Before there was UNL and before there was Lincoln, there was Nyi Brathge (“flat water”), the homeland of the Otoe-Missouria people for hundreds of years. Under duress, in 1833 and again in 1854, the Otoe-Missouria Nation signed treaties with the U.S. government ceding the land that became Lincoln and the University of Nebraska. They moved first to the Big Blue Reservation, near Beatrice, but were forcibly relocated to Indian Territory, now Oklahoma in the 1880s.
Walking in the Footsteps of our Ancestors (Ahadada Wathigre Hįnéwi Ke) is a joint project of the Center for Great Plains Studies and the Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Oklahoma that aims to promote healing and reconciliation in southeast Nebraska by reconnecting the Otoe-Missouria to their homelands and by educating non-Native people about the history and ongoing presence of the Tribe and other Indigenous peoples in our region.
The Walking in the Footsteps Student Support Fund provides crucial financial support to students from the Otoe-Missouria tribe as well as other tribes with historical connections to Nebraska. Funds can be used for all educational costs, including tuition, room and board, books, and student fees.
Eligibility
This fund is open to students pursuing a degree at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln from federally recognized tribes with current or historical connections to the state of Nebraska.
- First preference for support of students who are enrolled members of the federally recognized Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Oklahoma.
- Second preference is for students who are enrolled members of one of the following federally recognized Tribes: Iowa, Winnebago/Ho-Chunk, Omaha, Ponca, Pawnee, Sac and Fox, Potawatomie, Kickapoo, Mandan, Arikara, Hidatsa, Santee Sioux, Lakota Sioux, Dakota Sioux, Nakota Sioux, Northern Cheyenne, Southern Cheyenne, Arapaho, Crow, Comanche, Kiowa, Jicarilla Apache.
Preference will be given to students who have:
- good academic standing (2.0 GPA or better)
- completed a minimum of 12 credit hours at UNL
- demonstrated a pattern of continuous enrollment
Priority will be given to eligible students who are close to graduation (i.e., needing 30 or fewer credit hours for degree completion.)
Guidelines
Grants may be used to pay for living and daily transportation expenses, healthcare, childcare, tuition, and fees/learning expenses. Other planned expenditures from this fund may be approved by the Walking in the Footsteps of our Ancestors Student Support Fund Committee.
We encourage students to visit the Husker Hub in 102 Canfield or email huskerhub@unl.edu to explore additional funding sources that may be available to them.
Apply
Eligible students may apply for a Walking in the Footsteps grant at any time, but no more than once in a semester. Academic advisors, faculty, and staff may also make confidential referrals.
More information: Please contact cgps@unl.edu with any questions.