2017-03: In Support of Effective Implementation of Indian Education for All Learning

WHEREAS, the National Indian Education Association (NIEA) was established in 1970 for the purpose of advocating, planning, and promoting the unique and special educational needs of American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians; and

WHEREAS, NIEA 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 relationship with Indian nations and tribes, the federal government has a fiduciary responsibility to meet the educational needs of American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians, residing on and off their reserved or non-reserved homelands; and

WHEREAS, a comprehensive curriculum that respects and includes Native communities, cultures, histories, literature, and current events, and benefits all students by providing cultural history that improves cultural understand to help students become better citizens and helps improve Native students’ connection with and belief in education; and

WHEREAS, NIEA has supported Montana’s Indian Education for All mandate, via NIEA Resolution 2014-01: Indian Education for All, which calls upon states to adopt legislation similar to Montana’s statute in consultation with American Indian tribes and people of the state; and

WHEREAS, since the passage of NIEA Resolution 2014-01, districts and schools with higher implementation levels reported significant benefits to general instruction and cultural awareness as outlined in the external evaluation titled, Montana Indian Education for All Evaluation (2015); and

WHEREAS, NIEA reiterates our call for states to consider the adoption of legislation modeled after the “Indian Education for All” statute of Montana in consultation with American Indian tribes and people of the state.

WHEREAS, NIEA advocates for greater alignment between state legislation, resources, and sustained implementation in states that have passed laws similar to Montana’s Indian Education for All, which includes Washington’s Since Time Immemorial: Tribal Sovereignty in Washington State and Nevada’s History and Contemporary Lifestyles of the Northern Paiute, Southern Paiute, Washoe and Western Shoshone Curriculum Guide; as well as Oregon and Wyoming, which have passed similar laws that are in the beginning stages of implementation of their state laws

WHEREAS, NIEA has become more and more concerned that in Montana, Washington state, and Nevada, incidents such as those in Wolf Point, Montana in 2017, and seen by NIEA after our Convention in Reno in 2016 show that legislation or a constitutional mandate at the state level requiring Indian Education for All are not enough if not implemented successfully; and

WHEREAS, NIEA requests that states provide adequate funding and resources to districts and to state accredited teacher preparation programs to ensure that implementation of IEFA is truly reflective of the policy at the local level.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the National Indian Education Association calls on states, districts, and public educational institutions to seek guidance from tribes and Native communities to work collaboratively to effectively implement legislation similar to IEFA if their respective state has already passed such a law.

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that this resolution shall be the policy of NIEA until it is withdrawn or modified by subsequent resolution.