Strong opposition to English Only Language Education for Native Children in Public Schools

WHEREAS, the National Indian Education Association (NIEA) was established in 1969 for the purpose of advocating, planning, and promoting the unique and special educational needs of American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians; and

WHEREAS, as the largest national Indian organization of American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian educators, administrators, parents, and students in the United States, provides a forum to discuss and act upon issues affecting the education of Indian and Native people; and

WHEREAS, through its unique political relationships with Indian nations and tribes, the federal government has established programs and resources to meet the educational needs of American Indians, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiians residing on and off their reserved and non-reserved homelands; and

WHEREAS, the preservation and maintenance of Indian cultures and religions, which depend totally on American Indian languages in order to thrive, is an inherent right and vital to all aspects of American Indian life; and

WHEREAS, Indian Nations are no longer concerned only with enabling their children to learn English, but enabling them to acquire and develop in both their Native languages and English; and

WHEREAS, Arizona State Ballot Proposition 203 – English Language Education for Children in Public Schools, to be voted on by Arizona voters during the November 7, 2000 General Elections, have been developed by “English for the Children” – an Arizona group claiming to be “grassroots,” but is funded by Ron Unz, a wealthy California computer entrepreneur;and

WHEREAS, Ron Unz, managed Proposition 227 (Unz Initiative) that was passed in California last summer and is now determined to employ this tactic in every state of the Union eventually affecting all tribes to implement the ideology of the “English Only” movement; and

WHEREAS, Proposition 203 is an “English Only initiative that would place all children with limited English in an “intensive one-year [only] English program” which they call “sheltered English immersion” or “structured English immersion”; and

WHEREAS, the Native American Language Act of 1990, P.L. 101-477, declares the policy of the United States is to “encourage and support the use of Native American Languages as a medium of instruction” and further states “the right of Native Americans to express themselves through the use of Native American Languages shall not be restricted in any public proceeding, including publicly supported education programs”; and

WHEREAS, Proposition 203 and other such efforts nationwide would adversely affect efforts in public schools where American Indian children learn about our culture through the use of American Indian languages; and

WHEREAS, the initiative will also adversely affect funding for State funded tribal charter schools, if the school staff are found teaching in American Indian languages; and

WHEREAS,  passage of Proposition 203 would place public and other schools on tribal lands and off of tribal lands that, or aspire to, offer educational instruction in an American Indian language in a difficult position between conflicting Federal, state, and tribal laws.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE NATIONAL INDIAN EDUCATION ASSOCIATION declares its strong opposition to any present and future initiatives, including Proposition 203, or any measure designed to impede the rights and responsibilities of tribal nations to conserve and preserve their native languages; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT THE NATIONAL INDIAN EDUCATON ASSOCIATION directs all tribal leaders, tribal education directors, and native educators to inform and educate all concerned with the survival of American Indian languages of the destructiveness of such initiatives and measures, like Proposition 203, and to actively oppose any other actions impeding American Indian language revitalization efforts or similar attempts to destroy Indian cultures and the freedoms on which this country is founded.

SUBMITTED BY: Calbert Seciwa, Zuni

CERTIFICATION

I do hereby certify that the foregoing resolution was duly considered and passed by the NIEA membership assembled at its annual convention in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, at which a quorum w s present during the meeting held October 28 -November 1, 2000.