In an Oct.14 Indigenous People’s Day email to the college community, The President’s Office announced a new financial aid commitment to Indigenous American students. The new Indigenous Student Affordability Commitment seeks to increase Indigenous representation on campus — a population that only makes up 0.001 percent of the student body as of fall 2024.
“It’s not the end, it’s not the beginning, but it’s a step in the process so we can continue to live out our land acknowledgement,” said Chris George, the Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management and the Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid.
Created on Nov. 17, 2020 in partnership with the City of Northfield and Carleton College, the Land Acknowledgement Statement recognizes the stolen Indigenous land on which Northfield and the two collegiate institutions were built. In recent years, however, many students have critiqued the statement. In a 2020 article from The Olaf Messenger, student leaders called the statement “performative activism” from the College, demanding substantive action to affirm the Land Acknowledgement.
Four years later, the Indigenous Student Affordability Commitment was created.
Starting in the 2025-2026 academic year, the financial aid commitment will be open to new and current students who are registered members or citizens of a federally recognized American Indian Nation or Canadian First Nation. The amount of aid is dependent on the family income. For families with an annual income of $150,000 or lower, the college promises a complete coverage of tuition in grants and scholarships. For families with incomes ranging from $150,000-$250,000 per year, 90 percent of tuition will be covered by the college.
“We want to continue to see increased representation of Indigenous students on campus,” George said. “I think we see the benefits of a diverse learning environment and know that Indigenous students are very underrepresented in American higher education as well as here on our campus.”
The renewed commitment to Indigenous Americans in higher education is not specific to St. Olaf. According to a 2021 Postsecondary National Policy Institute research study, only 24 percent of Indigenous Americans are enrolled in a college or university nationwide and 30 percent of Indigenous students make up the Minnesotan higher education demographic.
During the 2023 Legislative session, the Minnesota state legislature created the American Indian Scholars Program, a financial aid program for University of Minnesota and Minnesota State campuses that functions exactly the same as the Indigenous Student Affordability Commitment.
