$2.5 million in scholarship money held up by shutdown

WINDOW ROCK

Navajo students relying on scholarship money from the Office of Navajo Nation Scholarship & Financial Assistance may not get their money due to the ongoing U.S. government shutdown.

A Dec. 21 letter from the BIA Navajo Regional Office notified the tribe scholarship funding was approved for more than $2.5 million, according to a news release from the Office of Navajo Scholarships and Financial Assistance.

However, because of the shutdown, the Navajo regional office has been closed, preventing the monies from being released to the scholarship office.

“We realize the unfortunate predicament the delayed funding places on students. We are working closely with officials within the Navajo Nation,” Rose Graham, ONNSFA department manager wrote in the news release.

More than 9,000 students submitted applications for the 2019 spring and winter classes. Of those, 1,854 students have been awarded scholarships.

The partial government shutdown is on its 24th day, making it the longest in U.S. history.

[wbcr_snippet id=”38767″]