Enrolled Coeur d'Alene Tribal Member Marie Aripa was celebrated as a 2025-2026 American Indian College Fund Tribal College Student of the Year during a celebration March 15 in North Dakota. Aripa's father is of the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, her mom is of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Reservation, her paternal grandparents are from the Colville and Coeur d'Alene tribes and her maternal grandparents are from the Spokane Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes. "I come from t…
April 1, 2026
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Coeur d'Alene Tribal Member a Tribal College Student of the Year
Coeur d'Alene Tribal Member a Tribal College Student of the Year
Through trials, tribulations and hardships, Marie Aripa has persevered. The 32-year-old enrolled Coeur d'Alene Tribal Member was honored as a 2025-2026 Tribal College Student of the Year by the American Indian College Fund during a March 15 ceremony in Bismarck, N.D. during the American Indian Higher Education Consortium’s 2026 Student Conference. In 2024, Aripa earned an associate of arts degree in business management from Salish Kootenai College in Pablo, Mont., where she is currently finishing a final quarter to earn a bachelor's in business administration in June. "Being named Student of the Year means more than I can say," Aripa told The Press via email Thursday, March 26.