHEC works with congressional offices to develop what are called “dear colleague letters,” which outline funding priorities for the upcoming fiscal year for certain appropriations subcommittees. Specifically, AIHEC partners with congressional offices to develop a dear colleague letter on priori­ties within the Department of the Interior, highlighting the need for increased levels for TCUs’ core operational funding (Titles I, II, III). Additionally, the letter discusses the need for increased funding for construction. For example, AIHEC completed a TCU construc­tion study in 2021, which revealed many chronic unmet facilities and infrastructure needs, including a lack of student and faculty housing, inadequate classroom space, insufficient library facilities, and outdated laboratories. The study showcased a need of $3.2 billion to complete master plans, for deferred maintenance and rehabilitation, and for regular TCU operations and maintenance.

AIHEC submits another dear colleague letter to the House and Senate agriculture appropriations subcommittees. TCUs received Land-Grant status in 1994 through the Equity in Education Land Grant Status Act. This letter highlights key agriculture programs for TCUs funded through the Department of Agriculture, such as research, extension, and educational advancement programs.

Lorraine Gouge, director of student retention at Lac Courte Oreille Ojibwe University, expresses her concerns during the general session at AIHEC’s Legislative Summit.

Besides the dear colleague letters, AIHEC submits written testimony to the key appropriations subcommittees that provide TCU funding. Through testimony, AIHEC can discuss funding priorities, current barriers and challenges, and examples of success at TCUs. In total, AIHEC submits 10 different testimonials to the appropriations subcommittees in the House of Representatives and the Senate. AIHEC’s president and CEO also testifies in person before the House interior appropriations subcommittee during their tribal public witness days. Once the appropriations subcommittees receive testimony on funding priorities, AIHEC monitors each subcommittee for their markup dates, which is when they release their respective bills and reports and vote on whether to advance them to their full appro­priations committee. After the full House and Senate appropriations committees vote on their respective bills and reports, they move to the House or Senate floor for a final vote. AIHEC conducts an analysis of each chamber to develop an appropriations strategy. The strategy could include submitting letters of support or concern regarding funding levels, a call to action for the public to partake in advocacy, or conducting additional congressional meetings to verbally express concerns or support.

While the appropriations process takes place each year to deter­mine that fiscal year’s funding for federal agencies and programs, Congress separately considers authorizing legislation. Such legis­lation generally authorizes programs for several fiscal years, informing federal agencies and other entities on what they can and cannot do with the federal funding that is appropriated to them.

Most recently, AIHEC led the effort to provide a transformational change in the National Advisory Council on Indian Education (NACIE) through the NACIE Improvement Act. This key piece of legislation was enacted on December 23, 2024, as Public Law 118-209. The NACIE Improvement Act requires that at least one council member is a TCU president. The council is comprised of 15 members who are representatives of Indian education and are appointed by the president of the United States. The council advises the secre­taries of education and the interior on matters related to Indian education that are administered through their respective agencies. Previously, the council was heavily focused on K-12 education, but through the NACIE Improvement Act, higher education has been added to the conversation to ensure TCU voices are heard.

And TCU voices are powerful. A prime example occurred during the budget reconciliation process in 2025. As a special legislative process that is designed to expedite the passage of budget-related legislation, budget reconciliation allows Congress to make changes to certain spending and revenue sections of the U.S. code and to the federal debt limit with only a simple majority vote in the House and Senate (normally, a 60-vote threshold must be met in the Senate). AIHEC was most concerned about the changes pro­posed by the House Committee on Education and Workforce. Specifically, the committee proposed changes to the eligibility threshold in the federal Pell Grant Program. Changes would have included an increase in full-time status requirements from 24 to 30 credit hours per academic year and elimination of eligibility for less than half-time students, which would include those who take fewer than 15 credit hours per academic year. In analyzing AIHEC’s American Indian Measures of Success (AIMS) data and through outreach with TCUs, AIHEC determined that these changes would be extremely detrimental to TCUs, especially considering that over 51% of tribal college students are categorized as part-time. AIHEC concluded that the proposed increase in the full-time credit-hour threshold could pose a threat to students, particularly non-traditional students, who may be also balancing full-time jobs and/or family responsibilities.

AIHEC’s government affairs team sprang into action, compiling data and stories on how the proposed changes would impact each institution. Through these stories and with AIMS data, AIHEC created a one pager titled “Protect Pell grants for Tribal Colleges and Universities.” Additionally, AIHEC created template letters for TCUs to send to their respective senators. AIHEC partnered with a public affairs and strategic communications firm called NUNA Consulting, which specializes in serving Indigenous com­munities and social justice movements, to submit media pieces to local news outlets in Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Those TCUs, in turn, have received media requests for on-camera interviews, which has raised awareness. Ultimately, through TCU advocacy, as well as advocacy from other educational organiza­tions, the proposed Pell grant changes did not make the final passage of the budget reconciliation bill. Those who participated in the call to action made a difference, ensuring that TCUs and American Indian and Alaska Native students were safeguarded.

With federal relations, AIHEC’s work includes monitoring and advocating for TCU priorities within various federal agencies. AIHEC realizes its mission for this work by submitting tribal consultation comments, formal rulemaking comments, and by meeting with federal agency officials to discuss matters relevant to TCUs.

AIHEC engages with federal agencies to find pathways for TCUs to overcome barriers. One recent challenge occurred in February 2025, when the administration’s Executive Order 14210, “Implementing the President’s Department of Government Efficiency Workforce Optimization Initiative,” required every federal agency to terminate all probationary employees. Unfortunately, this negatively impacted the two federally operated TCUs, Haskell Indian Nations University and Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI). Through these actions, almost 30% of the workforce at each institution was terminated, causing significant delays in educational instruction, student support services, and the overall operation of the institutions.

AIHEC partnered with TCU presidents, tribal leaders, congres­sional offices, and tribal communities to underscore that these institutions are important pillars within Indian Country which advance tribal economies and educational opportunities for American Indian and Alaska Native students. AIHEC created a call to action urging the Department of the Interior to exempt Haskell and SIPI from workforce reductions and hiring freezes. Corresponding press releases and tribal resolution templates sup­plemented this effort. Further, AIHEC partnered with other Native organizations to increase outreach. Through AIHEC and actions from the general public, the Department of the Interior reversed the terminations and provided reinstatement notices to all employ­ees. But the battle is not over yet. AIHEC is still fighting for protections to ensure Haskell and SIPI are not harmed in any of the administration’s future actions.

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The capstone of AIHEC’s congressional and federal relations work is the annual TCU Legislative Summit, held every February in Washington, DC. This event brings together nearly 200 TCU pres­idents, faculty, staff, and, most importantly, students to directly influence federal funding and policy decisions. The summit is designed to coincide with the beginning of the federal appropria­tions cycle—the release of the president’s proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The timing is crucial because it marks the moment when Congress and federal agencies begin to craft deci­sions that will determine funding allocations for the year ahead. Being in Washington, DC during this time offers unparalleled opportunities for TCUs to engage with policymakers, tell their stories, and make their voices heard at the highest levels.

The three-day summit includes one day of setting the scene and two days of in-person meetings with each TCU’s congressional delegation. Students also have the opportunity for a scheduled tour of the nation’s capital and self-directed sightseeing. Additionally, students have various opportunities throughout the week to meet with their peers across the TCU system.

On the first day of the summit, attendees learn about TCU priorities for the upcoming fiscal year. They hear directly from AIHEC staff and from key administration officials from the White House and the Departments of Interior, Education, and Agriculture. Congressional staffers on key committees also attend to discuss the latest developments happening on Capitol Hill.

The day ends with attendees taking what they have learned and fine-tuning their personal stories. Students develop their “elevator speech,” which includes what they are studying, why they selected their TCU, and what services tribal colleges provide that main­stream institutions do not. Students often discuss how TCUs offer unprecedented opportunities that they would not have otherwise. For example, one student from a TCU in Michigan discussed the research opportunities that were available for freshmen. The student previously attended a mainstream institution and moved back to their tribal community to pursue a different educa­tional path. The student stated that when they were attending the larger state university, they did not have similar research opportuni­ties and those that did exist were mainly for upperclassmen. The stu­dent was grateful for the opportunities and noted how the experi­ence gained at a TCU would increase their chances of being accepted at a larger university once they completed their degree program.

To conclude the Legislative Summit, AIHEC organizes a night tour for students to visit many of Washington, DC’s historical landmarks.

Days two and three present an opportunity for each attendee to meet with their congressional delegation. When the week is over, TCU advocates will have conducted almost 70 meetings and spoken with members of Congress from the 16 states where TCUs are located. During these two days, students have a chance to illuminate the successes of their tribal college and show how it impacts their higher education career.

Each year, the Legislative Summit features a different theme depending on the political landscape, whether that is their response to COVID-19, construction and infrastructure issues, the Farm Bill, or workforce development. AIHEC’s government affairs team works closely with TCU presidents to develop advocacy materials such as impact sheets, which showcase specific examples from each TCU.

In 2025, impact sheets highlighted the workforce development programs that each TCU offers. The impact sheets spotlighted the partnerships the TCUs have with their respective tribal nations, communities, and regional industries. Additionally, TCUs high­lighted community needs for potential programs, equipment, or buildings that are necessary to bolster the local or regional work­force. For example, Oglala Lakota College on the Pine Ridge reser­vation in South Dakota emphasized how it conducts a comprehen­sive workforce alignment study to better understand community needs and build new programs accordingly. Navajo Technical University in Crownpoint, New Mexico, highlighted how the establishment of its Center for Advanced Manufacturing created meaningful employment and economic opportunities for its stu­dents and the wider Navajo Nation.

The Legislative Summit is in large part designed for TCU presi­dents to meet with lawmakers face-to-face and share information that is of great importance to their institutions and the TCU sys­tem as a whole, especially as it relates to the colleges’ successes, challenges, and needs. However, the most important attendees are the students, as they are the prime examples of success at the nation’s tribal colleges and universities. Students get firsthand experience on how the federal appropriations cycle works, what the TCU priorities are, and how to advocate effectively. Outside of presenting TCU priorities during congressional meetings, stu­dents have the opportunity to demonstrate why their TCU is cru­cial to their higher education career. These stories are compelling and serve as the main highlight of each meeting.

As AIHEC continues to conduct meetings throughout the year, congressional staffers often cite student stories that they remem­ber from the Legislative Summit. For example, one staffer recalled the challenges and barriers a student shared while attending a larger state university, stressing the disconnectedness to family and culture that they experienced. The student gravitated to their local TCU when they saw how their culture and heritage was inter­woven in every aspect of the school.

A new event added to the 2025 Legislative Summit was a panel for students on internships, fellowships and career pathways. The panel was designed so students could hear about opportunities to gain experience at Native organizations and on congressional committees, such as the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs.

To conclude the Legislative Summit, AIHEC organizes sightseeing activities for students, as this is most likely the first time they have been to Washington, DC. The highly attended activity is the annual evening bus tour that visits several historical sites and monuments around the city. Students are able to explore the sites and take pictures while a tour guide provides context and background information.

As AIHEC prepares for the next Legislative Summit, we do so knowing that together, we are not just seeking funding, but advo­cating for a future where our TCUs thrive, our students are valued and supported, and our tribal communities are prosperous. The connections made at the Legislative Summit, both in terms of advocacy and education, have the potential to influence the direction of policy for years to come. The summit provides a unique platform for TCU students and leaders to meet face-to-face with members of Congress, their staff, and federal agencies.

It is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to learn about TCU funding streams, while also developing public speaking skills to tell a compelling story about why their tribal college is critical to their higher education career, their family, and their community. Through AIHEC’s post-event analysis, numerous attendees discuss the power of the summit and the impact it has on their post-secondary careers. Some attendees note how they change their majors or enroll in more policy courses to better understand the political landscape. And many students report how they want to be more involved in future advocacy activities. Through AIHEC’s post-event analysis, numerous attendees discuss the power of the summit and the impact it has on their post-secondary careers. Some attendees note how they change their majors or enroll in more policy courses to better understand the political landscape. And many students report how they want to be more involved in future advocacy activities.

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The AIHEC government affairs team advances the Tribal College Movement through partnerships with internal and external stakeholders. Through AIHEC’s Legislative Summit, TCU advocates such as presidents, students, faculty, and board members have the opportunity to participate in advocacy and gain real-world experience. Should you wish to be a part of these advocacy opportunities, please reach out to your tribal college to find out how to get involved.

Danelle Springer (Comanche) is the legislative associate for AIHEC’s government affairs team; Moriah O’Brien is AIHEC’s vice-president for congressional and federal relations.