This report was produced in collaboration with ICT’s partners at PBS Wisconsin. 

Erica Ayisi
PBS Wisconsin + ICT

HAYWARD, Wisconsin — Oscar Reo is a freshman education major at Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University in Hayward. 

An enrolled member of Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians in Michigan, he wants to teach the Ojibwe language after college.

“I think I’ll get there pretty quickly here,” Reo told PBS Wisconsin and ICT. “There’s a lot of people that are good teachers and a lot of people that speak Ojibwe here.”

Teachers, students and staff at tribal institutions like Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University are facing a massive federal funding threat in October, however, under President Donald Trump’s 2026 budget proposal, leaving Reo’s educational goals ambiguous.  

“I don’t know about my ability to continue, but I think there’s a lot of progress that’s trying to be made here, especially within the language program, that hopefully doesn’t get halted because of it,” Reo said.

The Trump administration is requesting $22 million for postsecondary Indian education programs — a fraction of the $191 million requested for 2025.

Karen Breit, interim president of Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University, said federal funding is the university’s major operating resource. 

“Over 80 percent of our funding comes from federal funds,” Breit said.

‘A huge impact’

How will the university survive?

‘We’re working on different initiatives with our government on that side of generating different revenue for the institution,” she said.

Breit said the university is looking to the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe tribal nation and other donors for support, but challenges with the U.S. Department of Education persist. 

“Where the department administers our ability to access federal funds right now — we’re having some struggles with that,” Breit said.

They are also struggling to keep university staff on to address student-advisory jobs eliminated by the funding cuts, such as academic coaches. 

“The institution is working to figure out a plan to keep some of the coaches with us so that they can continue to do the work,” Breit said.

She said an increase in credit hours for Pell Grant eligibility could affect half of the student population who also work part-time.  

“Increasing that requirement would really have a huge impact on their ability to afford school,” Breit said.

Looking ahead

About 70 percent of the students at the university are Native American. The United States has a federal trust responsibility through treaties to provide support for Native Americans in exchange for their land. 

“It is an obligation, it is in the treaties, it is in writing and a promise that was made,” Breit said. “And education is part of that promise.”

With the Trump administration aiming to cut at least 80 percent of funding to the Bureau of Indian Education for 2026, the impact will be felt on campus and in the surrounding community.

“Tribal communities are often in rural areas, remote areas of the country, and so having access to higher education within your home community is tremendous for tribal people,” Breit said.

A U.S. House appropriations subcommittee approved $1.5 billion for the Bureau of Indian Education in July. However, those funds were not specified for tribal colleges and universities.  

As students begin the 2025-26 academic year, a potentially massive federal funding reduction lurks in Congress. 

“They’re trying to start new programs and hire new teachers and everything,” Reo said, “and hopefully that doesn’t get messed with.”