Yellowknife (June 23/03) - A new $12 million endowment fund will give aboriginal students greater access to scholarship money through the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation.

Heritage minister Sheila Copps announced Friday that the federal government will provide an extra $500,000 a year to the foundation.

The foundation currently provides $2 million a year in scholarships to about 600 aboriginal students across Canada.

"Any aboriginal person is eligible.

"There is no age restriction and there is no particular sum of money attributed to a particular region," said John Kim Bell, founder and president of the NAAF.

Last year, four students from the NWT received scholarships. One student from Nunavut and two from the Yukon also received money.

Laurie Jensen, who works with the foundation, says Northern students don't get as much funding from them because they have access to other programs.