I found a great article on the College Scholarships site today. It explains that in order to qualify for a Native American Scholarshp, an applicant must prove tribal membership with a CIB (Certificate of Indian Blood). This makes sense. You must also belong to a tribe that is federally recognized, the article explains.
But how to do this if you do not already have what you need? You may have to find out information from older relatives, and do some genealogy work. There are some good resources listed here to help you in your search. There is more and more information listed online today than ever before, so hopefully you will find pointers and help in order to do the work yourself and save money. Of course, if you do not have time, or just would rather somebody else did the work, there are professional genealogists that can help you, for a fee.
Once you find your tribal heritage, and have the documentation you need (birth and death records, for instance) you may need to fill out some paperwork and work with the tribe itself in order to document your family history and get your official papers that you need.
Then you will be able to send in your applications for Native American scholarships.
Find out More about Native American Scholarships:
College Grants for Native Americans
FinAid explains about Native American scholarships and grants
Eastern New Mexico University's Navajo Nation Scholarship
AAIA Scholarships
St. Paul Public Schools scholarship list and resources
Here are some good Genealogy Resources
Native American resource list
State Historical Society of Missouri list of resources
Native American Genealogy at the Native Languages site
Please send me your links or stories about finding out your Native American heritage and I will add them here.
