2017-07: In Support of Native Frameworks for Charter Schools

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, schools serving Native students struggle to graduate them on time and prepared for college, career and community; and

WHEREAS, Native students continue to experience exacerbated educational disparities which includes statistics such as: in 2014-15, Native students attending public schools had a graduation rate that was 11 percent lower than the national graduation rate across the United States as reported by the National Center for Education Statistics; and

WHEREAS, in 2012-13, Native students attending the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) schools, experienced a 59.6 percent graduation rate in high school compared to the national average of 81.4 percent in 2012-13; and

WHEREAS, 32.4% of the under-18 Native population lives in poverty and Native teens experience the highest suicide rate of any population group in the United States; and

WHEREAS, since its founding, NIEA has advocated for the federal government to fulfill its trust responsibility to Native students; and

WHEREAS, one way to fulfill this trust responsibility is by fully funding existing school systems which utilize Native thought and philosophy as the foundation to holistically support Native students; and

WHEREAS, charter schools were created to allow local communities the flexibility to innovate and create education systems that serve the unique needs of their children and youth; and

WHEREAS, NIEA supports tribes and Native communities to develop schools that address and elevate the unique and individualized needs of their community; and

WHEREAS, large charters or for profit charter schools fail to provide relevant cultural pedagogy and community perspective to support Native student growth; and

WHEREAS, Native students in charter schools without Native foundations often experience inadequate education systems that do not provide equitable and excellent education accessible to all students; and

WHEREAS, a set of core principles that embody a Native framework is critical to ensuring that the social, cultural, emotional, physical, and spiritual needs of Native students are met.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, NIEA supports the following foundational principles for the development of Native charter schools:

  1. Integrate Native languages, histories, and cultures into the schools to help ground students in who they are, where they come from, and support them in fulfilling their purpose;

  2. Place based learning that is derived from the community’s perspective and lived experiences throughout the entire learning process;

  3. Application of Native thought and philosophy in order for Native students to be college, career, and community ready.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that NIEA shall be vigilant against harm to Native students, in any school system, including charters, that prevent Native students from reaching their full potential.

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

Adrianne Elliott