LA GRANDE — To further Eastern Oregon University’s ability to welcome students from all backgrounds, it is now offering in-state tuition to members of all 574 federally recognized tribes in the United States.

Tim Seydel, vice president for University Advancement, said in-state tuition is available for on-campus and online students and came out of discussions among EOU staff, faculty and administrators.

“We wanted to see what else we could do beyond the statewide Oregon Student Tribal Grant Program that helps Native Americans within Oregon, but what about outside the state? We decided we should expand our offerings as well.”

The Oregon Tribal Student Grant provides funding for eligible Oregon tribal students to offset the cost of attendance at eligible Oregon colleges and universities, but it is available only to members of the state’s nine recognized tribes and is funded by the Legislature only through the end of the current school year. Eastern Oregon’s in-state tuition program removes even more financial barriers, as well as physical barriers, by reaching out to tribal members all over the country for earning degrees on campus as well as through distance learning.

With this change, EOU joins other Oregon public universities in extending in-state tuition rates to all tribal members.

“Tribal members from Idaho, Washington and Oregon, Montana already attend EOU,” Seydel said. “We decided we should make sure those students have in-state tuition. It’s one more way we can offer integrated, high-quality liberal arts and professional programs that lead to responsible and reflective action in a diverse and interconnected world.”

In-state tuition is one more way the school is focusing on inclusion of Indigenous people.

The Native American Student Council, known as “Speel-Ya” (Umatilla word for coyote), is one of the oldest and most active clubs on campus, serving as a cultural and social support system for new and returning students. The club organizes a variety of events throughout the year, including events for Native American Heritage month in November. The largest event the club organizes is the annual Indian Arts Festival Powwow and Friendship Feast, established in 1971.

The powwow is just one of the university’s Native American Program’s events. The program provides services that assure Native American, Alaskan Native and other Indigenous students have access to and success in the school’s programs and creates a sense of community by preserving and promoting Native American/Indigenous cultures and identities, offering numerous cultural events throughout the year and fostering friendships with people of diverse backgrounds.

Linda Reed-Jerofke, professor of anthropology, said she has served as an adviser for Speel-Ya and developed a minor in Native American studies with Renee Roman Nose, who was an undergraduate at the school. She said she continues to teach a couple of the classes that support the minor.

“The courses of study include anthropology, history and business,” she said. “It’s a well-rounded minor.”

Each year, Jerofke said, as many as 20 students sign up for the minor and roughly half are Indigenous.

“We get students who know their heritage and those who are exploring it as adults,” she said. “It’s an incredibly valuable minor in that it exposes both Natives and non-Natives to issues they have never had exposure to.”

Jerofke said incorporating tribal knowledge is happening in multiple disciplines beyond the Native American minor, and she credited the university’s relationship with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation for its members’ involvement in adding Indigenous knowledge and perspective.

“I think offering in-state tuition to all Indigenous tribal members is a wise choice and my hope is that we will get more Native students online and onsite,” she said.

“It is important that we acknowledge the indigenous people of the lands in the Grande Ronde Valley once held by the Nez Perce, Cayuse, Umatilla, Walla Walla and Shoshone,” Genesis Meaderds, the school’s director of admissions, said. “This is another demonstration of EOU’s commitment to ensuring a welcoming environment for all students, while prioritizing a commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity and belonging.”