[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 95 (Wednesday, July 20, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: July 20, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
              LAND GRANT DESIGNATIONS FOR TRIBAL COLLEGES

                                 ______


                           HON. PAT WILLIAMS

                               of montana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 20, 1994

  Mr. WILLIAMS. Mr. Speaker, today, I am introducing a bill with a 
number of my colleagues to provide land-grant college status to our 
Nation's tribal colleges. The bill would give 29 tribal institutions 
this status, and would authorize appropriations to assist these 
institutions in meeting the responsibilities that go with such land-
grant designation.
  The tribal colleges that would benefit from this status are tribally 
controlled higher education institutions located on or near Indian 
reservations. Most of the 29 institutions are 2-year colleges, but 
there are 4-year institutions and one offers programs leading to a 
master's degree. Located in 12 States, these tribal colleges are the 
most important provider of higher education opportunities for native 
Americans, serving 21,000 students each year. They have been remarkably 
successful at retaining students and sending them on to 4-year 
colleges. They are also important providers of community services, such 
as alcohol and drug abuse programming and counseling, job training, and 
economic development support, advice and assistance. I think it is fair 
to say that these colleges are vitally important to the communities in 
which they are located.
  Granting these 29 tribal institutions land-grant status makes perfect 
sense. The original land grant legislation, the Morrill Act of 1862, 
authorizes States to use the income from certain public lands to 
establish and operate ``colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the 
mechanic arts.'' Since that time, land-grant status has been granted to 
a number of additional institutions through separate acts of Congress. 
But the underlying purpose of the original Morrill Act has always been 
retained, that being to enhance the ability of our Nation's land-grant 
college system to develop programs that deal with the problems of the 
rural poor and to improve economic opportunities for rural people. 
Tribal colleges can, must and do play a vital role in this endeavor. In 
fact, tribal colleges are essential in serving the needs of the rural 
Indian population of our Nation. And in many States those services 
extend far beyond the Indian population, as tribal colleges perform 
vitally needed economic and community service to people and communities 
surrounding reservations.
  By granting tribal colleges land-grant status, they will be able to 
perform this role more effectively. Despite the historical special 
relationship of the United States to American Indian tribal governments 
and their people, and despite the important roles Indian postsecondary 
institutions perform in their communities, Federal financial support 
has been far below that experienced by land-grant colleges. And yet, 
the missions of tribal colleges are exactly similar to those of land-
grant institutions, and their communities have the same needs for 
agricultural services and extension services as those of communities 
served by existing land-grant institutions. My bill, by granting land-
grant status to tribal colleges, will give them the chance to get the 
funds they need to serve their communities effectively.

  And this bill will have another important impact. It will strengthen 
the relationship between existing land-grant institutions and tribal 
colleges, something that can only benefit both institutions. Existing 
land-grant colleges, being the flagships of our Nation's higher 
education research enterprise, have important resources and expertise 
that they can share with tribal colleges. And tribal colleges, because 
they have a unique appreciation and relationship with native American 
people, can help land-grant colleges understand the best way to serve 
the needs of Indian people. Getting these two sets of colleges to work 
together, which my bill does, will forge an alliance that can only be 
for the good of all Americans.
  Finally, for far too long tribal colleges have been treated as 
stepchildren in our system of higher education. Land-grant designation 
will provide a status to these institutions that will bring about a 
rightful acknowledgement and recognition that these are important, 
vital institutions who are significant partners in our higher education 
enterprise. That acknowledgement and recognition can only benefit the 
students and communities these tribal colleges serve. And in the long 
run, every community in our country benefits from that.
  Mr. Chairman, the bill I am introducing today has bipartisan 
congressional support. It has been endorsed by the National Association 
of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, in large part because 
that organization realizes that all of higher education benefits from a 
cooperative and collaborative relationship between its members and 
tribal colleges. Probably the best way to forge that relationship is by 
putting these institutions on equal footing by granting land-grant 
status to tribal colleges. I hope my colleagues will agree with me and 
give this bill their support.

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