Western Shoshone Educational Trust Fund

Welcome to the Western Shoshone Educational Trust Fund Website.  It is an honor to present this educational funding opportunity to you.

The Western Shoshone Educational Trust Fund was established via the Public Law 108-270 with the mission of distribution of educational assistance for the Western Shoshone People who were eligible for the Western Shoshone Claims Judgment Roll, and/or individuals who prove to be lineal descendant of an individual appearing on the said judgment roll, and who satisfies all eligibility criteria established by the committee.

This award is designed to supplement your college funding.  On this website there are listings of other funding sources. Contact your school’s financial aid office to find out about “in-house” funding that you would be eligible for.  Additionally, it is always a good idea to check for tuition breaks for Native American students. 

We wish you the best in your academic endeavors!

Western Shoshone Education Trust Fund Administrative Committee

UPDATE

The committee has completed  accepting applications for the Fall 2020 semester for the Western Shoshone Educational Trust Fund.  The committee representatives have also changed so please check the "About  Us" page to make sure you know who your representative is.  Updates on appointments will be made for those not listed at this time.

Next deadline is

June 15, 2021, for the Spring 2021 Semester. 

We have revised the  application and it can be found on the Application & other Documents page.  

If you need assistance with your application, please contact your tribal representative or At-large representative found on the "About Us" page.

For Continuing/Returning Students, we have added a separate form instead of the regular application.  This is only for those students that have received our award previously.

The current deadlines are noted on the application guidelines.

Fall Semester - June 15th

Spring Semester - January 5th

Please review revised application (3/19) to note changes.

Please provide your application prior to the deadline since some applicants have not been selected due to incomplete data or records. 

Be sure to read the application guidelines to make sure that you have all documents.

Every semester, recipients need to have grades/cumulative grade point average submitted by the deadline to be considered for the following semester. 

It is not an automatic continuation of funds. 

Continuing eligible student transcripts need the student's name, educational institute's letterhead or https address on the transcript to be accepted. 

Continuing Students also do not have to resend the whole application. 

All Students will need to provide a class schedule showing you have registered as a full-time student.   If there is a deadline problem, prior to the deadline, you will need to send us the continuing student form and school's schedule showing when you can register with your application. 

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 Timeline of the WSETF-AC Bylaws, guidelines and application:

Dec-April 2013          

Committee met to develop and finalized the WSETF-AC Bylaws, guidelines and application.

February 2013            

Committee submitted WSETF-AC Bylaws

April 2013                  

Committee submitted WSETF guidelines and application

June 2013                   

Committee notified of legal concerns from BIA

July 12, 2013              

Committee revised WSETF-AC Bylaws and submitted them to BIA

September 2013         

Solicitor’s Office contacted Chair and Committee revised recommendations and resubmitted them to the Solicitor’s Office.

November 2013         

Conference Call with BIA and no update was provided.    BIA to check into status. 

April 2014                  

Conference Call with BIA and no update was provided.    BIA to check into status.

May 29, 2014             

BIA email stating that the letter has been given to the Assistant Secretary for signature.

July 10, 2014              

Email to Tribal Chair people with a request from the committee to write letters of support to get WSETF-AC Bylaws, guidelines and application approved.

                                    Committee letter to Secretary of the Interior, Sally Jewell request an expedited approval.

July 24, 2014              

Kevin Washburn, Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs, letter approving WSETF-AC Bylaws with notation that the application form would need to be approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

August 22, 2014        

Jimmy Hastings office notifying  the  Committee that the application was in Washington and being forward to OMB along with a federal register notice.  This would take a 90 day process.

November 2014         

Email to J. Hastings at BIE and no update was provided.   

December 2014          

Email to J. Hastings at BIE and no update was provided.   

January 13, 2015        

Email to J. Hastings at BIE and no update was provided

January 29, 2015        

Chairman Virginia Sanchez visited and emailed to Senator Reid’s Washington office regarding OMB

February 12, 2015      

Communicated with Amanda Begay regarding OMB review and the Paperwork Reduction Act.

February 26, 2015      

Hastings notified Committee that there was no one in Sacramento BIE office that Committee had noted on the application and had intended to use Assistant to receive applications and maintain files. 

March 4, 2015            

Amanda Begay, BIA Office of Regulatory Affairs and Collaborative Action,   notified committee that our application had not been submitted to OMB.    Notified committee that the process was restarted and would be published in the Federal Register and solicit public comments for 60-days.

March 19, 2015          

Committee met & voted to remove BIA/BIE from application process. Committee notified BIA to withdraw application from OMB review.   Committee will administer the guidelines and application process in consultation with the Eastern & Western Agencies.