<p>My daughter will be entering college next year. My great/great grandmother (I believe this is correct) had parents which were both Cherokee. I believe we can trace this to tribal records. My other 3 grandparents were not Native Americans.</p>
<p>I would have never thought of it, but someone mentioned to me to check out to see if there are any scholarships, etc. available to decendants.</p>
<p>I am wondering if there are any legitimate hopes of pursuing such a scholarships and where to find out about them or is this relationship to only one grandparent </p>
<p>Has anyone had similar experiences ? In the example above, if only one parent was Cherokee, would that matter in this case.</p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>I am a Cherokee/Windedot decendant also, but in my research a year ago, the only way to receive grants or scholarships was to have proof of your relationship. You have to prove your relative and be registered in a federally recognized Native American tribe.
But it doesn’t hurt trying.</p>
<p>In Michigan, there is a tribal council office that helps students with certification of heritage … and the Indian Tuition Waiver allows free tuition with no satisfactory academic requirements, minimum/maximum credit hours, etc attached. Hopefully, your state has something similar.</p>
<p>Each tribe has standards for membership. Generally one must be at least 1/8 Indian, and be able to document that their ancestor was a registered member of that tribe when the federal government did the Dawes Roll or some other census of Indians. Then there is an application that must be approved by the tribal government, which may include a participation requirement. </p>
<p>I believe the Cherokee Nation has less stringent blood guidelines. But if your GG grandparent is actually 100% registered Cherokee (and you must be able to prove this, not easy with records that old and especially Indian), then your great grandparent would be 1/2, grandparent 1/4, parent 1/8, you 1/16, your child 1/32. That’s a pretty slim tie and you’d have to have documentation for every person in that line.</p>
<p>My kids are 1/8 Indian and, while their Dad was partially raised in the culture by his grandmother, they were not. They have some interest in their heritage because of it, but it doesn’t make them Indian and they are not registered members. Imo, this type of scholarship search is unlikely to succeed and not really applicable to those who don’t already have some tribal affiliation.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the information</p>
<p>There are a LOT of scholarship opportunities available, both within an individual tribe and through outside sources.</p>
<p>I know that through the Cherokees you can pay 20.00 to have them research your bloodlines when you apply for a tribal membership card. That’s a pretty small price to pay if you are granted membership.</p>
<p>Many of the scholarships say you must be 1/4 or 1/8 blood, OR a member of a federally recognized tribe. I am like 1/128 or something like that, but it hasn’t been a problem finding things.</p>
<p>The Cherokees have an undergraduate scholarship through the Cherokee Nation. Then there is the Cherokee Nation Foundation that has several other scholarships more specific to major or interest. We have a state Indian Honor Society and there are a few scholarships within that as well. Keeper of the Plains, AISES has a BUNCH, and many, many more are out there. </p>
<p>University of New Mexico will, with the right ACT/GPA, offer a full ride (tuition, room, board, books). Oklahoma City University has an American Indian Scholarship that will do pretty much the same. “Tribal” universities offers good scholarships. Our major STATE university offers a huge scholarship, but you have to be from out of state to get it. BUMMER! Also, a lot of the national scholarships like Coca-Cola, Sam Walton, Ronald McDonald, etc., show preference to minority status.</p>
<p>Different schools and scholarship agencies have various proofs, paperwork and memberships needed to qualify for being American Indian. A friend of mine was quite chagrined to find out that the could not get their claim validated as they needed to be an official tribe member which required a process.</p>
<p>2 year old thread and that was the last CC post made by the OP.</p>
<p>But this is a resource, and when one stumbles upon such a thread later, there may still be valuable information. Therefore, I posted information that might be helpful. I obviously found it while looking for something specific.</p>
<p>Say True Words; I appreciate your info on the Cherokee Indian Scholarship info. Even if it is older, I Googled the info and your suggestion to have tribal info traced is an excellent idea. My son is the first in our family to attend college. It’s going to take everything we have to send him. I"ll use what resources are available. Thanks again for taking the time to post this very helpful information.</p>