KC McGinnis

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Tribal College Funding

MACY, NEBRASKA - JULY 14, 2025:...w York Times Macy United States

MACY, NEBRASKA - JULY 14, 2025: People walk to their cars in the parking lot at Nebraska Indian Community College in Macy, Nebraska on Monday, July 14, 2025. President Trump's budget proposal for tribal colleges and universities calls for an 83 percent cut to post-secondary tribal education, and some schools are warning they'd have to shut down if Congress approves the budget at that number. CREDIT: KC McGinnis for The New York Times Macy United States

MACY, NEBRASKA - JULY 14, 2025: Lani Moran-Samqua and Zeke Brummels display a family lineage document in the archives at Nebraska Indian Community College in Macy, Nebraska on Monday, July 14, 2025. President Trump's budget proposal for tribal colleges and universities calls for an 83 percent cut to post-secondary tribal education, and some schools are warning they'd have to shut down if Congress approves the budget at that number. CREDIT: KC McGinnis for The New York Times Macy United States

MACY, NEBRASKA - JULY 14, 2025: Zeke Brummels returns documents to the archive at Nebraska Indian Community College in Macy, Nebraska on Monday, July 14, 2025. President Trump's budget proposal for tribal colleges and universities calls for an 83 percent cut to post-secondary tribal education, and some schools are warning they'd have to shut down if Congress approves the budget at that number. CREDIT: KC McGinnis for The New York Times Macy United States

MACY, NEBRASKA - JULY 14, 2025: Scrolls sit in the archive at Nebraska Indian Community College in Macy, Nebraska on Monday, July 14, 2025. President Trump's budget proposal for tribal colleges and universities calls for an 83 percent cut to post-secondary tribal education, and some schools are warning they'd have to shut down if Congress approves the budget at that number. CREDIT: KC McGinnis for The New York Times Macy United States

MACY, NEBRASKA - JULY 14, 2025: Archiving Assistant Lani Moran-Samqua points to a photograph of her grandmother, Mary Lieb Mitchell, hanging on the wall at Nebraska Indian Community College in Macy, Nebraska on Monday, July 14, 2025. President Trump's budget proposal for tribal colleges and universities calls for an 83 percent cut to post-secondary tribal education, and some schools are warning they'd have to shut down if Congress approves the budget at that number. CREDIT: KC McGinnis for The New York Times Macy United States

MACY, NEBRASKA - JULY 14, 2025: Plants sit in pots in a hallway at Nebraska Indian Community College in Macy, Nebraska on Monday, July 14, 2025. President Trump's budget proposal for tribal colleges and universities calls for an 83 percent cut to post-secondary tribal education, and some schools are warning they'd have to shut down if Congress approves the budget at that number. CREDIT: KC McGinnis for The New York Times Macy United States

MACY, NEBRASKA - JULY 14, 2025: Computers sit on desks in a computer lab at Nebraska Indian Community College in Macy, Nebraska on Monday, July 14, 2025. President Trump's budget proposal for tribal colleges and universities calls for an 83 percent cut to post-secondary tribal education, and some schools are warning they'd have to shut down if Congress approves the budget at that number. CREDIT: KC McGinnis for The New York Times Macy United States

MACY, NEBRASKA - JULY 14, 2025: Staff and faculty tour the earth lodge at Nebraska Indian Community College in Macy, Nebraska on Monday, July 14, 2025. President Trump's budget proposal for tribal colleges and universities calls for an 83 percent cut to post-secondary tribal education, and some schools are warning they'd have to shut down if Congress approves the budget at that number. CREDIT: KC McGinnis for The New York Times Macy United States

MACY, NEBRASKA - JULY 14, 2025: Welding instructor Wyatt Russman unpacks items in a workshop at Nebraska Indian Community College in Macy, Nebraska on Monday, July 14, 2025. President Trump's budget proposal for tribal colleges and universities calls for an 83 percent cut to post-secondary tribal education, and some schools are warning they'd have to shut down if Congress approves the budget at that number. CREDIT: KC McGinnis for The New York Times Macy United States

MACY, NEBRASKA - JULY 14, 2025: A person walks down the hallway at Nebraska Indian Community College in Macy, Nebraska on Monday, July 14, 2025. President Trump's budget proposal for tribal colleges and universities calls for an 83 percent cut to post-secondary tribal education, and some schools are warning they'd have to shut down if Congress approves the budget at that number. CREDIT: KC McGinnis for The New York Times Macy United States

MACY, NEBRASKA - JULY 14, 2025: Dr. Michael Oltrogge, President of Nebraska Indian Community College (NICC), works in his office at the NICC campus in Macy, Nebraska on Monday, July 14, 2025. President Trump's budget proposal for tribal colleges and universities calls for an 83 percent cut to post-secondary tribal education, and some schools are warning they'd have to shut down if Congress approves the budget at that number. CREDIT: KC McGinnis for The New York Times Macy United States

MACY, NEBRASKA - JULY 14, 2025: Archival Assistant Lani Moran-Samqua poses for a portrait in the archives at Nebraska Indian Community College in Macy, Nebraska on Monday, July 14, 2025. President Trump's budget proposal for tribal colleges and universities calls for an 83 percent cut to post-secondary tribal education, and some schools are warning they'd have to shut down if Congress approves the budget at that number. CREDIT: KC McGinnis for The New York Times Macy United States

WINNEBAGO, NEBRASKA - JULY 14, ...k Times WINNEBAGO United States

WINNEBAGO, NEBRASKA - JULY 14, 2025: Manoj Patil, President of Little Priest Tribal College, poses for a portrait on the college campus in Winnebago, Nebraska on Monday, July 14, 2025. President Trump's budget proposal for tribal colleges and universities calls for an 83 percent cut to post-secondary tribal education, and some schools are warning they'd have to shut down if Congress approves the budget at that number. CREDIT: KC McGinnis for The New York Times WINNEBAGO United States

WINNEBAGO, NEBRASKA - JULY 14, 2025: A new science building sits alongside other buildings at Little Priest Tribal College in Winnebago, Nebraska on Monday, July 14, 2025. President Trump's budget proposal for tribal colleges and universities calls for an 83 percent cut to post-secondary tribal education, and some schools are warning they'd have to shut down if Congress approves the budget at that number. CREDIT: KC McGinnis for The New York Times WINNEBAGO United States

WINNEBAGO, NEBRASKA - JULY 14, 2025: School spirit items hang in a display case at Little Priest Tribal College in Winnebago, Nebraska on Monday, July 14, 2025. President Trump's budget proposal for tribal colleges and universities calls for an 83 percent cut to post-secondary tribal education, and some schools are warning they'd have to shut down if Congress approves the budget at that number. CREDIT: KC McGinnis for The New York Times WINNEBAGO United States

WINNEBAGO, NEBRASKA - JULY 14, 2025: Plastic covers a new microscope at the newly-constructed science building at Little Priest Tribal College in Winnebago, Nebraska on Monday, July 14, 2025. President Trump's budget proposal for tribal colleges and universities calls for an 83 percent cut to post-secondary tribal education, and some schools are warning they'd have to shut down if Congress approves the budget at that number. CREDIT: KC McGinnis for The New York Times WINNEBAGO United States

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Public Project

Tribal College Funding

Copyright KC McGinnis 2025

Updated Aug 2025

Location Nebraska

Topics Education, Indigenous

Summary

Tribal Colleges Rely on Federal Funding. Their Leaders Fear the Trump Years.

By Alan Blinder. Photographs by KC McGinnis for The New York Times.

As the Trump administration has publicly targeted elite universities, it has also quietly pursued funding cuts for the nation’s tribal colleges, which rely on federal dollars to operate.

Tribal Colleges Rely on Federal Funding. Their Leaders Fear the Trump Years.

166

KC McGinnis

Tribal Colleges Rely on Federal Funding. Their Leaders Fear the Trump Years.

Tribal Colleges Rely on Federal Funding. Their Leaders Fear the Trump Years.

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