Founded in 1998, AIANTA was established by tribes for tribes to address inequities in the tourism system. Governed by an all-Native board of directors, AIANTA serves as a united voice for the $14 billion Native hospitality sector. AIANTA’s priorities are:
1) to provide technical assistance and training, research, and publications to American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian communities engaged in tourism and hospitality.
2) to facilitate conversations with the Native communities, federal agencies, non-profit associations, and elected officials on the economic and cultural importance of healthy hospitality industry.
3) to highlight the importance of visiting authentic Native destinations, including cultural, heritage, historical, and artistic sites; and
4) to generate awareness, interest and demand for these destinations with domestic and international travellers, the travel trade and the media.
AIANTA Tourism & Hospitality Scholarship
AIANTA strongly encourages Indigenous students to sustain and strengthen their cultural legacy, while also building their careers in the tourism industry.
AIANTA offer Tourism & Hospitality Scholarship, which provides American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian students with financial assistance towards a degree or certificate in hospitality, tourism, recreation, culinary arts or related fields.
Each year, AIANTA awards three individuals who have met all scholarship application criteria.
Application Requirements
- Must be of American Indian, Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian descent (student must show documentation).
- Must be a high school senior or a student accepted into an accredited higher education institution at the time of application.
- Must submit a letter of acceptance from a college/university or technical/vocational institution.
- Must be enrolled as a part-time or full-time student.
- A minimum GPA of 2.5 is recommended, although all current or future undergraduate and graduate college students are encouraged to apply. Scholarship recipients must maintain a 2.5 GPA.
- Scholarships are available for undergraduate and graduate students only; online colleges are acceptable.
- Scholarships must be used for books and/or tuition.
- Applicants must fill out the scholarship application completely to be considered.
- Awardee agrees to authorize AIANTA to use his/her photograph and any information provided in advertising, promotion, fundraising and publicity efforts.
- Awardee agrees to return twelve (12) volunteer hours with AIANTA, a Tribe, national park or public lands institution within the awarded year to be eligible for the following year. A letter of completion on company letterhead must be submitted to the AIANTA office.
Award Amount
Students are awarded $1,000 per semester (fall and spring semester only). Each student can earn a maximum award of $2,000 per academic school year.
Deadline to Apply
- April 28, 2023 (Academic School Year 2023- 2024)
Scholarship Awards
Checks are made payable to the college/university and distributed/mailed to the financial aid/cashiers department of the institution the student attends.
Apply Today
To apply for an AIANTA scholarship, download the Tourism and Hospitality Scholarship application
More Information
For more information, contact Sherrie Bowman at info@aianta.org or call 505-724-3592.
Scholarship website for more info: https://www.aianta.org/scholarships/
