The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma based in Durant, Oklahoma has begun what is believed to be one of the first online scholarship search services for tribal members. That is no other tribe offers an online database of financial aid opportunities for its members. The Choctaw database is filled with scholarships and loans from thousands of sources like foundations and universities. There are also internship possibilities. It is updated often and much of the information is not found anywhere else. Financial aid opportunities in the database are discovered and confirmed by reference librarians. The scholarship database helps supplement what the tribe may or may not be able to provide to its college students in financial aid.
Choctaw tribal members, students or parents, must register in the Scholarship Advisement Program. The service is free for tribal members. Once registered, Choctaw students and parents answer a questionnaire and search results are produced from the answers. All scholarships presented are opened to all Choctaw students. This online scholarship database is a partnership between Reference Service Press and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Reference Service Press is a company that specializes in printing financial aid information for different populations like minorities, veterans, women, and the disabled.
The tribe tries to service its college student population daily with financial aid information, as a common and pressing concern is money for college. Statistically, Native Americans in higher education have a high dropout rate. Although, the number of Native college students has doubled in recent decades, only nine percent of the Native population (twenty-five years old and older) has a four-year degree. Add to that the increasing cost of a college degree, the Choctaw Nation felt the creation of this online database was an imperative.
The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma is one of the most progressive tribes. One can keep up with Choctaw Nation news headlines at Oklahoma Is Native. Oklahoma Is Native keeps a listing of news headlines for the 39 tribes in Oklahoma. One can also find more information about Native American scholarships and financial aid. There are a number of schools and programs where tuition can be free for Native students.
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