The late Elouise Cobell meets President Barack Obama at the White House. December 8, 2010. Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

The American Indian Graduate Center has been selected as the new administrator for the Cobell scholarship fund, Indian Country Today reports.

Originally, the AIGC was only going to handle the graduate student portion. But the New Mexico-based organization will be in charge of all scholarships instead of the American Indian College Fund.

“At the moment, it is safe to say that we expect to be funding Cobell Scholarships for this fall," Sam Deloria told ICT in an e-mail.

The $3.4 billion Cobell trust fund settlement established a $1.9 billion land consolidation program. A portion of every sale from the Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations goes to the scholarship fund.

As of January, the Interior Department had transferred more than $5 million into the fund. The amount is expected to grow as the buy-back program reaches further into Indian Country.

The settlement allows for up to $60 million to be deposited into the fund. But the board that's overseeing the process intends to use the money in a way that will keep the scholarships going for a long time.

“This is meant to be a perpetual fund so that Indian students can be going to college and receiving Cobell Scholarship Funds well after we’re long gone," Alex Pearl, a member of the Chickasaw Nation who sits on the board, told ICT. "It operates like any other Scholarship Funds where you restrict a portion of it so that the fund can continue for years and years and years.”

Get the Story:
Cobell Scholarships in the Works (Indian Country Today 3/24)

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DOI puts another $2.9M from land sales into Cobell scholarships (07/01)
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