Improving Schools Serving Native Students - The National Indian Education Association History
THE FOUNDING OF NIEA
The National Indian Education Association (NIEA) was formed over 50 years ago. In 1969, during the “First Convocation of American Indian Scholars” held at Princeton University, several American Indian leaders convened to discus concerns facing Native American educators and issues with the education of Native American children. This large meeting event was the first time for many Native American educators to share, discuss, and learn about ideas that were important to Indigenous people in the United States.
Many convocation attendees desired an opportunity to continue the discourse and share ways to
improve the education of Native American children. Founding members, educators, and tribal leadership stressed the need to create an opportunity for professionals in the Native American communities to discuss common interests, talk about the education of Native students, and explore ways to be more effective teachers, better school administrators, and discover practical experiences that might provide a path for improving schools serving Native students. To meet educator, student and community needs, the founding members incorporated the National Indian Education Association on August 21, 1970.
The mission of NIEA is to advance comprehensive, culture-based educational opportunities for American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians. NIEA is committed to promoting traditional Native cultures and values as the foundations of learning. As a result, NIEA promotes educational sovereignty, supports continuing use of traditional knowledge and language, and works to improve educational opportunities and results in our communities.
THE INDIAN EDUCATION ACT
established the National Advisory Council on Indian Education, created the Office of Indian Education,
and authorized a formula grant program for American Indian and Alaska Native students. In addition,
the legislation strengthened tribal oversight of Indian education by specifying the need to seek parent,
student, and tribal input and consultation on legislation pertaining to Indian education.
NIEA was critical to the development and passage of the bill. In many ways, the bill was the brainchild of then NIEA President, Dr. Will Antell and NIEA Treasurer, William Demmert. Dr. Antell, one of the founders of NIEA, served as the first president of the organization. He went on to serve three consecutive terms as president until the Indian Education Act was passed.
The Kennedy Report, released in 1969 by a Special Subcommittee in the Senate, was an important precursor to the founding of NIEA. It delivered a scathing indictment of the federal government’s Indian education policies. It concluded that the “dominant policy ... of coercive assimilation” has had “disastrous effects on the education of Indian children.” The Subcommittee detailed 60 recommendations for overhauling the system, all of which centered on “increased Indian participation and control of their own education programs.” Congress also moved to enhance the role of Native nations in education, with the Indian Education Act of 1972, the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975, the Tribally Controlled Community College Assistance Act of 1978, and the Tribally Controlled Schools Act of 1988. These laws provided tribal governments, communities, and families with unprecedented opportunities to influence the direction of their children’s future.
This past October, NIEA hosted its 53rd Annual Convention & Trade Show in Oklahoma City. The theme was Education Sovereignty. Our Choice. We are in a new era of Native education empowered through tribal sovereignty, self-governance, and Indigenous knowledge learning models. This is Education Sovereignty: Our Culture, Our Curriculum, Our Schools, Our Students, Our Choice.
Foundational to these efforts is NIEA’s support of language preservation and language immersion practices for Native American students. According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), 54 Native languages no longer have fluent speakers and 161 others stand to disappear in a generation. Equally alarming, scholars project that without immediate and persistent action, only 20 Native languages will be spoken by 2050. The U.S. Census Bureau recently completed a survey to assess the vulnerability of select tribal languages. Due to an aging population of Native language speakers, experts concluded that all but two Native languages are on the decline.
In the face of alarming statistics, Native communities across the nation have begun to reverse such
trends, revitalizing Native languages and building classrooms and communities where Native children
and youth learn and speak their languages with confidence. However, national funding and systematic
action are critical to ensure that, for generations to come, Native children are able to learn and take
pride in language heritage.
ESTHER MARTINEZ NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGES PRESERVATION ACT
In 2006, Congress recognized the critical role of Native languages and took steps to address this
Through grants to language immersion programs, language survival schools, and language restoration
programs, this legislation promotes thriving programs that successfully pass on Native languages to
American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian students.
NIEA carries forward the legacy of Esther Martinez today. Through a recent Administration for Native Americans (ANA) grant, NIEA is working with Dr. Crystal Redgrave in Montana to develop a method to teach and assess Indigenous language through the use of graphics, oral recordings, hand talk, and technology. This method considers the ways of knowing of the 21st Century Native American learner. It takes into account the long absence of Indigenous language discourse in Native schools. The goal is to create a curriculum and education model that can be utilized in other Indigenous communities to promote language preservation.