2014 Native Youth Report

Executive Office of the President 

December 2014
2

(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
3

Introduction 

Let’s put our minds together to improve our schools -- because our children deserve a worldclass education, too, that prepares them for college and careers. And that means returning 

control of Indian education to tribal nations with additional resources and support so that you 

can direct your children’s education and reform schools here in Indian Country. And even as 

they prepare for a global economy, we want children, like these wonderful young children here, 

learning about their language and learning about their culture, just like the boys and girls do at 

Lakota Language Nest here at Standing Rock. We want to make sure that continues and we build 

on that success.—President Barack Obama

1

In June 2014, President Obama embarked on his first presidential visit to Indian Country, 

where he and Mrs. Obama witnessed the tale of two Americas. Standing Rock Reservation, like 

many others, faces myriad social, economic, and educational problems. Together, those problems 

are coalescing into a crisis for our most vulnerable population − Native youth. The specific 

struggles that Native youth face often go unmentioned in our nation’s discussions about 

America’s children, and that has to change. In their visit to Standing Rock, President and Mrs. 

Obama met with a group of Native youth, who courageously shared their stories of struggle and 

triumph. After hearing their stories, President Obama challenged his Administration to do more 

and do better for the young people of Indian Country.

The Obama Administration is working to find solutions to the pressing problems that 

confront Native youth, with an emphasis on education, economic development, and health. This 

report aims to bring attention to these matters and to issue a call to action to all Americans, to 

work together to remove barriers that stand between Native youth and their opportunity to 

succeed.

1 Barack Obama, President of the U.S., Remarks by the President at the Cannon Ball Flag Day Celebration (June 13,

2014), http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/06/13/remarks-president-cannon-ball-flag-day-celebration.
4

Native youth have a special role as citizens of tribal nations in defining the future of this 

country, and also in leading Native cultures, traditions, and governments into the next century. 

However, they experience significant institutional and intergenerational challenges in reaching 

their potential. Native children are far more likely than their non-Native peers to grow up in 

poverty, to suffer from severe health problems, and to face obstacles to educational opportunity. 

These conditions are systemic and severe, and must be addressed through increased resources 

and strategic action.

The United States has a unique nation-to-nation relationship with and owes a trust 

responsibility to Indian tribes. The federal government's trust relationship with Indian tribes 

(which is based on treaties, agreements, statutes, court decisions, and executive orders) charges 

the United States with moral obligations of the highest responsibility. Yet, despite the United 

States' historic and sacred trust responsibility to Indian tribes, there is a history of deeply 

troubling and destructive federal policies and actions that have hurt Native

communities, exacerbated severe inequality, and accelerated the loss of tribal cultural 

traditions. The repudiated federal policies regarding the education of Indian children are among 

those with a devastating and continuing effect on Native peoples.

Past efforts to meet trust obligations often have led to problematic results, even when 

intentions were good. Education was at the center of many harmful policies because of its nexus 

with social and cultural knowledge. Education was—and remains—a critical vehicle for 

impacting the lives of Native youth for better or worse. Beginning in the early 1970s, the federal 

government resumed support of tribal sovereignty and self-determination, recognizing the 

significant gaps in opportunities and life outcomes created in the previous two centuries. In
5

education, recognizing that tribes must be part of the solution in Indian country meant that 

federal policy shifted to align itself more closely with tribal goals.

Unfortunately, in addition to the other negative effects of decades of debilitating poverty 

on Native youth, educational progress was and continues to be hindered by poor physical 

infrastructure in the schools serving Native youth. Today, federal and state partners are making 

improvements in a number of areas, including education, but absent a significant increase in 

financial and political investment, the path forward is uncertain. Despite advances in tribal selfdetermination, the opportunity gaps remain startling:

 More than one in three American Indian and Alaska Native children live in poverty

2

 The American Indian/Alaskan Native high school graduation rate is 67 percent,

3

the 

lowest of any racial/ethnic demographic group across all schools. And the most recent 

Department of Education data indicate that the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) schools 

fare even worse, with a graduation rate of 53 percent, compared to a national average of 

80 percent.

4

 Suicide is the second leading cause of death—2.5 times the national rate—for Native 

youth in the 15 to 24 year old age group.

5

Without many urgently needed investments and reforms targeting Native youth in 

education and other high impact areas, Native youth face even greater challenges in the future.

2 Data from the 2008-2012 Amer. Community Survey 5-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Dep’t of

Commerce (Dec. 17, 2013) [hereinafter 2008-2012 ACS].

3

Indian Students in Public Schools- Cultivating the Next Generation: Hearing on Indian Education Before the S.

Comm. on Indian Affairs, 113th Cong. (2014) (testimony of William Mendoza, Exec. Dir., White House Initiative

on Am. Indian and Alaska Native Educ.).

4 See MARIE C. STETSER & ROBERT STILLWELL, U.S. DEP’T OF EDUC., NAT’L CTR. FOR EDUC. STAT., PUBLIC HIGH 

SCHOOL FOUR-YEAR ON-TIME GRADUATION RATES AND EVENT DROPOUT RATES: SCHOOL YEARS 2010-11 AND

2011-12 10 (2014), available at http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2014/2014391.pdf.

5 Pamela Hyde, Adm’r, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Servs. Admin., U.S. Dep’t of Health & Human

Services, Behavioral Health and Tribal Communities (Feb. 8, 2011), at

http://www.store.samhsa.gov/shin/content/SMA11-PHYDE020811/SMA11-PHYDE020811.pdf.
6

The impact of these challenges is significant; 39 percent of the American Indian and Alaska 

Native population is under 24 years old

6—compared to 33 percent of the total population. Across 

the United States, tribes and their communities are making meaningful and often transformative 

differences in the lives of their children. By bolstering the interest and involvement of Native 

youth in tribal cultures and traditions, Native communities have learned how to reach struggling 

youth. But the challenges faced by Native youth require broader support. Federal, state, local, 

and tribal governments, as well as private and nonprofit sector institutions, all have roles in 

assuring that all young people have the tools and opportunities they need to succeed.

This report summarizes the nature and effect of misguided federal policies on Native 

children historically, with a particular focus on education. It then examines the breadth of 

negative consequences, including poor health, education, and employment outcomes, which are 

the legacy of these past policies. Next, this report describes the education systems currently 

serving Native youth and focuses on some root causes of the persistent educational disparities 

identified in the prior section. Finally, this report proposes some broad recommendations on 

opportunities for tribes to engage with other governmental entities and the private and nonprofit 

sectors to strengthen ladders of opportunity for youth and to help rebuild more prosperous, 

resilient tribal nations. In doing so, this report identifies areas where promising work is already 

taking place and where more work is needed.

6 42 percent compared to 34 percent of the total population—and a large bubble in the 15-19 age group in particular,

Data from 2008-2012 ACS, supra n. 2.
7

The History of Federal Educational Policies 

"Only by complete isolation of the Indian child from his savage antecedents can he be 

satisfactorily educated." —John B. Riley, Indian School

7

The hallmarks of colonial experiments in Indian education were religious indoctrination, 

cultural intolerance, and the wholesale removal of Native children from their languages, 

religions, cultures, families, and communities. The overlapping goals of this “education” and 

“civilization” operated as euphemisms and justifications for taking culturally and physically 

injurious actions against Native children and their peoples. As a tool of colonization, education 

served the dual purposes of imposing European and Euro-American cultures and justifying 

seizure of Indian land. Early examples include the Puritans’ “praying towns,” established in the 

1600s to separate Native people from their nations and to Christianize them,

8

and the first 

boarding school for Native students in 1754.

9 Early American diplomacy engaged tribes through 

treaties and substantive diplomatic protocol that acknowledged their importance in securing 

independence, territory, and unity among the states. At the same time, American policy toward 

Indian peoples deeply focused on assimilationist strategies. Indian education provisions and 

vague references to “civilization” became a feature of treaties between the U.S. treaties with 

tribal nations. In 1819, Congress established a permanent “civilization fund” to “award, in effect, 

religious franchises of named Indian tribes to Christian denominations for the purpose of 

education and conversion to Euro-American ways.”

10

7

John B. Riley, Report of the Indian School Superintendent, in U.S. BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, ANNUALREPORT 

OF THE COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS FOR THE YEAR 1886 LXI (1886).

8

JON REYHNER & JEANNE EDER, AMERICAN INDIAN EDUCATION: A HISTORY 26-28 (2006).

9 Lorie Graham, The Past Never Vanishes: A Contextual Critique of the Existing Indian Family Doctrine, 23 Am.

Indian L. Rev. 1, 12 (1999).

10 NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE:

CHALLENGES OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN 33 (2011).
8

Over time, the federal government’s support for religious organizations in Indian 

education became a centralized system of federally-funded Indian boarding schools. The pioneer 

of this education/civilization model was Captain Richard Henry Pratt, a longtime soldier and

veteran of the Civil War and 

Indian Wars. After turning an 

Army prison in Florida into a 

“school for civilization” in 1875, 

Pratt opened the Carlisle Indian 

School in 1879.11 His nowinfamous maxim—“Kill the 

Indian, Save the Man”—

encapsulated both the objective of 

his assimilationist vision and the psychological and actual violence with which it was executed.

12 

School officials closely monitored student behavior and punished students for speaking Native 

languages and practicing tribal traditions or religions.

13 Pratt’s arrogant and paternalistic plans 

sought elimination of Native peoples’ cultures and identities under the guise of Indian education.

While many boarding schools did not conform entirely to the Carlisle model, nearly all 

Native students were subjected to a two-pronged assault on their tribal identities from the 

moment they entered one of these institutions. First, school officials stripped away all outward 

signs of Indian children’s association with tribal life. School officials mandated uniforms,

11 RICHARD HENRY PRATT, BATTLEFIELD AND CLASSROOM: FOUR DECADES WITH THE AMERICAN INDIAN, 1867-

1904 xxi (Robert M. Utley ed., Univ. of Okla. Press 2003) (1964).

12 AMERICANIZING THE AMERICAN INDIANS: WRITINGS BY THE “FRIENDS OF THE INDIAN” 1880-1900 261 (Francis

Paul Prucha ed., Harvard Univ. Press 1973).

13 See generally DAVID WALLACE ADAMS, EDUCATION FOR EXTINCTION: AMERICAN INDIANS AND THE BOARDING 

SCHOOL EXPERIENCE, 1875-1928 (Univ. of Kan., 1995).
9

dictated hair length

14

, and in many cases ordered children to change their Indian names to 

common Euro-American names.15 Second, the boarding schools’ pedagogy was intended to 

eliminate the traditional culture from Native youth and restructure their minds and life-ways. 

Boarding school educators commonly had four key goals: to teach students English, Christianize 

them, inculcate within them the values and beliefs of possessive individualism, and ultimately 

prepare them for American citizenship.

16 Furthermore, by removing children from the 

“corrupting” influences of their families and everyday reservation life for years at a time, these 

institutions usurped Indian parenting responsibilities, tore apart tribal kinship networks, and 

destroyed the fabric of Indian communities.

17

Native families responded to these policies with a mixture of resistance and 

accommodation. One Hopi student recounted how children and their parents evaded compulsory 

school attendance through “a desperate game of hide-and-seek” with school officials and police. 

The student recalled that while they hid, they “saw the feet of the principal and the policeman as 

they walked by, and . . . as they looked about wondering where the children were.”

18 Mandatory 

school attendance was further enforced through congressional action. Laws and treaties 

authorized provisions that denied parents subsistence rations if they refused to send their children 

to school.19

14 See Id. at 101 (explaining that long hair held various cultural meanings for different tribes, and this mandatory

policy proved humiliating for the majority of students); see also U.S. BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, ANNUAL 

REPORTS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30 1902, Indian Affairs, Part 1.

Report of the Commissioner, and Appendixes 13-15 (1903).

15 Teachers renamed a large portion of their new Native students—a procedure that symbolized bestowing Indian

children with a new American identity and discarding the relics of their “savage pasts.” Daniel L. Littlefield, Jr. &

Lonnie E. Underhill, Renaming the American Indian: 1890-1915, 12 AM. STUDIES 33, 33-45 (1971).

16 ADAMS, supra note 13, at 22-24.

17 GRAHAM, supra note 9, at 14.

18 MICHAELC. COLEMAN, AMERICAN INDIAN CHILDREN AT SCHOOL, 1850-1930, at 62 (Univ. of Miss. Press 1993).

19 See, for example, Regulations by Secretary of the Interior to secure attendance at school, 25 U.S.C. § 282 (1920);

Indian Reform School; rules and regulations; consent of parents to placing youth in reform school, 25 U.S.C. § 302

(1906).
10

The broader cultural conflict was not lost on tribes; confronted with a changing and 

increasingly foreign world, some sent their children to school as a survival mechanism, with the 

hope that Euro-American education would provide the tools needed to succeed in the outside 

world.

20Despite these efforts, boarding schools failed in their mission to transform Native 

children into images of their Euro-American counterparts. Instead, many students experienced 

traumatic alienation when they returned home, finding themselves no longer able to connect with 

their families, while simultaneously confronting the endemic racism that limited and undermined 

their ability to fully join the non-Indian world.

The early twentieth century saw federal policy go full circle, with a brief departure from 

an assimilation-based approach to one that supported tribal sovereignty and a quick return to 

assimilationist practices. In 1923, Commissioner of Indian Affairs John Collier declared that “the 

administration of Indian affairs [is] a disgrace—a policy designed to rob Indians of their 

property, destroy their culture [,] and eventually exterminate them.”

21 Five years later, the 

Meriam Report condemned the boarding schools’ “deplorable health conditions,” noting the 

prevalence of tuberculosis and trachoma, and commented that “the question may very properly 

be raised as to whether much of the work of Indian children in boarding schools would not be 

prohibited in many states by child labor laws.”

22

These criticisms prompted a shift in federal Indian education policy that recognized the

value of maintaining Native cultures and strengthening tribal families and social structures.

23As a 

result, during the 1930s, the Bureau of Indian Affairs closed 16 boarding schools and opened 84

20 COLEMAN, supra note 18, at 105.

21 REYHNER & EDER, supra note 8, at 207.

22 INST. FOR GOV’T RESEARCH., MERIAM REPORT: THE PROBLEM OF INDIAN ADMINISTRATION 32 (1921),

http://www.narf.org/nill/merriam/n_meriam_chapter9_part1_education.pdf.

23 REYHNER & EDER, supra note 8, at 11.
11

reservation-based day schools.

24 However, this positive shift was not universal. For example, the 

House Select Committee on Indian Affairs declared in 1944 that, “[t]he goal of Indian education 

should be to make the Indian child a better American rather than to equip him simply to be a 

better Indian.”

25 The Committee disapproved of on-reservation day schools and encouraged a 

return to boarding schools

26, where children could “progress” much more quickly in learning the 

“white man’s way of life.”

27

In 1969, the Senate convened a Special Subcommittee on Indian Education to investigate 

the challenges facing Native students. The resulting report, entitled “Indian Education: A 

National Tragedy, a National Challenge,” informally known as the Kennedy Report, 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.”28 The Subcommittee detailed 60 recommendations for overhauling the system, 

all of which centered on “increased Indian participation and control of their own education 

programs.”

29

Congress also moved to enhance the role of Native nations in education, with the Indian

Education Act of 1972,

30

the landmark Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act 

of 1975,

31

the Tribally Controlled Community College Assistance Act of 1978,32and the

24 INDIAN EDUCATION: A NATIONAL TRAGEDY– A NATIONAL CHALLENGE, S. REP. NO. 91-501, at 13 (1969)

[hereinafter KENNEDY REPORT].

25 H.R. REP. NO. 78-2091, at 9 (1944).

26 As late as 1974, more than 17 percent—or 34,000—of all Native youth attended federal boarding schools. Ryan

SeeLau, Regaining Control Over the Children: Reversing the Legacy of Assimilative Policies in Education, Child

Welfare, and Juvenile Justice that Targeted Native American Youth, 1 Am. Indian L. Rev. 37, 86 (2012-2013).

27 H.R. REP. NO. 78-2091, at 9.

28 KENNEDY REPORT, supra note 24, at 21.

29 KENNEDY REPORT, supra note 24, at xiii.

30 Pub. L. No. 92-318, 86 Stat. 334 (1972) repealed by Tribally Controlled Schools Act of 1988, 102 Stat. 414.

31 Pub. L. No. 93–638, 88 Stat. 2206 (1975) (codified as amended at 25 U.S.C. § 450 et. seq. (2006)) (authorizing

tribes to contract directly with the federal government to operate Bureau of Indian Education schools).

32 Pub. L. No. 95–471, 92 Stat. 1325 (1978) (codified as amended at 25 U.S.C. § 1802 et. seq. (1988) (supporting the

development of tribal colleges and universities)).
12

Tribally Controlled Schools Act of 1988.33 These laws provided tribal governments, 

communities, and families with unprecedented opportunities to influence the direction of their 

children’s future.

The inconsistent and often detrimental history of education policy up to that point left 

lasting scars, which continue to affect Native youth and the underlying nation-to-nation 

relationship. Today, tribes operate more than two-thirds of Bureau of Indian Education schools

34 

and 37 tribal colleges and universities.

35 More than 200 tribal nations have created their own 

education departments or agencies and vested them with the authority and responsibility to 

implement tribal education goals and priorities.

36 Despite these significant strides, today’s Native 

youth continue to confront formidable barriers to success.

33 Pub. L. No. 100-297, 102 Stat. 385 (1988) (codified as amended at 25 U.S.C. §§ 2501 et seq. (2002)).

34 Bureau of Indian Education Study Group, Findings and Recommendations, Submitted to the Secretaries of the

Dep’ts of the Interior and Educ. (June 27, 2014) [hereinafter BIE Blueprint], available at

http://www.doi.gov/news/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&pageid=537280.

35 American Indian Higher Education Consortium, at http://www.aihec.org/index.cfml (last visited Nov. 30,

2014).

36 AMY BOWERS, TRIBAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENTS NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, TRIBAL EDUCATION DEPARTMENTS

REPORT 1 (2011), at http://www.narf.org/nill/resources/education/reports/tednareport2011.pdf.
13

The Current Crisis of Native Youth 

“Whoever controls the education of our children controls our future.”—Wilma Mankiller, 

former Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation

37

While the many challenges facing today’s Native youth are complex and interconnected, 

they cannot be divorced from the enduring legacies of historic U.S. policies. In 2000, thenAssistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Kevin Gover (Pawnee) incisively described this 

relationship when he reflected on the 175

th Anniversary of the Bureau of Indian Affairs:

This agency forbade the speaking of Indian languages, prohibited the conduct of 

traditional religious activities, outlawed traditional government, and made Indian people 

ashamed of who they were. Worst of all, the Bureau of Indian Affairs committed these 

acts against the children entrusted to its boarding schools, brutalizing them emotionally, 

psychologically, physically, and spiritually. Even in this era of self-determination, when 

the Bureau of Indian Affairs is at long last serving as an advocate for Indian people in an 

atmosphere of mutual respect, the legacy of these misdeeds haunts us. The trauma of 

shame, fear and anger has passed from one generation to the next, and manifests itself in 

the rampant alcoholism, drug abuse, and domestic violence that plague Indian country. . . 

So many of the maladies suffered today in Indian country result from the failures of this 

agency.

38

Educational Disparities

The negative effects of entrenched poverty and the troubled history of Indian education 

have combined with systemic challenges to result in sharply lower academic and educational 

outcomes for Native youth, who also have dramatically fewer educational opportunities than 

their peers. This disparity has dire consequences for both individual Native youth and tribal

37 WORDS OF POWER: VOICES FROM INDIAN AMERICA 19 (Norbert S. Hill ed.1994).

38 Kevin Gover, Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, Remarks at the Ceremony

Acknowledging the 175th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (Sept.8, 2000), at

http://www.nativeweb.org/pages/legal/gover.html.
14

nations. For Native youth, this means fewer opportunities to complete college or career training 

and move into meaningful jobs; for tribal nations, it means fewer opportunities to develop 

leaders who can build stronger tribal economies and contribute to the overall rebuilding of 

Native nations.

While progress has been made in recent decades,39 American Indians and Alaska Natives

continue to have worse 

educational outcomes than the 

general population by nearly 

all measures. Twenty-two 

percent of American Indians 

and Alaska Natives ages 25 

and older have not finished 

high school, and only 13 

percent have completed a

bachelor’s degree or higher, compared to 29 percent of the U.S. population who have a 

bachelor’s degree or higher.

40

The vast majority of Native students—92 percent—attend local public schools operated 

by state and local educational authorities. States have a responsibility to educate all students who 

live within the state’s borders, including students who are members of Indian tribes.

41 The other

39 Native college enrollment more than doubled between 1976 and 2006. JILL FLEURY DEVOE & KRISTEN DARLINGCHURCHILL, STATUS AND TRENDS IN THE EDUCATION OF AMERICAN INDIANS AND ALASKA NATIVES: 2008 U.S.

DEP’T OF EDUC., NAT’L CTR. FOR EDUC. STATISTICS 126 (Sept. 2008), at

http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2008084.

40 2010-2012 Amer. Community Survey 3-year estimates, U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Dep’t of Commerce (Nov. 14,

2013),athttp://www.census.gov/acs/www/data_documentation/2012_release/.

41 The federal trust responsibility or other obligations “do not undermine the independent responsibilities of states

and local governments.” COHEN’S HANDBOOK OF FEDERAL INDIAN LAW §§ 22.01[3], 22.03[1][b] (Neil Jessup

Newton ed. 2012) [hereinafter COHEN’S HANDBOOK].
15

8 percent of Native students—approximately 41,600—are enrolled in 183 federally-funded 

Bureau of Indian Education schools.

42 These schools are located on 63 reservations in 23 states.43

Native youth experience major disparities in many aspects of their education. Overall,

Native students score far lower than other students on national tests; the gap in reading and math

test scores between Native and 

white students is more than 

half of a standard deviation 

throughout their educational 

careers. Twenty-two percent 

of Native fourth graders and 

17 percent of Native eighth 

graders scored at the 

“proficient” or “advanced”

levels in math in 2011.44 Nationally, 40 percent of fourth graders and 35 percent of eighth

graders scored in this range. This reflects a profound gap in primary and secondary academic 

achievement.

In addition to disparate educational outcomes, American Indians and Alaska 

Natives are over represented in the school discipline system. They are 

disproportionately suspended and expelled, representing less than one percent of the 

student population but two percent of out-of-school suspensions and three percent of

42 U.S. Dep’t of Interior, Bureau of Indian Educ. webpage, at http://bie.edu/HowAreWeDoing/index.htm.

43 DEVOE, supra n. 39, at 46.

44 NAT’L CTR. FOR EDUC. STATISTICS, U.S. DEP’T OF EDUC., NATIONAL INDIAN EDUCATION STUDY 2011: THE 

EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES OF AMERICAN INDIAN AND ALASKA NATIVE STUDENTS AT GRADES FOUR AND EIGHT 2

(2011),athttp://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pdf/studies/2012466.pdf.
16

expulsions.

45 Research has 

suggested that these racial 

disparities (reflected in Civil 

Rights Data Collection data) 

are not explained by more 

frequent or more serious 

misbehavior by students of 

color.

46 Native kindergarten 

students are also held back at

nearly twice the rate of white kindergarten students.

47 With these systemic challenges, it 

is not surprising that American Indian and Alaska Native students had the lowest fouryear high school graduation rate, 67 percent, of any racial or ethnic group in the 2011-

2012 school year.

48

These national statistics, although discouraging, may mask an even more acute problem 

on tribal lands within BIE funded schools. Of the 183 BIE schools, 34 percent (63 schools) are

45 OFFICE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS, U.S. DEP’T OF EDUC., ISSUE BRIEF NO. 1, DATA SNAPSHOT: SCHOOL DISCIPLINE 1

(March2014), at http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/crdc-discipline-snapshot.pdf.

46 See generally Michael Rocque & Raymond Paternoster, Understanding the Antecedents of the “School-to-Jail”

Link: The Relationship Between Race and School Discipline, 101 J. CRIM. L. & CRIMINOLOGY 633 (2011);

Russell J. Skiba et al., Race Is Not Neutral: A National Investigation of African American and Latino

Disproportionality in School Discipline, 40 SCH. PSYCHOL. REV. 85 (2011); T. FABELO, PH.D. ET AL., COUNCIL 

OF STATE GOVERNMENTS JUSTICE CTR., BREAKING SCHOOLS’ RULES: A STATEWIDE STUDY OF HOW SCHOOL

DISCIPLINE RELATES TO STUDENTS’ SUCCESS AND JUVENILE JUSTICE INVOLVEMENT (July 2011); A. Gregory & A.R.

Thompson, African American High School Students and Variability in Behavior Across Classrooms, 38 J.

COMMUNITY PSYCHOL. 386 (2010); R.J. Skiba, et al., The Color of Discipline: Sources of Racial and Gender

Disproportionality in School Punishment, 34 URBAN REV. 317 (2002); Michael Rocque, Office Discipline and

Student Behavior: Does Race Matter?, 116 AM. J. EDUC. 557 (2010).

47 OFFICE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS, U.S. DEP’T OF EDUC., ISSUE BRIEF NO. 2, DATA SNAPSHOT: EARLY CHILDHOOD

EDUCATION 1 (March 2014), at http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/crdc-early-learning-snapshot.pdf.

48 MARIE C. STETSER & ROBERT STILLWELL, NAT’L CTR. FOR EDUC. STATISTICS, U.S. DEP’T EDUC., PUBLIC HIGH 

SCHOOL FOUR-YEAR ON-TIME GRADUATION RATES AND EVENT DROPOUT RATES: SCHOOL YEARS 2010-11 & 2011-

12 at 7-10 (April 2014), at http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2014/2014391.pdf.
17

in poor condition,49and 27 percent are over 40 years old. The needed repairs are estimated to 

cost $967 million across all BIE funded schools. 50In these schools, fourth graders scored, on 

average, 22 points lower in reading and 14 points lower in math than Native students attending 

public schools.51 Sixty percent of BIE-funded schools do not have adequate digital bandwidth or 

computers to meet the requirements of new assessments aligned to college and career ready 

standards.

52

Those Native students who do graduate and go on to college are too often ill 

equipped. They attend high schools that simply do not have the right courses, strong 

mentorship, or opportunities

that lead to a successful college 

experience. Few Native youth 

are enrolled in high-level math 

courses in high school, such as 

calculus, or in other rigorous 

high school classes, which are 

a gateway to higher education.

49 Poor condition is determined by the formula. If the Cost of Deficiencies/Current Replacement Value is greater

than .10 than the school is determined to be in poor condition. One way to think about this is that the cost of repairs

are greater than 10 percent of the value of the school itself.

50 BIE Blueprint, supra n. 34, at 20.

51 DEVOE, supra n. 39, at 72-79.

52 DEVOE, supra n. 39, at 102-103.
18

American Indian and Alaska Native youth are the least likely of all student populations 

to attend a high school that offers Advanced Placement courses,

53

and fewer than half of

Native high school 

students have the full 

range of math and 

science courses 

available at their 

schools.54 Only one 

in four Native high 

school students who 

take the American 

College Test (ACT) 

score at the collegeready level in math, 

and only about onethird score at the 

college-ready level in 

reading.

55 Due in part 

to these disparities in

53 CHRISTINA THEOKAS & REID SAARIS, THE EDUCATION TRUST, FINDING AMERICA’S MISSING AP AND IB

STUDENTS 3 (June 2013), http://www.edtrust.org/sites/edtrust.org/files/Missing_Students.pdf.

54 OFFICE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS, U.S. DEP’T OF EDUC., ISSUE BRIEF NO. 3, DATA SNAPSHOT: COLLEGE AND CAREER

READINESS 1 (March 2014), at http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/crdc-college-and-career-readinesssnapshot.pdf.

55 AMERICAN COLLEGE TESTING (ACT), THE CONDITION OF COLLEGE AND CAREER READINESS, 2012 NATIONAL 5,

at http://www.act.org/research-policy/college-career-readiness-report-2012.
19

secondary education, only 39 percent of Native students who enrolled in a four-year 

institution in the fall of 2004 completed a bachelor’s degree by 2010, compared to 62 

percent of white students.

56

These statistics point to a stark reality: Native youth and Native education are in a state of

emergency. Low rates of educational attainment perpetuate a cycle of limited opportunity for 

higher education or economic success for American Indians and Alaska Natives. This crisis has 

grave consequences for Native nations, who need an educated citizenry to lead their 

governments, develop reservation economies, contribute to the social well-being of Native 

communities, and sustain Indian cultures.

Root Causes of Disparities in Native Educational Attainment

While the reasons for such low Native student academic achievement and 

educational attainment are multi-faceted and complex, some of the key factors 

responsible for this crisis are clear:

 Continued Lack of Genuine Tribal Control: Historically, states that have Indian 

lands within their geographic boundaries have not been required, or even 

encouraged, to collaborate with tribes in operating schools. Public education, 

which serves the vast majority of Native students in schools both on and off 

reservation and tribal lands, continues to exclude tribes and maintains non-tribal 

control over academic goals, funding, staffing, and curriculum. The lack of 

culturally-relevant curriculum and culturally competent staff that understand 

how to reach Native youth may lead to the high drop-out rates and low highschool graduation rates for AI/AN students. Although there are over 200 Tribal 

Education Departments, they are not adequately funded to develop tribal 

expertise. In addition, the BIE, which has transferred operation of two-thirds of 

schools to tribes, has not been adequately restructured to recognize its new 

primary role of supporting tribal programs, rather than being the primary 

provider of Indian education.

57 Tribes and Indian educators identify

56 LAURA G. KNAPP ET AL., NAT’L CTR. FOR EDUC. STATISTICS, U.S. DEP’T OF EDUC., ENROLLMENT IN

POSTSECONDARY INSTITUTIONS, FALL 2010; FINANCIAL STATISTICS, FISCAL YEAR 2010; AND GRADUATION RATES,

SELECTED COHORTS, 2002–07, at 17, Table 7 (2012), at http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2012/2012280.pdf (providing rates

of graduation for first-time postsecondary students, enrolling in four-year institutions and seeking a bachelor’s

degree).

57 BIE Blueprint, supra at 34, at 3.
62 Id.

20

infrastructure investments and administrative grant support costs as necessary 

resources to execute genuine tribal control.

 Lack of Comprehensive Student Support: As indicated above, Native children 

and youth grapple with a number of extraordinary challenges that stem from 

severe poverty. Schools that serve them are often not equipped to address these 

complex needs—mental health, nutrition, wellness, substance abuse, family life 

issues, exposure to bullying and violence, housing shortages, and other critical 

needs.

 Challenges in Recruiting and Retaining Highly Effective Teachers and School

Leaders: No in-school factor has a greater impact on a child’s learning than the 

quality of his or her teacher.

58 Reservation-based and other schools with large 

Native populations face tremendous obstacles in recruiting and retaining 

teaching and leadership talent, including, uncompetitive salaries, isolated rural 

settings, tough working conditions, few amenities, lack of job opportunities for 

spouses, and marginal housing.

59

 Lack of Native Languages and Cultures in School: Experience suggests that 

incorporating Native languages and culture into academic settings can improve 

educational engagement and outcomes. Such practices bolster their identity and 

self-worth of Native youth by respecting the norms and culture of their families 

and communities. Moreover, the local community, including elders, engages 

more in the learning process when it reflects and includes key elements of 

Native language and culture. However, few schools adequately incorporate 

Native cultures into the curriculum. In 2011, 27 percent of AI/ANs ages 5 years 

and older spoke a language other than English at home, compared to 21 percent 

for the entire nation.

60 Of the 187 languages still spoken in the United States and

Canada, 149 are no longer being taught to children.

61 Approximately 100 Native 

languages were located in California alone in the 1800s, yet today only 50 still 

have speakers, and none are being learned as the primary language of the 

household.62

58 RAND Education, Teachers Matter: Understanding Teachers’ Impact on Student Achievement, at

http://www.rand.org/education/projects/measuring-teacher-effectiveness/teachers-matter.html.

59 WHITE HOUSE INITIATIVE ON TRIBALCOLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES, U.S. DEP’T OF EDUC., TRIBAL LEADERS 

SPEAK: THE STATE OF INDIAN EDUCATION, REPORT OF THE CONSULTATIONS WITH TRIBAL LEADERS IN INDIAN

COUNTRY 27-31 (2010), at http://www2.ed.gov/about/inits/ed/indianed/docs.html.

60 U.S. CENSUS BUREAU, U.S. DEP’T OF COMMERCE, CB12-FF.22, AMERICAN INDIAN AND ALASKA NATIVE

HERITAGE MONTH: NOVEMBER 2012, at 4 (2012), at http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/pdf/cb12ff22_aian.pdf.

61 LYLE CAMPBELL, AMERICAN INDIAN LANGUAGES: THE HISTORICAL LINGUISTICS OF NATIVE AMERICA 16 (1997).
67 Id.

21

 Insufficient Funding: There persists a large backlog of unmet Native American 

needs to overcome a long history of neglect and discrimination.

63 Nearly $1 

billion is needed for repairs and construction for BIE funded schools alone. The 

lack of sufficient funding by the federal government is also an issue for health 

care. A 2003 report by the Civil Rights Commission indicated that the federal 

government spends less per capita on Native American health care than any 

other group for which it has this responsibility, including Medicaid recipients, 

prisoners, veterans, and military personnel.

64

Socioeconomic Disparities in Childhood

Still reeling from centuries of policies designed to dismantle tribal governments and 

identities, American Indians and Alaska Natives living on reservations and other tribal lands 

represent one of the most economically disadvantaged groups in the United States.

65

Improving 

the outcomes for Native youth requires addressing larger socioeconomic disparities. Although 

tribes have experienced significant economic gains in recent decades-with average per capita

incomes nearly doubling since 

197066—many of these gains 

occurred from 1970 to 1980. 

While most Americans’ income 

was rising through the 1980s and 

early 1990s, American Indians 

on reservations saw their 

incomes stagnate.

67

63 See U.S. COMM’N ON CIVIL RIGHTS, A QUIET CRISIS: FEDERAL FUNDING AND UNMET NEEDS IN INDIAN COUNTRY

43 (2003), at http://www.usccr.gov/pubs/na0703/na0731.pdf; see generally COHEN’S HANDBOOK, supra 41, at

§22.03.

64 Id.

65 Data from 2008-2012 ACS, supra n. 2.

66 A faster rate than the rest of the United States and faster than any other racial and ethnic group. Randall K.Q.

AKEE & JONATHAN B. TAYLOR, SOCIAL & ECONOMIC CHANGE ON AMERICAN INDIAN RESERVATIONS: A DATABOOK

OF THE US CENSUSES & THE AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY 1990-2010, at 6-7 (2010), available at

http://taylorpolicy.com/us-databook/.
22

In 2012, median household income for the American Indian and Alaska Native 

population stood at $39,715 compared to $56,746 for the U.S. overall. The poverty rate 

among American Indians and Alaska Natives was 27 percent compared to 15 percent 

for the nation, and at 34 percent, child poverty was 13 percentage points higher than the 

national average of 21 percent. However, even these data may mask more severe 

disparities for some Native communities. For example, some Native communities faced 

almost no poverty between 2008 and 2012, while others experienced poverty rates 

greater than 60 percent.

68

Socioeconomic Disparities in Adulthood

A portion of these disparities in socioeconomic status likely stem from differences in 

labor market opportunities and outcomes. The unemployment rate for American Indian/Alaska 

Native workers in the twelve months ending in September 2014 was 12.4 percent—4.4 

percentage points higher her than the equivalent unemployment rate for Hispanic workers and

0.5 percentage points higher than the rate for black workers. For young workers, the gaps are 

even more pronounced: 23.9 percent of American Indian/Alaska Native workers ages 16-24 were 

unemployed compared to 14.6 percent for Hispanic youth and 23 percent for black youth.

69

Once employed, American Indian/Alaska Native workers earn less than other workers.

Among those with wage income, median earnings were just $21,775 relative to the median 

earnings for all workers of $30,000. This is true even when education levels are taken into 

account. Although the median wage for all workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher was

68 Data from 2008-2012 ACS, supra n. 2.

69 Unemployment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Dep’t of Labor, Current Population Survey basic

monthly Oct. 2013-Sept. 2014.
23

$51,035, the median wage for American Indian/Alaska Native workers with a bachelor’s degree 

or higher was only $41,263.70

Health Disparities Faced by American Indians and Alaska Natives

Many Native youth face severe health barriers throughout their lives. Early disparities in 

the two to four year-olds population are particularly troublesome, because of the lifelong impact 

of those crucial years in a

child’s development. In 2010, 

over 40 percent of American 

Indian/Alaska Native children 

between the ages of two and 

four were overweight or 

obese; representing the 

highest prevalence among all 

major racial/ethnic groups.71

Among 10 to 19 year olds, the prevalence of type-2 diabetes is nearly three times the

national average and five times higher than the average among white youth. This pattern 

continues into adulthood where American Indian/Alaska Natives have the highest rate of age70 Income data from ACS 2008-2012, supra n. 2

71 DALENIUS K ET AL., NATIONAL CENTER FOR CHRONIC DISEASE PREVENTION AND HEALTH PROMOTION, U.S. DEP’T 

OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICE, PEDIATRIC NUTRITION SURVEILLANCE 2010 REPORT 8, at

http://www.cdc.gov/pednss/pdfs/PedNSS_2010_Summary.pdf.
24

adjusted diabetes. In some 

Native populations, the rates are 

even more serious, reaching, for 

example, more than 24 percent 

of American Indians in southern 

Arizona.

72

Mental and substance

use disorders are also major 

concerns within the Native

youth population. Among U.S. adolescents ages 12 to 17, Native youth have the highest lifetime 

prevalence of major depressive

episodes.73 Native children are

also 70 percent more likely to be 

identified in school as students 

with an emotional

disturbance.

74 And suicide is the

second leading cause of death—

2.5 times the national rate—for

72 NAT’L CENTER FOR CHRONIC DISEASE PREVENTION & HEALTH PROMOTION, U.S. DEP’T OF HEALTH & HUMAN 

SERVICES, NATIONAL DIABETES STATISTICS REPORT (2014), at

http://www.cdc.gov//diabetes/pubs/statsreport14/national-diabetes-report-web.pdf.

73 SPERO M. MANSON, PH. D, SUBSTANCE ABUSE & MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES ADMIN, CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE 

STRATEGIES FOR PREVENTION-BASED WORK IN TRIBAL COMMUNITIES (Aug. 2013), at

http://www.nasmhpd.org/docs/Webinars%20ppts/Culturally%20Appreopriate_Tribal%20webinar%2008.21.2013.pd

f.

74 OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUC. PROGRAMS, U.S. DEP’T OF EDUC., MY BROTHER’S KEEPER TASK FORCE REPORT TO THE

PRESIDENTREPORT 29 (2014), at http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/053014_mbk_report.pdf.
25

Native male youth in the 15 to 24 year old age group.

75 The education system is particularly 

impacted by mental health disorders, as more Native youth ages 12 to 17 used mental health 

services in education versus other settings, requiring resource-intensive coordination between 

schools and service providers.

76

Native youth also face substance abuse problems and some have co-occurring mental and 

substance use disorders. In 2013, among persons aged 12 or older, the rate of substance 

dependence or abuse was higher among American Indians/Alaska Natives than any other 

population group. 77 That same year, an estimated 38.7 percent of Native adolescents aged 12 to 

17 years had a lifetime prevalence of illicit drug use. Compared with the national average for 

adolescents aged 12 to 17, Native adolescents had the highest rates of lifetime tobacco product 

use, marijuana use, nonmedical use of pain relievers, and nonmedical use of prescription-type 

psychotherapeutics.

From 2003-2011, American Indian/Alaska Native were more likely to need alcohol or 

illicit drug use treatment than persons of other groups by age, gender, poverty level, and 

rural/urban residence.

78

In 2012, almost 69 percent of Native youth ages 15 to 24 who were 

admitted to a substance abuse treatment facility reported alcohol as a substance of abuse 

compared to 45 percent for non-AI/AN admissions.

79 Among other issues, underage drinking

75 HYDE, supra n. 5, at 5.

76 CENTER FOR BEHAVIORALHEALTH STATISTICS AND QUALITY, U.S. DEP’T OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES, ICPSR

34933, NATIONAL SURVEY ON DRUG USE & HEALTH (2012).

77 CENTER FOR BEHAVIORALHEALTH STATISTICS &QUALITY, U.S. DEP’T OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES, RESULTS 

FROM THE NATIONAL SURVEY ON DRUG USE & HEALTH: SUMMARY OF NATIONAL FINDINGS 26, 38, 88 (2013), at

http://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/NSDUHresultsPDFWHTML2013/Web/NSDUHresults2013.pdf.

78 CENTER FOR BEHAVIORALHEALTH STATISTICS &QUALITY, U.S. DEP’T OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES, THE NSDUH

REPORT: NEED FOR AND RECEIPT OF SUBSTANCE USE TREATMENT AMONG AMERICAN INDIANS OR ALASKA NATIVES

(2012), at http://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/NSDUH120/NSDUH120/SR120-treatment-needAIAN.htm.

79 CENTER FOR BEHAVIORALHEALTH STATISTICS &QUALITY, U.S. DEP’T OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES, BHSIS

SERIES S-71, HHS PUBL’N NO. (SMA) 14-4850, TREATMENT EPISODE DATA SET (TEDS): 2002-2012 NATIONAL
26

increases the risk of suicide and homicide, physical and sexual assault, using and misusing other 

drugs, and is a risk factor for heavy drinking later in life.

ADMISSIONS TO SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT SERVICES 13 (2014), at

http://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/TEDS2012N_Web.pdf.
27

Recommendations for Change 

We have a profound obligation to ensure that all children, including American Indian and 

Alaska Native students, have the opportunity to receive a 21st century education. . . Tribal 

leaders, teachers, and parents are best suited to identify and address the needs of their children, 

and tribal communities deserve to play a greater role in providing American Indian and Alaska 

Native students with the tools and support they need to be successful in school and beyond.

— Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan

80

Although the challenges facing today’s Native youth may seem insurmountable, tribal 

nations and their communities are proving that it is possible to overcome these obstacles with 

focused, strategic efforts. Those who serve Native students are developing innovative programs 

grounded in both high academic expectations and tribal values and traditions, and beginning to 

reverse more than two centuries of oppressive and stifling policies. In addition, over the last six 

years, the Administration has created new programs (in ED and BIE) to support building tribal 

sovereignty over education. BIE and ED entered a Memorandum of Agreement to improve twoway communications between the two agencies and address common issues affecting AI/AN 

students. In addition, ED increased the emphasis in its Title VII formula grants, on the need for 

school districts to provide culturally-relevant education for Indian students.

However, despite the bright spots, the data recounted herein reflects the staggering 

challenges that Native youth face, and justify a call to action. Native youth are the future of 

Indian country. They are essential to reaching the vision of strong, resilient, prosperous tribal 

nations. This is the critical time to partner with tribal nations and invest in the success of all our 

youth.

Given the complexity and magnitude of the challenges, there is a need for a broad array 

of partners to support tribes in identifying solutions to help Native youth reach their potential.

80 Video Press Release, Secretary Arne Duncan, U.S. Dep’t of Educ., Secretary Duncan Announces the Launch of

the STEP Pilot Program (May 7, 2012), at http://youtu.be/R0IJgmPIQf0.
28

Federal commitments will be critical to this collaboration. Substantial opportunities exist for 

tribal nations to engage the private sector and public sector to create and maintain transformative 

programs. Organizations committed to working on issues of poverty, health, juvenile justice, 

educational inequality, and student opportunities can play an important role in improving the 

lives of Native youth.

As such, we offer the following overarching recommendations to reverse historical 

failures and strengthen ladders of opportunity for all students in Native American communities.

1. Strengthen tribal control of education: Education is a key component in improving the life 

trajectories of Native youth and ultimately rebuilding strong tribal nations. Tribal nations are 

in the best position to address the unique needs of their students because they best know their 

own children and communities. Research identifies tribal self-determination as a strategy that 

has improved the well-being of American Indians and Alaska Natives across many areas of 

government service.

81

Increasing tribal control also is likely to lead to greater development of 

curricula that include Native languages, cultures, and values. Tribal/state and tribal/school 

district partnerships in education are important opportunities for improving outcomes for 

Native youth.82 Elevating the role of tribes in education allows them to design schools and 

programs rooted in high expectations for all students, while embracing tribal values and 

traditions that meet the specific needs of their citizens.

81

“[F]ederal promotion of tribal self-government under formal policies known as ‘self-determination’ is turning out

to be, after a century or more of failed efforts to improve the lives of the U.S. indigenous people, the only strategy

that has worked.” Stephen Cornell & Joseph P. Kalt, American Indian Self-Determination: The Political Economy of

a Policy that Works, Working Paper No. RWP10-043, at 15 (Harvard Kennedy School of Gov., 2010), at

http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:4553307.

82 See generally BOWERS, supra n. 36.
29

 Work Underway:

o In June 2014, the Department of the Interior (DOI) released the BIE Blueprint for 

Reform, which describes the Department’s plan to transition the control of BIE 

schools from DOI to tribes. BIE is working to change from a direct operator of 

schools into a resource provider that serves tribally controlled schools, similar to a 

state department of education.

83 This would include reshaping the function of BIE’s 

technical assistance capacity so that it is better positioned to support tribes as the 

leaders of their own highly effective schools, as well as providing assistance to 

schools so they are better positioned to support student academic success in a setting 

that embraces tribal values and traditions.

o The State Tribal Education Partnership (STEP) grant program is designed to 

strengthen tribal education agencies (TEAs), and improve partnerships between 

tribes, states, and school districts so they can work together more effectively to meet 

the academic, cultural, and social needs of Native students. The lessons learned 

during the three-year pilot and, in consultation with tribes have contributed to 

proposed revisions to the STEP program, which will be finalized in time for new 

grants awards in 2015.

 Additional Opportunities:

o Advance support for infrastructure and grant support costs to provide 

adequate resources to execute genuine tribal control.

o Significantly streamline and simplify the administration of BIE-funded 

schools to increase tribal control and meet the unique cultural and 

educational needs of Native students. Significantly streamline and simplify 

expectations for BIE schools to increase local control and create an 

outcome-oriented focus on academic success for Native students.

o Support states in authorizing tribal charter schools as part of public school 

systems to develop models and meet the unique cultural and educational 

needs of Native youth.

o Provide funding and support for tribal preschool programs, such as the 

Preschool for All proposal, to ensure that every child can start school ready 

to learn.

o Support and disseminate best practices around tribal partnerships with states 

and districts.

83 BIE Blueprint, supra n. 34, at 3.
30

2. Provide comprehensive, community-based student supports: The formidable challenges 

that Native youth face as a result of systemic poverty demand a holistic approach to 

education. Supporting students’ physical, emotional, and social needs in a culturally-sensitive 

manner is critical for each child to truly succeed as a student and, more importantly, as a 

human being. Schools need access to resources that allow them to build school-based 

programs providing comprehensive student supports, which would enable students to excel in 

college and their careers.

 Work Underway:

o The Department of Education is working to increase support for comprehensive, 

locally determined education reforms in tribal communities through a new priority 

in the Indian Education Demonstration Grants program. Local Native Youth 

Community Projects would provide support to tribes to identify key in-and-out-of 

school barriers and opportunities to college-and-career-readiness and to develop 

strategies to address the identified needs of Native Youth.

 Additional Opportunities:

o Expand the NYCP to address comprehensive, cradle-to-career interventions.

o Expand partnerships between schools, communities, and organizations to make 

schools the center of communities.

o Continue to support investments in Tribal Colleges and Universities and higher 

education institutions to improve and expand educational opportunities.

3. Strengthen the integration of Native cultures and languages into school climate and 

classrooms: Strengthening tribal language and culture is a responsibility at the core of our 

trust relationship with tribal nations. It bolsters a healthy sense of individual identity and
31

belonging, while simultaneously improving self-esteem.

84 Working with tribes and experts, 

schools should have the ability and support to fully integrate Native cultures and languages 

into the classroom.85In addition, it is critical that students are able to attend schools that 

support their identity and are free from bullying, disproportionate discipline, and offensive 

imagery and symbolism. Moreover, tribes and tribal colleges should be supported to better 

facilitate language revitalization efforts.

 Work Underway:

o The Department of Education conducted its first ever School Environment 

Listening Tour in nine cities with over 1,000 students and community members. 

The tour provided a space for schools and communities to discuss challenges and 

identify proactive ways to support Native students and create positive school 

climate.

o The Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on Native Languages between DOI, 

HHS, and ED provides a framework for collaboration and coordination across 

federal agencies to help preserve and revitalize Native languages. The MOA sets 

forth the methods for cooperation in these areas through the Native Language 

Workgroup. The Native Language Workgroup hosted a Native American 

Languages Summit; Working Together for Native American Language Success in 

June, 2014.

o After the 2014 Native American Languages Summit, several federal agencies 

demonstrated interest in protecting and promoting Native American languages by

84 TERESA L. MCCARTY, PH. D., ALICE WILEY SNELL PROF. OF EDUC. POLICY STUDIES & PROF. OF APPLIED 

LINGUISTICS, ARIZ. STATE UNIV., STATE OF THE FIELD: THE ROLE OF NATIVE LANGUAGES AND CULTURES IN 

AMERICAN INDIAN, ALASKA NATIVE, AND NATIVE HAWAIIAN STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT (2011), at http://center-forindian-education.asu.edu/sites/center-for-indianeducation.asu.edu/files/McCarty,%20Role%20of%20Native%20Lgs%20&%20Cults%20in%20AI-ANNH%20Student%20Achievement%20[2]%20(071511).pdf. Students who enter school with a primary language

other than the school language (e.g., English) perform significantly better on academic tasks when they receive

constant and cumulative academic support in the primary language for a minimum of four to seven years. TERESA L.

MCCARTY, PH. D., LANGUAGE PLANNING AND POLICY IN NATIVE AMERICA: HISTORY, THEORY, PRAXIS (2013).

85 For example, one school district reported that it “achieved a tremendous success in reading scoring, going from 0

percent reading proficiency over quite a few years to 60% reading proficiency in grades K-6. This was due to

instituting a research-based, culturally relevant professional development program...” Oversight Hearing: Indian

Education Series: Indian Students in Public Schools - Cultivating the Next Generation Before the Senate Comm. on

Indian Affairs, 113th Cong. 1 (April 9, 2014) (statement of Dan Hudson, Assistant Superintendent, Fremont County

School District #14 (WY)), at http://www.indian.senate.gov/hearing/oversight-hearing-receive-testimony-indianeducation-series-indian-students-public-schools.).
32

providing important resources and input towards the implementation of the goals 

of the MOA and the Native American Native Language Act.

o Every state has its own requirements for teacher qualifications; some states have 

taken action to facilitate the hiring of Native language teachers and the 

Department of Education is supporting those efforts. For example, in 2013 the 

South Central Comprehensive Center (SC3), under a grant from the Department 

that includes supporting states in the education of AI/AN students, helped the 

Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE) develop a Native Language 

Certification process and is continuing to provide technical assistance during 

statewide implementation of an alternate pathway in Native language 

certification. The SC3 Native Language Revitalization initiative is working to 

improve the pathway for Native Language Certification to address the critical 

need for fluent Native language instructors in order to enhance Native language 

revitalization among 39 Oklahoma tribes. SC3 supported modification of OSDE’s 

World Language Certification to provide access to classroom instruction by fluent 

tribal language speakers in districts and schools. This model is shared with other 

comprehensive centers that serve AI/AN populations.

 Additional Opportunities:

o Continued commitment from federal agencies to support Native language 

preservation and revitalization. ED, HHS, and DOI conduct, annually, an 

interagency Native American Languages Summit to: provide updates from federal 

offices on current efforts; provide support to Native American communities 

seeking to revitalize Native American languages; share successes from the field in 

two areas identified as challenges (integrating Native language immersion in 

schools and developing assessments); and discover through small group 

discussions ways to further support Native American communities teaching their 

Native languages in an effort to improve accountability for educational progress 

and measurable success.

o Work with Congress to enact changes to the Department of Education’s Indian 

Education formula grants to school districts and BIE-funded schools that would 

clarify the list of authorized activities to specifically include Native language 

immersion and Native language restoration programs, which may be taught by 

Native language speakers.

4. Support highly effective teachers and school leaders: There is an acute shortage of 

teachers in Indian country, but opportunities exist for tribal nations to engage with local 

universities and the education community to find ways to increase the flow of high quality
33

teachers and provide culturally relevant professional development for teachers and leaders in 

their communities. Schools must be able to recruit, hire, support, and develop effective 

teachers and school leaders who are committed to long-term improvements. These efforts 

should focus both on creating new, high quality teacher pipelines, and on strengthening the 

skills of current instructional staff, for example, by infusing cultural competence training into 

professional development.

 Work Underway:

o Continue to support existing BIE teachers through the partnership with National 

Board Certification.

o Continue to support the Professional Development Grants at ED to prepare and 

train Native Americans to serve as teachers and school administrators.

o Establish, for the first-time, a School Operations Division that will strengthen 

BIE’s capacity to recruit, hire, and retain highly effective teachers and principals.

 Additional Opportunities:

o Support leadership development programs to supply BIE school leaders to schools 

that serve Native students. Successful programs would produce principals, heads 

of schools or faculty instructional leaders (such as coaches) for BIE schools.

o Expand existing teacher and principal training programs in Indian country.

Support partnerships between existing teacher and leader training programs and

Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs). In addition, BIE should establish 

relationships with high-performing teacher preparation programs to focus on BIE 

schools.

o Build or expand partnerships with teacher and leader recruitment and support 

organizations and TCUs to recruit, train, support, and retain teachers.

o Expand virtual networks of teachers and leaders in Indian Country to achieve 

mentorship and share best practices.
34

o Learn from and work with existing non-profits and programs that have had 

success in other communities facing persistent opportunity gaps. Create incentives 

for them to come to or expand their work in Indian country.

5. Promote 21st century technology for tribal education: Access to high-speed broadband 

and adequate learning facilities are key to student learning and success. A 21

st

century 

education system is not possible without the tools available to the rest of America’s 

educational systems, and American Indians and Alaska Natives should be included in any 

efforts to connect America and improve infrastructure. In addition to educational tools, 

online assessments are critical to evidence-based improvement and evaluation.

 Work Underway:

o ConnectED is a national initiative underway to ensure 99 percent of America’s 

students have access to high-speed broadband and high-speed wireless in their 

schools.

o DOI is providing technical assistance to BIE-funded schools to increase the 

competitiveness of E-Rate applications.

o DOI has also worked with the private sector to expand broadband connectivity 

for the more than 1,000 Native children who live in federally-funded 

dormitories while attending public schools outside of their reservations. As 

part of a greater effort to upgrade the network bandwidth to all Bureau of 

Indian Education Schools, interim bandwidth upgrades occurred in 45 

schools.

o Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs officials continue to tap the Federal 

Communication Commission's (FCC) E-rate program to obtain funding for 

faster bandwidth speeds. The system received an E-rate funding commitment 

of over $4.3 million for the school year 2014 – 2015, which will fund 

upgrades for 35 additional schools.

 Additional Opportunities:

o Encourage district and school leaders serving tribal populations to attend 

Future Ready Regional Summits. These summits, which will be hosted by the

U.S. Department of Education and the Alliance for Excellent Education, are
35

designed to help districts create and implement district-wide action plans to 

use technology to personalize learning. These summits will be open to all 

districts leaders that take the Future Ready District Pledge.

6. Strengthen and expand efforts that target suicide prevention. Federal agencies have

developed myriad workforce and training activities, tele-health resources, and programs to 

promote and support suicide prevention in tribal communities. Despite important 

investments, key challenges remain, including ensuring a well-prepared behavioral health 

workforce and access to behavioral health services in Native communities.

 Work Underway:

o The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s 

(SAMHSA) Tribal Behavioral Health Grant (TBHG/Native Connections) is a 

new program for tribes and tribal organizations to prevent and reduce suicidal 

behavior and substance abuse and promote mental health among American 

Indian and Alaska Native young people up to and including 24 years of age.

o Under the Garrett Lee Smith State/Tribal Youth Suicide Prevention program 

SAMHSA is supporting implementation of statewide or tribal youth suicide 

prevention and early intervention strategies. Grants support public/private 

collaboration among youth-serving institutions, schools, juvenile justice 

systems, foster care systems, substance abuse and mental health programs, 

and other child and youth supporting organizations.

o SAMHSA’s Partnership for Success program now includes a tribal-specific 

cohort to address underage drinking and prevention infrastructure. Likewise, 

SAMHSA’s drug court program now includes a first-time set-aside for tribal 

wellness courts, and SAMHSA’s LAUNCH program reaches Native children 

and addresses early development fundamental to improving Native youth 

outcomes.

o The Indian Health Service’s (IHS) Methamphetamine and Suicide Prevention 

Initiative (MSPI) provides funding to increase access to methamphetamine 

and suicide prevention services, improve the quality of behavioral health 

services associated with methamphetamine use and suicide prevention, 

promote the development of new and promising services that are culturally 

and community relevant, and demonstrate efficacy and impact.
36

o The IHS TeleBehavioral Health Center of Excellence offers workforce 

development and training opportunities on current and pressing behavioral 

health topics, including series on childhood trauma, parenting, child mental 

health, historical trauma, child and adolescent psychiatry, and suicide 

assessment, evaluation, and prevention.

o Tribes and tribal organizations have access to culturally relevant and

evidence-based support to address mental and substance use disorders, suicide

prevention, and promotion of mental health through SAMHSA’s Tribal 

Training and Technical Assistance Center.

 Additional Opportunities:

o Expand the number of school-based behavioral health services in Native 

American communities.

o Strengthen collaborations among federal departments/agencies and Native 

communities that target suicide risks in order to more comprehensively 

support suicide prevention efforts.

o Engage tribes on implementation of the National Strategy for Suicide 

Prevention respecting cultural and traditional practices.

o Consider behavioral health providers focused on child, adolescent, and family 

services.

o Support and strengthen evidence-based training for school personnel, law 

enforcement officers, community representatives, and staff of youth-serving 

organizations to recognize youth at risk for suicide and mental and substance 

use issues to improve early referrals for Native youth.

o Strengthen collaboration that targets suicide risk and response.

7. Improve community systems of care to better address the behavioral health needs of

Native youth. Many of the challenges impacting tribal communities are rooted in substance

abuse and mental health issues. Additional supports are needed to improve coordination of 

available resources and strengthen local systems to more effectively address behavioral 

health issues faced by Native youth.
37

 Work Underway:

o A system of care helps children, youth, and families function better at home, 

in school, in the community, and throughout life. Through the SAMHSA 

Circles of Care program tribes receive support to increase the capacity and 

effectiveness of mental health systems serving their communities. Circles of 

Care grantees focus on reducing the gap between the need for mental health 

services; the availability and coordination of mental health, substance use, and 

co-occurring disorders; and the impact of historical trauma.

o The SAMHSA Systems of Care program improves behavioral health 

outcomes for children and youth with serious emotional disturbances and their 

families. The program supports the availability and provision of mental health 

and related recovery support services along with systemic changes in policy, 

financing, services and supports, training and workforce development, and 

other areas that are necessary for expanding and sustaining the system of care 

approach.

o SAMHSA supports the National American Indian and Alaska Native 

Addiction Technology Transfer Center to: provide workforce development 

resources, manuals, webinars, and curricula to increase the skills of substance 

use disorder workforce in providing culturally and linguistically sensitive 

services; and increase the number of American Indians and Alaskan Natives 

in the substance use disorders workforce.

 Additional Opportunities:

o Increase the number of tribes accessing SAMHSA and other federal grant 

programs that support integration of physical and behavioral health services, 

improve systems of care, and build community coalitions to reduce substance 

abuse in tribal communities.

o Continue to support behavioral health professionals in Native communities 

through innovative workforce programs, for example, through the President’s 

Now Is the Time workforce development programs.

o Improve coordination of federal technical assistance resources to more 

efficiently build the skills of behavioral health professionals, law enforcement 

personnel (school safety officers), school personnel, and staff of youth-serving 

organizations in Native American communities.

o Improve flexibility in federal funding opportunities to support tribal 

applications that focus on place-based approaches to improving community 

well-being.
38

Conclusion 

“The future of Indian Country rests on ensuring American Indian children receive a world-class 

education that honors their cultures, languages and identities as Indian people.”

— Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell

86

This report makes clear that Native youth continue to face education, socioeconomic, 

health, and other barriers. This is nothing short of a national crisis. All of us, including the 

federal government, have an important role in helping to improve the lives of Native youth. 

Strengthening partnerships and sustained engagement serve as linchpins to bring together the 

necessary resources to improve life outcomes for future generations.

(Tami Heilemann, Photographer, Department of the Interior, Youth of the Mississippi Band of 

Choctaw)

86 Press Release, U.S. Dep’t of the Interior, Secretary Jewell Announces Plan to Improve Achievement, Promote

Tribal Control in Bureau of Indian Education-Funded Schools (June 13, 2014), at

http://www.doi.gov/news/pressreleases/secretary-jewell-announces-plan-to-improve-achievement-promote-tribalcontrol-in-bureau-of-indian-education-funded-schools.cfm.