SCHOLARSHIPS FOR NATIVE AMERICAN STUDENTS

(as per LRS 47:467:78 – see legislation below)

 

Louisiana Governor’s Office of Indian Affairs

http://www.indianaffairs.com/

Applications are NOT posted on the website. Need to contact the office below and speak with

the Director or receive a scholarship through their tribal headquarters.

 

General Information regarding Scholarship:

Scholarship awarded $500 per year. Number of scholarships awarded depends on sales of

license plates. Applicant must be a member of a federal or state recognized tribe in Louisiana.

The applications are available in January, due in May, and scholarships awarded in July of each

year. The scholarships are based in order of importance by: #1 financial need; #2 involvement

with the tribe; and #3 academic status.

 

Contact Information:

Mark Ford, Director

mark.ford@la.gov Phone: 225-219-8715; Fax: 225-219-7551

Mailing Address: Physical Address:

Governor’s Office of Indian Affairs 150 North Third Street

P. O. Box 94004 Baton Rouge, LA 70801

Baton Rouge, LA 70804

 

 

Louisiana Revised Statute 47:463.78.

Special prestige license plates; Native Americans; scholarship fund

A. The secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections shall establish prestige license plates

for motor vehicles, restricted to passenger cars, pickup trucks, recreational vehicles, and vans, representing the

Native American culture which shall have a minimum of one hundred applicants for such plate. The license plate

shall be of a color and design selected by the Governor's Office of Indian Affairs, R.S. 46:2301 et seq., and be in

compliance with the requirements of R.S. 47:463(A)(3).

B. The prestige license plates shall be issued upon application to any citizen of Louisiana in the same

nger cars, pickup trucks, recreational vehicles, and vans, representing the

Native American culture which shall have a minimum of one hundred applicants for such plate. The license plate

shall be of a color and design selected by the Governor's Office of Indian Affairs, R.S. 46:2301 et seq., and be in

compliance with the requirements of R.S. 47:463(A)(3).

B. The prestige license plates shall be issued upon application to any citizen of Louisiana in the same

manner as any other motor vehicle license plate and shall be established only after one hundred applications for the

plate have been received.

C. The fee for the plate shall be twenty-five dollars which shall be assessed every two years in addition to

the standard motor vehicle registration license fee and a handling fee of three dollars and fifty cents which shall be

retained by the department to offset a portion of the administrative costs. The donation shall be made as provided in

this Section.

D.(1) The department shall collect the additional twenty-five dollar donation and forward it to the

Governor's Office of Indian Affairs. The activities of the Governor's Office of Indian Affairs with respect to the

donations for the Native American prestige license plate are hereby deemed a public purpose and shall qualify as a

cooperative endeavor under the provisions of Article VII, Section 14(C) of the Constitution of Louisiana.

(2) The monies received from the additional twenty-five dollar donation shall be used solely for academic

or financial need-based scholarships for students of Native American ancestry.

(3) The Governor's Office of Indian Affairs shall be responsible for the disbursing of the funds and for

establishing the scholarship program, including but not limited to adopting rules and regulations relative to academic

standards for scholarship recipients.

E. The secretary shall adopt administrative rules to implement the provisions of this Section, including but

not limited to rules and regulations governing the collection and disbursement of the donation, the transfer and

disposition of such plates, the colors available, and the design criteria.

Acts 1999, No. 1254, §1.

As of 7/28/09