ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – For over 50 years the Native Forward Scholars Fund has provided scholarship opportunities to Native American students from over 500 Tribes in 50 states. Those 500 Tribes include college students from the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. Two Mvskoke doctorate scholar recipients of the scholarships include College of Muscogee Nation (CMN) Dr. Monte Randall and Native Forward Scholars Fund Associate Director of Student Programming Dr. Sara Barnett.
Chief Operating Officer Dr. Sandra Boham has worked for the nonprofit for several years and is a citizen of the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes. She previously served as the president of Salish Kootenai College (SKC) in Pablo, Montana. According to Dr. Boham, what makes Native Forward different from other scholarship nonprofits is the students they serve and the opportunities they provide for students to pursue graduate degrees.
“We provide scholarships at the bachelor’s level, the master’s level and the doctorate level,” Dr. Boham said. “Finding graduate scholarships is very difficult. That’s a need that we have in our communities as we’re building people to run our tribal nations.”
Native Forward offers scholarships that cover the cost of professional licensure tests such as Certified Public Accountant exams. They also cover costs for admissions tests such as the Law School Admission Test or Medical College Admission Test. The nonprofit even provides scholarships for medical school. According to Dr. Boham, funding for medical school is in short supply and hard to find.
Students seeking services through Native Forward will also find wraparound services. According to Dr. Boham, most scholarship foundations will award students scholarship money and walk away. In addition to providing scholarship money, Native Forward also provides webinars, resume workshops and professional headshots.
“We have high-touch contact with our students,” Dr. Boham said. “We want them to succeed and we want to provide professional development and coaching and emergency support services.”
Dr. Boham elaborated that emergency support services entails any necessities students might need such as money for groceries. The goal is to make sure that students do not face difficult choices between education and basic necessities.
From American Indian Graduate Center to Native Forward
Dr. Boham was once a graduate student herself. During her time as a student, resources like Native Forward were not available for Native American college students. Established in the 1970s, Native Forward was called the American Indian Graduate Center. It was rebranded to Native Forward in order to reflect the greater variety of resources for Native American undergraduate and graduate students they currently provide. According to Dr. Boham, Native Forward has seen tremendous growth in Native American student enrollment numbers over its 55-year history.
“In the ‘70s we did not have a lot of the resources that exist today. There weren’t a lot of Indian students that were going to college,” Dr. Boham said. “Typically what would happen is students would go to college, not have the resources and not have the knowledge on how to navigate the school itself through all its bureaucracy. So we would have students return to the reservation without completing their education.”
This would lead to the creation of tribal colleges, like CMN or SKC. Dr. Boham noted that as college students became more successful in Tribal institutions, they also became successful in mainstream institutions as well. This was due to students understanding how to apply, navigate enrollment, and receive financial aid.
Although more Native American students are found in the classroom today, they still face challenges. Many are first generation college students. According to Dr. Boham, implementing Native American students into curriculum, research, and classroom discussions is still a work in progress.
Among the thousands of recipients of Native Forward, Dr. Boham estimates that it has seen 20 Mvskoke students over the past two years.
Is it Worth Going to College in 2025?
Many goods and services have been affected by growing inflation since the beginning of the Covid-19 Pandemic. Higher education has been affected as well. According to the Education Data Initiative, the average cost of college tuition and fees at a public four-year institution has risen 141% over the last 20 years for an annual average increase of 7%. These rising costs have come into question whether higher education is worth the time and financial investment.
Despite the rising costs of a college education, Dr. Boham is a strong proponent of higher education and believes that everyone should pursue training beyond high school, whether it be a traditional four year institution, a trade school, or the military.
“When you look at the rooms where that discussion (whether college is worth pursuing), is being held, most of the people in that room have their college education, but they’re telling everybody else ‘it’s not worth it’” Dr. Boham said. “That has always frustrated me because who that impacts the most are the people that are on the lower socio-economic level. Those are the people who can benefit the most.”
Dr. Boham’s advice for navigating the rising costs of college tuition is to take advantage of every scholarship and internship available, even if the student does not believe they are qualified for that particular opportunity.
“Don’t eliminate yourself,” Dr. Boham said. “Apply and let the scholarship (committee) decide whether you’re eligible or not.”
Native Forward’s scholarship process involves a single application with 30 different types of scholarships available. Applicants apply once, then if they are accepted, they are matched with all the different funding they are eligible to receive. Applicants are expected to have strong references, meet application deadlines and do their best in submitting original work that does not involve the use of artificial intelligence.
To stay up to date on Native Forward Scholar Fund resources and scholarship opportunities, visit their website, nativeforward.org, or their Facebook page, Native Forward Scholar Fund.
