Tucked away and hidden from the outside world in a remote valley surrounded by red sandstone resides a small, K-12 school district located on the Navajo Reservation. It is a place that time appears to have forgotten. Large, institutional buildings painted in bland, government-issued paint juxtapose the haunting beauty and intense colors of the Southwest. The buildings are old and in various states of disrepair. It is 2018, and the buildings are likely not up to code and are painfully uninspiring. Most still have asbestos and obsolete heating, cooling, and wiring systems that are faulty and perhaps even dangerous. The school is surrounded by an eight-foot chain-link fence with slats that make it impossible to see past school grounds. The school, on first impression, looks like a prison. There is a general sense of low morale. Unfortunately, this scenario is far from unusual. Schools on the Navajo Nation, like many Indian reservations throughout the country, have been historically and systematically overlooked. Structures that elsewhere would be condemned continue to operate on reservations, standing for the proposition that American Indian students and their education continue to be deprioritized and undervalued. Solutions addressing American Indian education, over its 200-year history, remain scant and disproportionate.
It took the government over one-hundred years after the inception of schools for American Indian students to address the social status of American Indians around the country. This was accomplished in the 1928 Meriam Report, which served as the first ever formal government initiative aimed at addressing the grim realities of life for American Indians nationally.
In 1965, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act established Title I, a program specifically aimed at providing support for education programs serving economically disadvantaged children. In 1969, the U.S. Senate’s Subcommittee on Indian Education’s dismal report on American Indian education, titled Indian Education: A National Tragedy—A National Challenge, decried the government’s failure in addressing the needs of American Indian students, to whom the government has recognized obligations. The Kennedy Report observed that of approximately 160,000 elementary and secondary tribal students nationwide, one-third were in Bureau of Indian Education schools and two-thirds were in public schools, but virtually all of the students were receiving an inadequate education. The Kennedy Report lauded the then-new Rough Rock Demonstration School on the Navajo Nation as being “the only example of a successful school under tribal control.” Today, Rough Rock Community School, as it has been renamed, maintains a strong Navajo Immersion Program that is recognized throughout the Navajo Nation.
In response to the Kennedy Report, renewed attention was given to American Indian education, leading to the passage of The Indian Education Act of 1972, which authorized funding to support three new initiatives aimed at assisting Indian students: (1) the formula grant program for the special educational needs of Indian students; (2) the discretionary grant program for a broad range of educational improvement initiatives; and (3) special Indian adult education and literacy grants. The prime aspect of this Act, which still stands today, is the formula grant program. The formula grant program requires public school districts to meet with parents and form parent committees. By mandating more community participation, the Indian Education Act established that equity of voice would replace unilateral decision making when it comes to matters involving education, consistent with the notion of tribal consultation.
Several other laws and measures pertaining to Indian education were passed between the 1970s and the twenty-first century. In 1998, President Bill Clinton issued Executive Order No. 13096, formally addressing American Indian education through comprehensive measures. After a series of meetings with tribes and the multi-organizational efforts in compiling an Indian education policy statement entitled Comprehensive Federal Indian Education Policy Statement, the Clinton Administration issued the Order. The Order addressed the “unique political and legal relationship of the Federal Government with tribal governments . . . .”
In 2001, following the reauthorization of the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act, came the controversial No Child Left Behind Act, which required greater accountability of schools for teacher quality and results of high-stakes testing through implementation of “scientifically based research instruction.” No Child Left Behind, which has now been replaced by the Every Child Succeeds Act of 2015, contained many provisions regarding tribal governance in education. In light of No Child Left Behind’s passage came a new Executive Order, this time signed into effect by President George W. Bush in July 2002. The Order was intended to assist tribal students in meeting the rigorous academic standards of the No Child Left Behind Act in a manner consistent with tribal traditions, languages, and cultures.
In 2011, President Barack Obama issued a similar Executive Order, specifically addressing American Indian education and the need for the federal government, tribes, and other organizations to respond with a sense of urgency. The Order declared that federal agencies must help improve educational opportunities for all American Indian students in the public school setting, in schools operated by the Bureau of Indian Education, and in the postsecondary setting. Like its predecessors, it drew attention to the disparities in American Indian education, highlighting a general lack of access to high caliber teachers and strong, culturally congruent resources. It also drew attention to dropout rates and access to postsecondary opportunities. Federal agencies were to, in a collaborative fashion, engage in the collection and dissemination of data with tribal educational agencies, independent organizations, and state entities to develop sustainable strategies to address the issues raised within the Order.
Today, education is at the forefront of social concern, with educators leaving the profession in droves after post-recession budgets have dwindled to historic lows. Nationally, schools are being forced to cut out invaluable resources in the effort to retain what few high-quality teachers remain. States such as West Virginia, Oklahoma, Colorado, North Carolina, and Arizona have endured walk-outs lasting weeks as educators and others demand education funding be prioritized. Nationally, education is being confronted with deteriorating conditions, something school systems in Indian Country have known for too long. Yet, amidst the renewed national attention to education, the conversation concerning American Indian education appears non-existent.