Presidential Documents

9739 

Federal Register 

Vol. 89, No. 29 

Monday, February 12, 2024 

Title 3— 

The President 

Proclamation 10701 of February 6, 2024 

National Tribal Colleges and Universities Week, 2024 

By the President of the United States of America 

A Proclamation 

I have always believed that the promise of America is big enough for 

everyone to succeed and that it is each generation’s responsibility to open 

the doors of opportunity just a little bit wider to include those who have 

been left behind. During National Tribal Colleges and Universities Week, 

we honor and celebrate these critical institutions for doing just that: providing 

opportunities for students and their communities throughout Indian Country. 

A quality education can transform lives and give students the power to 

shape their future. But we know that not everyone has a fair shot at pursuing 

higher education—including many Native American students. We know that 

promoting educational opportunities is all the more important for Native 

people, after over a century of Federal assimilation policies that used education as a tool of cultural and physical violence—devastating Native communities and ripping Native families apart. We have seen time and again 

that Tribal Colleges and Universities uplift Native American students through 

culturally grounded education and put them on a path toward a brighter 

future. That is why my Administration has been working relentlessly to 

provide these institutions with the support they need to thrive. 

During my first year in office, I was proud to issue an Executive Order 

on the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, 

and Economic Opportunity for Native Americans and Strengthening Tribal 

Colleges and Universities. This initiative directs the Secretary of Education, 

the Secretary of the Interior, and the Secretary of Labor to collaborate with 

leaders from Tribal Nations to advance educational equity, excellence, and 

economic opportunity for Native American students. We are also investing 

millions of dollars to provide Tribal Colleges and Universities with the 

resources they deserve. 

My Administration has also been working to make higher education more 

affordable for all students. To date, we have worked with the Congress 

to increase the maximum Pell Grant by $900—making it easier for millions 

of students to pay for school. We have also fixed the Public Service Loan 

Forgiveness program to ensure that students who become public servants 

receive the debt relief they are entitled to under the law. Through our 

Saving on a Valuable Education Plan, we are cutting payments for undergraduate loans in half, providing early forgiveness to many borrowers with 

low balance loans, and saving the typical borrower around $1,000 per year. 

We are pursuing new actions to relieve the burden of student debt for 

as many borrowers as we can, as fast as we can. 

Every child in America has a dream. It is our responsibility to give them 

the opportunity to make those dreams a reality. This National Tribal Colleges 

and Universities Week, let us recommit to supporting these centers of academic excellence as they empower young Native American leaders to pursue 

their loftiest ambitions and build an America we can all be proud of. 

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of the United States 

of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution 

and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim February 4 through 

February 10, 2024, as National Tribal Colleges and Universities Week. 


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9740 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 29 / Monday, February 12, 2024 / Presidential Documents 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this sixth day of 

February, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-four, and of the 

Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and fortyeighth. 

[FR Doc. 2024–02934 

Filed 2–9–24; 8:45 am] 

Billing code 3395–F4–P 


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