Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho students will have a crack at a new scholarship at the University of Wyoming (UW).
The UW Board of Trustees voted to set up the Wind River Promise Fund at a meeting on Aug. 13. A total of $250,000 will be available to enrolled tribal members as scholarships to cover undergrad tuition costs and mandatory fees for full-time students. An additional $2 million will be managed and invested like an endowment.
The money comes from unrestricted operating investment income earned in fiscal year 2026. Getting the scholarship up and running is still in process.
The idea’s bounced back and forth between tribal members, state legislators and the university for years. Some advocates say that because UW is a land-grant university, and continues to benefit from land taken from tribal nations, it has an obligation to support Indigenous students.
Schools like the University of Colorado Denver, the University of Arizona and the University of California have set up similar scholarship funds in recent years.
According to the memorandum of understanding approved by the board, “If the funds available for appropriation are insufficient to cover the full cost of undergraduate tuition and mandatory fees, each qualified recipient will receive a prorated amount based on total funds available.”
Prior to the vote to approve setting up the fund for UW, trustee Paul Ulrich said the move is something to celebrate.
“ I think this is a long time coming and I am absolutely thrilled to death that this motion has been made today,” he said. “I look forward to voting for this. This is a big deal in Wyoming, and everybody involved should be very pleased with where we are.”
Below are the eligibility requirements for the scholarship fund:
- Be an enrolled member of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe or the Northern Arapaho Tribe
- Be a Wyoming resident and have graduated from a Wyoming high school.
- Be in good academic standing, as defined by University regulations.
- Be enrolled as full-time students.
- Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) annually.
According to the Wind River Promise Fund MOU, scholarships may be renewed for up to eight semesters as long as a student continues to be eligible or they earn their first bachelor’s degree. Once the scholarship begins, students have six academic years to receive the benefit.
