Starting July 1, a new population of prospective students will be eligible for American Indian tuition waivers in Montana 鈥� a shift that could make college more affordable for thousands of people and affect campus budgets. The change is also receiving mixed reactions from tribal leaders.
The is a decades-old program within the Montana University System that encourages eligible Native American students to pursue higher education by covering tuition costs. About 800 Native students receive the funding annually, which costs the state about $3.8 million, according to the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education (OCHE).
Before the upcoming change, students had to be a member of a federally recognized tribe in Montana or document at least one-quarter 鈥淚ndian blood,鈥� demonstrate financial need, and be a resident of the state to be eligible for the waiver.
Feeling pressure from a January 2025 issued by President Donald Trump that called on institutions to 鈥渆nd illegal (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) discrimination and preferences,鈥� the Board of Regents, which governs the Montana University System, in July 2025 approved two changes to the waiver: removing the blood quantum requirement, and expanding the tribal enrollment requirement to include unenrolled tribal 鈥渄escendants.鈥�
Under the new criteria, students must still demonstrate financial need and Montana residency.
Blood quantum, a concept rooted in assimilation tactics, refers to the fractional amount of tribal affiliation in an individual鈥檚 ancestry. Most tribes nationwide use blood quantum to determine eligibility for tribal citizenship. Many experts say as a membership criteria if they are to survive as political entities. A tribe cannot exist without members, and as tribal members marry outside of their tribe and have children with decreasing proportions of legal tribal identity through the generations, tribes lose population.
鈥淒escendant鈥� typically refers to someone related to an enrolled tribal member. Some tribes define a descendant as someone whose parent or grandparent is enrolled; other tribes say a descendant is anyone who can trace a relationship to an original list of enrolled members.
Angela McLean, director of American Indian and minority achievement at OCHE, the administrative arm of the Board of Regents, said her office believes the changes 鈥渁re going to expand eligibility opportunities for students.鈥�
She wrote in an email to MTFP that educational institutions will not receive additional state funding to account for the changes and will have to cover any additional costs of the expanded waiver through 鈥渞eallocation of other portions of campus budgets.鈥�
McLean said OCHE has been communicating with financial aid officers across university system campuses about the changes 鈥渢o make sure that they accept a broad spectrum of documentation鈥� related to descendant status. Tribes, she said, can determine for themselves what kind of documentation, if any, they provide to descendants.
Students who are participating in the waiver program before the changes go into effect, McLean said, will continue to receive the waiver through the completion of their current degree.
A TENSE MEETING
At a December 2025 meeting of the Legislature鈥檚 Interim Committee, Galen Hollenbaugh, OCHE鈥檚 deputy commissioner for government relations and communications, told lawmakers the Board of Regents adopted the changes last July in reaction to Trump鈥檚 executive order.
In January 2025, Trump signed an 鈥渆nding illegal discrimination and restoring merit-based opportunity.鈥�
The order alleges that institutions including higher education 鈥渦se dangerous, demeaning, and immoral race- and sex-based preferences under the guise of so-called 鈥榙iversity, equity, and inclusion鈥� (DEI) or 鈥榙iversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility鈥� (DEIA) that can violate the civil-rights laws of this Nation.鈥� It ordered institutions to end such preferences and said the Secretary of Education would issue guidance to institutions of higher education that receive federal funds regarding 鈥減ractices required to comply.鈥�
Hollenbaugh said that order was followed by a from the U.S. Department of Education鈥檚 Office for Civil Rights, signaling that the department would 鈥渢ake appropriate measures to assess compliance.鈥�
The letter said schools 鈥渉ave routinely used race as a factor in admissions, financial aid, hiring, training, and other institutional programming,鈥� and warned that 鈥渄iscrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin is, has been, and will continue to be illegal.鈥�
鈥淚nstitutions that fail to comply with federal civil rights law may, consistent with applicable law, face potential loss of federal funding,鈥� the letter said.
Hollenbaugh told the Tribal Relations Interim Committee that Trump鈥檚 executive order and the administration鈥檚 compliance letter 鈥渂rought about some concern when we were looking at the blood quantum requirement within the (American Indian tuition) waiver.鈥�
鈥淲e were very concerned about that being the racially discriminatory possibility that might put the waiver in jeopardy,鈥� he told lawmakers.
That concern, some tribal leaders now say, is the basis of their objection to what otherwise might seem a welcome benefit to tribal constituents in Montana. It鈥檚 well established in federal Indian law that tribal citizenship is , not a racial one.
In July, the Board of Regents removed the blood quantum requirement and expanded the tribal enrollment requirement to include descendants. (In August, a U.S. District Judge in Maryland found the U.S. Education Department when it threatened to withhold federal funds from educational institutions that incorporated DEI initiatives.)
State who in 2023 brought a bill that would have enacted to the tuition waiver program, asked Hollenbaugh whether the Board of Regents had consulted with tribes before enacting the change.
鈥淲henever there is major policy that affects tribes, the tribes need to know ahead of time,鈥� he said at the December committee meeting. 鈥淚f that was not the case in this, then I鈥檝e got issues with that.鈥�
Hollenbaugh repeatedly told members of the State Tribal Relations Committee in December that the intention of the change is to 鈥渆nsure the long-term stability of the waiver.鈥� 鈥淭he need for speed,鈥� he said of legal concerns regarding Trump鈥檚 executive order, 鈥渨as pretty imminent.鈥�
, who chairs the State Tribal Relations Committee, told Hollenbaugh he had during the 2025 legislative session that would have enacted similar changes to the tuition waiver program, but ultimately withdrew it because he became concerned about its implications and decided 鈥渋t could be real controversial鈥� within tribal communities.
A of Running Wolf鈥檚 bill estimated that if descendants of Montana tribes had been eligible for the waiver in fall of 2024, the waiver would cover tuition for about 1,373 new students. The analysis estimated the changes would cost the state $5.5 million in 2027, $5.7 million in 2028, and almost $6 million in 2029, accounting for population growth.
Running Wolf told MTFP this week he has 鈥渕ixed feelings鈥� about the changes the Board of Regents enacted. While he hopes the modified criteria will expand access to education for Native students, he wishes the tribes had been consulted ahead of time.
鈥淚鈥檓 not saying I have the answer,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know what the final verdict was going to be after consulting with tribes and university students about what they felt they needed. We never got there. We were never able to get there.鈥�
Running Wolf also said that because federal Indian law defines Native Americans as members of a political 鈥� not a racial 鈥� class, there was no need for the Board of Regents to enact changes in response to Trump鈥檚 executive order aimed at 鈥渄iscrimination based on race.鈥�
鈥淚t would not have been under threat at all,鈥� he said of the original tuition waiver program. 鈥淭here was no rush.鈥�
Asked about the lack of tribal consultation, McLean wrote in an email to MTFP that OCHE 鈥渉as reached out to each of the tribal governments, and we will continue those outreach efforts across the state.鈥�
HOPE FOR EXPANDED ACCESS
James Broscheit, director of Montana State University鈥檚 Office of Financial Aid Services, said that while it鈥檚 early in the admissions cycle to be getting inquiries about financial aid, he鈥檚 already received questions from several students about the new eligibility requirements. He said the previous blood quantum requirements had been challenging for some students to meet, particularly if they didn鈥檛 know how to find documentation.
鈥淚deally, this creates a little bit of an easier path for students,鈥� he said of the change.
Miranda Burland, scholarship officer for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, said she鈥檚 excited for students who will be newly eligible for the waiver.
鈥淚 think when students know there鈥檚 more opportunities for funding, it鈥檚 almost like you can see a little relief,鈥� she said. 鈥淭heir shoulders come down a little bit. It鈥檚 not such a high anxiety for them. Financially, it opens the door for so many people.鈥�
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