The Hopi Education Endowment Fund: Historic Decision

As a non-gaming tribe, the Hopi Tribe derives a majority of its revenue from natural resources located on the 1.8 million acre reservation. The revenue source, coal, is not only finite but also precarious from year-to-year as the revenue is calculated based on the amount mined. The impending closure of the Mohave Generating station and lease negotiation with the coal supplier, Peabody Coal Company, became reality when operations ceased on December 31, 2005.

With values instilled through traditional teachings, Hopi tribal leaders today still follow the visions of leaders before them as each has an aspiration to ensure educational opportunities will continue to exist for the Hopi people. Recognizing education as a high priority the Hopi Tribe knew the need to provide a secure source of funds for education.

In November of 2000, the Hopi Tribal council set that vision in motion. Through tribal law, Ordinance #54, and as a form of community investment, the Tribal Council created the fund by allocating the first gift of $10 million dollars from tribal coffers into the perpetually endowed fund: The Hopi Education Endowment Fund (HEEF)

The ordinance also established the HEEF as a 7871(a) charitable, non-profit public benefit program for educational programs and purposes of the Hopi Tribe. As outlined in Ordinance #54 the main purposes of the HEEF are to provide perpetual funding for:

• Financial assistance to Hopi students of all ages
• Educational research
• Educational Programs
• Charitable and Educational Activities