- Details
- By Native News Online Staff
DENVER — Three dozen Native American students from throughout Indian Country have earned scholarships that will help them be the first in their families to pursue an academic career at a tribal college or university.
The scholarships come courtesy of the American Indian College Fund in partnership with the Coca-Cola Foundation. The COVID-19 pandemic interfered with the American Indian College Fund’s plan to honor 36 American Indian first-generation scholarship recipients at its 2020 banquet in Albuquerque, New Mexico in late March. To protect the students and their communities, the College Fund cancelled the banquet.
The Coca-Cola Foundation has awarded more than $5 million to the American Indian College Fund since 1990 to fund the Coca-Cola First Generation Scholarship. The goal of the scholarship is to help students who are the first in their families to attend a tribal college or university. To date the scholarship has assisted more than 400 first-generation Native Americans in their college education. The scholarship is renewable throughout students’ tribal college careers if they maintain a 3.0 grade point average and are active in campus and community life.
The following scholars are being awarded scholarships through the program:
Rose Mary Antone, Aaniiih Nakoda College
Kaylee Begay, Little Priest Tribal College
Thomas Berryhill, Haskell Indian Nations University
William Bouschor, Bay Mills Community College
Shanae Burshia, Fort Peck Community College
David Butler, Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa College
Jacob Claymore, United Tribes Technical College
Kristen Dean, Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College
Annie Evans, Salish Kootenai College
LeVonna Graham, Chief Dull Knife College
Chyann Haas, Saginaw Chippewa Tribal College
Tammy Hammer, Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College
Ella Hoffman, Nebraska Indian Community College
Martin Horn, Stone Child College
Michael Howling Wolf, Northwest Indian College
Michael Iceman, Red Lake Nation College
Elizabeth Lukee, Institute of American Indian Arts
Tiana Martinez, Haskell Indian Nations University
Christy Max, Sisseton Wahpeton College
Anna Old Crow, Little Big Horn College
Dwayne Ortega, Tohono O'odham Community College
Gwendolyn Owletuck, Ilisagvik College
Ashley Peters, College of Menominee Nation
Tevin Phillips, College of the Muscogee Nation
Curtis Rainey, Fond du Lac Tribal & Community College
Faith Roy, White Earth Tribal and Community College
Kylie Rutherford, Blackfeet Community College
Shawna Semmens, Leech Lake Tribal College
Shinaya Todacheenie, Diné College
Kaylie Trottier, Sitting Bull College
Loren Tsosie, Navajo Technical University
Robert Upton, Turtle Mountain Community College
Tada Vargas, Oglala Lakota College
TiShai Yazzie, Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute
Leslie Young, Cankdeska Cikana Community College
Sarah Zephier, Sinte Gleska University
More Stories Like This
Native News Weekly (August 25, 2024): D.C. BriefsUS Presidents in Their Own Words Concerning American Indians
Native News Weekly (December 14, 2025): D.C. Briefs
Wounded Knee Massacre Site Protection Bill Passes Congress
Two Murdered on Colville Indian Reservation
Help us defend tribal sovereignty.
At Native News Online, our mission is rooted in telling the stories that strengthen sovereignty and uplift Indigenous voices — not just at year’s end, but every single day.
Because of your generosity last year, we were able to keep our reporters on the ground in tribal communities, at national gatherings and in the halls of Congress — covering the issues that matter most to Indian Country: sovereignty, culture, education, health and economic opportunity.
That support sustained us through a tough year in 2025. Now, as we look to the year ahead, we need your help right now to ensure warrior journalism remains strong — reporting that defends tribal sovereignty, amplifies Native truth, and holds power accountable.
The stakes couldn't be higher. Your support keeps Native voices heard, Native stories told and Native sovereignty defended.
Stand with Warrior Journalism today.
Levi Rickert (Potawatomi), Editor & Publisher
