Dartmouth College

One of the 10 oldest schools in what became the United States, Dartmouth was founded in 1769 along the banks of the Connecticut River. It sits now, as it did then, on traditional, unceded Abenaki land. Unique among the Ivy League, Dartmouth was originally chartered with the principal mission of educating Native American students from the tribal communities throughout the region. The Reverend Samson Occom, an ordained minister and member of the Mohegan Tribe, raised most of the original funding for the fledgling College. Dartmouth did little to actualize this mission until 1970, when the College revived its founding commitment to Native American students. For the last 50 years, the Indigenous community has grown and become an important and visible presence on Dartmouth's campus. Today, 200 Indigenous students – representing more than 70 different tribal nations & communities – attend the College.