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Native American Programs Many Nations. One Community.

American Indian Residency Bill

Students from many regional tribes are eligible for in-state tuition
In 1994, the Washington state legislature passed a bill allowing American Indian students who meet the following two conditions to be eligible for in-state tuition at public colleges and universities in the state of Washington.

  1. Students must have lived in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, or Washington for one year immediately prior to enrolling in college.
  2. Students must be members of federally-recognized Indian tribes whose traditional tribal boundaries included portions of the state of Washington, or whose tribe was granted reserved lands within the state of Washington.

For example, a Spokane tribal member who lives in Oregon, could attend WSU without having to pay out-of-state tuition because they are from a Washington tribe and live in Oregon.  Likewise, a Kootenai student from Idaho would also be eligible for in-state tuition because their tribe’s traditional boundaries included territory in Washington.

Read the legislation here.

To establish residency using the American Indian Residency Bill, students should send proof of their tribal enrollment to the WSU Registrar’s Office.  The Registrar’s Office may be emailed regarding residency questions at residency@wsu.edu.

Eligible tribes:

  1. All federally-recognized  tribes located within the state of Washington
  2. Coeur d’Alene Tribe
  3. Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes
  4. Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
  5. Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs
  6. Kootenai Tribe of Idaho
  7. Nez Perce Tribe