Seventeen tribal colleges have been awarded $4 million through the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Development Tribal College Grant program to buy equipment, build or renovate classrooms, make repairs and finance improvements.

In announcing the grants, Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer said: "Education is one of the most effective economic development tools we can put into the hands of our tribal communities as they build their economic, business and social opportunities."

 The colleges, by state, are:

Arizona

Tohono O'odham Community College -$272,350

Michigan

Saginaw Chippewa Tribal College -$137,000

Bay Mills Community College -$272,350

Minnesota

Leech Lake Tribal College -$121,000

White Earth Tribal and Community College -$15,200

Montana

Little Big Horn College -$272,350

Fort Belknap College -$272,350

Stone Child College -$272,350

Salish Kootenai College -$272,350

Blackfeet Community College -$272,350

Fort Peck Community College -$272,350

Chief Dull Knife College -$261,000

North Dakota

Sitting Bull College -$272,350

South Dakota

Oglala Lakota College -$272,350

Washington

Northwest Indian College -$272,350

Wisconsin

College of Menominee Nation -$272,350

Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College -$272,350

For more information, log on to http://www.rurdev.usda.gov

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