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S. HRG. 112–43

IN OUR WAY: EXPANDING THE SUCCESS OF

NATIVE LANGUAGE AND CULTURE–BASED

EDUCATION

HEARING

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS 

UNITED STATES SENATE

ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

MAY 26, 2011

Printed for the use of the Committee on Indian Affairs

(

(II)

COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS 

DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii, Chairman 

JOHN BARRASSO, Wyoming, Vice Chairman 

DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii 

KENT CONRAD, North Dakota 

TIM JOHNSON, South Dakota 

MARIA CANTWELL, Washington 

JON TESTER, Montana 

TOM UDALL, New Mexico 

AL FRANKEN, Minnesota 

JOHN MCCAIN, Arizona 

LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska 

JOHN HOEVEN, North Dakota 

MIKE CRAPO, Idaho 

MIKE JOHANNS, Nebraska 

LORETTA A. TUELL, Majority Staff Director 

DAVID A. MULLON JR., Minority Staff Director and Chief Counsel 

(III)

C O N T E N T S 

Page 

Hearing held on May 26, 2011 ............................................................................... 1

Statement of Senator Akaka ................................................................................... 1 

Statement of Senator Barrasso ............................................................................... 2

Statement of Senator Franken ............................................................................... 3

Statement of Senator Udall .................................................................................... 25

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 26

WITNESSES

Beaulieu, David, Professor of Education Policy and Community Studies; Director, Electa Quinney Institute for American Indian Education, University 

of Wisconsin–Milwaukee ..................................................................................... 44

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 46

Harcharek, Jana, Director of In ̃upiaq Education, North Slope Borough School 

District, Barrow Alaska ....................................................................................... 38

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 41

Kanaiaupuni, Shawn, Ph.D., Division Director, Kamehameha Schools ............. 55

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 58

Lasley, Sr., Larry C., Member, Meskwaki Settlement School Board .................. 13

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 15

Parker, Alvin N., Principal, Ka Waihona O Ka Naauao Public Charter School 20

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 21

Rawlins, Namaka, Liaison, ‘Aha Punana Leo, University of Hawaii, Hilo 

College of Hawaiian Language ........................................................................... 5

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 7

Shendo, Kevin, Education Director, Pueblo of Jemez ........................................... 27

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 28

APPENDIX

Cherokee Nation, prepared statement ................................................................... 74

Inouye, Hon. Daniel K., U.S. Senator from Hawaii, prepared statement ........... 73

Johnson, Florian Tom, Principal, Rough Rock Community School, prepared 

statement .............................................................................................................. 92

Kippen, Colin, Executive Director, National Indian Education Association, 

prepared statement .............................................................................................. 78

Sheather-Wise, Taffi U‘llel, Executive Director, Kanu o ka Aina Learning 

‘Ohana prepared statement ................................................................................. 90

(1)

IN OUR WAY: EXPANDING THE SUCCESS OF 

NATIVE LANGUAGE AND CULTURE–BASED

EDUCATION 

THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2011

U.S. SENATE, 

COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS, 

Washington, DC. 

The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:15 p.m. in room 

628, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Daniel K. Akaka,

Chairman of the Committee, presiding. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. DANIEL K. AKAKA,

U.S. SENATOR FROM HAWAII 

The CHAIRMAN. Good morning. I call this hearing of the Committee on Indian Affairs to order. 

Aloha, and thank you very much, all of you for being with us 

today. On this day, we think about language and culture-based 

education. I think it is only fitting to begin with an example of 

what we are trying to save, to advance and move forward. With 

that in mind, I want to set the tone for this hearing, and ask 

Namaka Rawlins of Aha Punana Leo to do an opening protocol in 

our Native Hawaiian language to open this hearing. 

Namaka? 

Ms. RAWLINS. [Greeting and opening protocol in native tongue.] 

The CHAIRMAN. Aloha. Mahalo nui loa, Namaka. 

Today’s hearing is called In Our Way: Expanding the Success of 

Native Language and Culture-Based Education. This hearing will 

explore the trends and achievements in Native language and culture-based education, identify barriers to greater success and key 

strategies to meeting student and Native community needs through 

education. 

You may know that I started my career as a young Native Hawaiian teacher. I worked to implement the Native Hawaiian perspective into the curriculum and learning environments of my students, because I believed that was the best way to ensure their success. I really believe that one way to get to these young people is 

through their culture. 

I remember with a big smile that when I was learning to read 

in Hawaii, just think the years back there, and the big words, big 

letters, and what do I read about? Snow. 

[Laughter.] 

2

The CHAIRMAN. And I wondered, gee, what is this? But anyway, 

that is what I mean when I say culture. In Hawaii, we do have 

snow on our mountains, but not in the villages and towns there. 

This is why I have always believed to get students at their roots 

and their culture is when we are really getting to the spirit of 

learning and education. 

It is troubling to know that of the 300 plus Native languages 

that were once spoken in this great Country that only 175 remain. 

And many are at risk of being lost. Native languages are vital to 

the Native peoples to whom they belong. There are numerous examples of where their continued existence has benefitted the 

United States as a whole. 

As a World War II veteran, I can assure you—and there are just 

three of us left in the Senate today, Senator Inouye, Senator Lautenberg and I—I can assure you we learned the value of the Navajo 

language then, in World War II, and of the bravery of the Navajo 

people. 

I commend the work of many of our witnesses today. You have 

been committed and innovative in solving the challenges and laying 

a foundation for achieving academic excellence in a way that honors the unique Native cultures of America. 

I want to extend a special mahalo, or thank you, to all of those 

who have traveled from Hawaii, Alaska and other places in this 

Country to join us today. I appreciate your presence at these proceedings. 

My good friend, and I am so happy to be able to work with him, 

Senator Barrasso, I would like to ask him to make an opening 

statement. Senator Barrasso? 

STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN BARRASSO,

U.S. SENATOR FROM WYOMING 

Senator BARRASSO. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman, for holding this hearing. When you start talking about your earlier days 

as a teacher, I would think that Senator Franken would join me 

in saying, you continue to be a teacher, a teacher to us in the Senate, a teacher to your colleagues, to any of the staff on both sides 

of the aisle, to people in this room, we continue to learn from you 

in so many ways. You talk about your service in World War II, we 

just had 104 World War II veterans from Wyoming here as part of 

an honor flight. There is so much to learn, for all of us. 

I just wanted to take the time to thank you and just let you 

know that you continue to be an exceptional teacher. In medical 

school they always gave the best teacher what was called the golden apple. Students would take an apple to a teacher. And I know 

in the Senate you would be the deserved one to receive a golden 

apple. 

So I am very, very privileged to serve with you, Mr. Chairman. 

I wanted to be here today because of the significant work that we 

all need to continue to do as we deal with the consideration of Indian education in the reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind 

Act. We all know that quality education is really a key component 

to any healthy and thriving community. It is also an area where 

there is, as we all know, much work to be done and much room for 

improvement. 

3

In the past, this Committee has received discouraging testimony 

about dropout rates, poor achievement rates, from our Indian students. We see that in Wyoming. According to the trends found in 

the Bureau of Indian Education report card for the past three 

years, graduation rates of Indian students ranged between 53 and 

57 percent. Dropout rates ranged from 8 to nearly 10 percent for 

the same three years. 

So we need to hear how we can close the achievement gaps and 

build upon some of the successes that have been achieved in Indian 

education. So I am happy that we are having this hearing today. 

It is important that we give attention to, and careful attention to 

those elements that support and advance academic achievement. 

All of us, Congress, the Administration, the tribes, the Indian education community, parents, families and the students themselves 

need to work together at improving the quality of Indian education 

and the quality of student performance. 

So this will have to be a collaborative effort on all levels. I suspect that the best ideas will be found at the local level. I want to 

thank the witnesses, I look forward to the testimony. 

And to you, Mr. Chairman, I just want to thank you for the leadership and the guidance that you have continued to show on this 

Committee and in this Senate and for this Nation as a tremendous 

teacher for all of us. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

The CHAIRMAN. Senator Barrasso, thank you so much for your 

kind words. I look forward to continuing to work with you on this. 

Senator Franken? 

STATEMENT OF HON. AL FRANKEN,

U.S. SENATOR FROM MINNESOTA 

Senator FRANKEN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. In Hebrew, I don’t 

know if we have a word for snow. 

[Laughter.] 

Senator FRANKEN. I think maybe our Native Alaskans have more 

than one word. 

And I too want to associate myself with what the Vice Chair of 

this Committee said about you as a teacher. I really appreciate 

that. By the way, the word rabbi in Hebrew means teacher. So 

thank you, Rabbi, and Chairman, for holding this hearing. I appreciate your continuing efforts to improve educational opportunities 

for Native students. 

It is painfully clear that our current education strategies are not 

working for Native students. As Senator Barrasso was saying, we 

have all heard the statistics. Indian students perform below their 

peers in standardized tests, in reading and math. Approximately 

one out of every two Indian children fail to make it through high 

school. In Minnesota, actually, the high school graduation rate for 

Indian children is only 41 percent. 

But there are also success stories. At the Nay Ah Shing school 

in Minnesota, students are learning about their language and culture, which will strengthen their school’s climate and its ability to 

engage students, which we know is so important. Everything on 

the Help Committee that we have been looking at in terms of No 

Child Left Behind says that when kids are engaged, they do well. 

4

In Minnesota public schools, pre-K students in the High Five 

program spend the morning learning English and in the afternoon 

they have a Dakota or Ojibway immersion classroom. Over the last 

four years, this program has produced a 16 point gain in kindergarten readiness. Last night in Minneapolis, 65 Native students 

participated in the Indian graduation celebration. It is up from 35 

last year. 

We know that Indian children do better in school when they have 

opportunities to learn their language and culture. There are good 

models in Native communities across the Country that are producing results. It is vitally important to highlight these success stories, and I want to thank the witnesses for being here so we can 

learn from you. You will be teaching us as well. 

So I look forward to listening to your testimony on the strategies 

that work and learning what we can do to expand success. One of 

the most moving things I find when I do Native events in Minnesota is the drumming and the singing. It is so beautiful. To see 

these kids, in some cases pretty little kids, drumming and speaking 

in their ancestral tongue or singing in it, it is absolutely gorgeous. 

And you just can’t help but go, like, well, of course. Of course, 

learning your language, of course, being proud of your culture, 

being proud of your heritage is going to do wonders for every aspect 

of your being, including your academic well-being. Of course. 

So thank you, Mr. Chairman, thank you, Rabbi, for today’s hearing. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Senator Franken. Again, 

thank you for your kind words and I look forward to continuing to 

work with you. I of course seriously hope that I can measure up 

to the honor of being a rabbi. 

[Laughter.] 

The CHAIRMAN. Education is the foundation of all progress for 

our communities. As Native peoples, our futures are strengthened 

when we can employ educational practices that help our children 

thrive and excel. There is an old Hawaiian adage I think is instructive on this topic. It is, A‘ohe pau ka ‘ike I ka halau ho‘okahi, and 

it means, all knowledge is not taught in the same school. 

I am looking forward to hearing from the witnesses on the different strategies they have employed to help our Native students 

achieve and succeed, and their perspectives on how to expand on 

current successes and promising trends. We want to build on the 

basics. 

We only have limited time to conduct the hearing and therefore, 

had to limit the number of witnesses we invited. But as Chairman, 

it is my goal to ensure that we hear from all who want to contribute to the discussion. So we have ways for you to let us know 

how you are feeling. The hearing record will be open for two weeks 

from today, and I encourage everyone to submit your comments, 

your written testimony. I want to remind the witnesses to please 

limit your oral testimony to five minutes today. 

I would like to invite the first panel, and you are all here, and 

I welcome you to this hearing. 

Joining us today is Namaka Rawlins, a liaison of the ‘Aha 

Punana Leo of the University of Hawaii College of Hawaiian Language at Hilo. Larry Lasley is a member of the Meskwaki SettleVerDate 0ct 09 2002 10:03 Jul 20, 2011 Jkt 067288 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 S:\DOCS\67288.TXT JACK
5

ment School Board in Tama, Iowa, where the tribe operates a BIE 

school. 

Alvin Parker is the principal of Ka Waihona o ka Na‘auao Public 

Charter School in Waianae, Hawaii. Our fourth panelist is Kevin 

Shendo, the Education Director for the Pueblo of Jemez in New 

Mexico. So again, welcome to all of you. 

Ms. Rawlins, please proceed with your testimony. 

STATEMENT OF NAMAKA RAWLINS, LIAISON, ‘AHA PUNANA 

LEO, UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII AT HILO COLLEGE OF

HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE 

Ms. RAWLINS. Mahalo. Chairman Akaka, Vice Chairman 

Barrasso, Senator Franken and members of the Committee on Indian Affairs, my name is Namaka Rawlins. I am past Executive Director of ‘Aha Punana Leo, served as Chairperson of the Native Hawaiian Education Council, and just recently completed my term as 

board member of the National Indian Education Association. 

Today I represent the ‘Aha Punana Leo Language Nest and Ka 

Haka ‘Ula O Ke‘elikolani, Hawaiian language college at UH Hilo. 

Together, these entities, with laboratory school programs, represent 

Hawaii’s P–20 vertical alignment of Hawaiian Language Medium 

education system. It is the most developed program in a Native 

American language. P–20 refers to an education pipeline from early 

childhood through the doctorate. Our successes include 100 percent 

graduation rate and 80 percent college enrolment, due to the rigorous academics of our program. 

It is an honor to testify before you on Native American education 

with a particular emphasis on the crucial role of our Native American languages and cultures in the education of Native Hawaiians, 

American Indians and Alaska Natives. It is also an honor to be 

here with my colleagues from our National Coalition of Indigenous 

Language and Culture-Based Education Research Group. My full 

testimony is provided. I will highlight a few things. 

There is overwhelming support in Native American communities 

throughout the Country to revive and restore long-suppressed native languages and cultures to the children of those communities. 

Those languages are crucial to Native American literature, ceremonial life, spirituality, kinship practices and overall indigenous identity. 

It is possible to restore these languages to communities to assure 

the continuity of Native American identity and to bolster the academic achievement and college and career readiness of Native students. There is much research on the effectiveness of immersion as 

a language teaching methodology. Immersion is not only the most 

effective method of restoring Native languages, it is also a most effective program academically for Native American children. Wellestablished Native American language immersion programs currently exist in Arizona, Montana, Wyoming, Oklahoma, New York, 

Minnesota, Wisconsin, Montana, Oregon, Alaska and Hawaii. 

Lakota-speaking tribes in North and South Dakota and others have 

started immersion projects or are working to do so. 

Senator, the Native American Languages Act, NALA, was passed 

in 1990, over 20 years ago, with policies and provisions that assure 

Native American language-speaking children the right to use their 

6

languages in federally-funded public education. These provisions 

are absent in the No Child Left Behind Act. It is crucial that the 

most egregious conflict between NALA and No Child Left Behind 

relative to our highly endangered Native American languages be 

eliminated now. 

The harshest barriers to Native American immersion are in Title 

I, as they relate to testing and teacher qualification, disregarding 

the distinctiveness of Native American language immersion. The 

results of measures of student performance in a language other 

than the language of instruction threaten our programs and force 

them to abandon immersion prematurely. Fear of Title I is what 

prevents many programs from even starting. 

I ask that you consider allowing our consortium in Hilo to serve 

as a federally-mandated center for excellence for any school that 

meets the definition of a Native American language nest or a Native American language survival school, to serve parallel to a State 

education agency for the U.S. DOE. It would be an option for these 

schools. It would build on our existing national coalition of indigenous language and culture-based education network of researchers 

and practitioners in Native American language immersion and culture-based schools. The center will support highly-qualified language schools and highly-qualified teacher programs, opening the 

doors for other Native communities. 

Through the U.S. policy and support of Native American languages, NALA in 1990, we were able to create programs to support 

immersion and Native American languages and demonstrate academic success through language programs. Thank you for that opportunity. 

Now we ask that you further provide us empowerment by creating this center for excellence, so we can share with the Nation 

our model of academic success and its proven impact on Native student achievement. This concept is aligned with the Obama Administration’s educational blueprint in support of Native American language education. It solidifies the U.S. endorsement of the United 

Nations’ Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. That document includes numerous references to the rights of indigenous 

peoples, such as Native Americans, to continue education in languages, culture and traditions which are proving to have positive 

impacts academically on our children. We need support for changing Federal education legislation, to make access to quality education through Native American languages a reality, as an educational optional for all Native Americans throughout the United 

States, based on the proven successes of our model. 

Mahalo. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Rawlins follows:]

7

PREPARED STATEMENT OF NAMAKA RAWLINS, LIAISON, ‘AHA PUNANA LEO, 

UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII, HILO COLLEGE OF HAWAIIAN LANGUAGE


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The CHAIRMAN. Mahalo nui, Ms. Rawlins. 

Mr. Lasley, please proceed with your testimony. May I say that 

all of your full testimony will be included in the record. Mr. Lasley? 

STATEMENT OF LARRY C. LASLEY, SR., MEMBER, MESKWAKI 

SETTLEMENT SCHOOL BOARD 

Mr. LASLEY. Chairman Akaka and distinguished members of the 

Committee, thank you for this opportunity to provide testimony on 

a topic critical to the Meskwaki people. My name is Larry Lasley, 

and I serve on the Meskwaki Settlement School Board. 

I am here today because our language is our identity, and our 

language is dying. Like many of my people, I am concerned about 

the dwindling number of fluent Meskwaki speakers on our settleVerDate 0ct 09 2002 10:03 Jul 20, 2011 Jkt 067288 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 S:\DOCS\67288.TXT JACK

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ment. Today fewer than 16 percent of tribal members identify 

themselves as fluent in Meskwaki. The vast majority of these fluent speakers are over the age of 50. Virtually no tribal members 

under the age of 40 are fluent in our Native language. 

For this reason, we are implementing a program to more aggressively halt this language loss. Since the early 1980s, we have supported a language and culture program in our school authorizations. However, the program remains more of a special project than 

an essential part of our education curriculum. 

Today, we seek to apply a language and culturally based curriculum on a much broader scale, so that our students may perform 

at higher levels of academic achievement. To that end, we believe 

the Committee should prod the Government to act in several areas 

that would assist tribes in implementing language and culture 

preservation programs. 

First and foremost, we feel the Committee should support culturally-based education best practices and language immersion in 

early childhood education. In addition, we recommend the Federal 

Government take the lead in developing a centralized repository of 

knowledge, something akin to the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development. Storing fact-based material, proven 

methods and documented experience in one central repository 

would permit tribes to immediately access reliable, evidence-supported data for their language and cultural programs. 

Next, language revitalization requires technical expertise that 

tribes may lack. The Government should assist tribes in establishing capacity in a host of areas, including linguistics, documentation, data collection and analysis to ensure an effective approach to language preservation. Moreover, the Government should 

partner in the design of a core culturally-based curriculum that 

could be modified to meet the specific needs of any tribe. 

Third, a particularly important area for capacity building is 

teacher training. The skill set for teaching a language like 

Meskwaki to second language learners is not an innate ability, but 

rather, a learned set of skills. Native language speakers require advanced training to become successful teachers. This training must 

be rooted in Research and evidence-based instructional practices. 

Fourth, teachers must meet certain requirements to be certified, 

such as the highly qualified requirements found in No Child Left 

Behind. However, in Indian Country, these requirements may undermine schools’ ability to employ Native-fluent speakers as teachers. We recommend the Government mandate a policy to enable 

tribes to establish their own requirements for Native language 

teachers. Those best qualified must be able to teach these vital subjects. 

Finally, tribal language programs have dozens of initiatives that 

must be implemented to reestablish a safe state of the language 

and culture. These initiatives require significant resources; resources that are too often lacking in tribal economies where scarce 

necessities such as clean water, health care, care for our elders, 

public safety and other priorities, must make the priority. We are 

dedicated to preserving our language and our cultural heritage. We 

seek to strengthen our spiritual connections to our Creator, to 

15

renew our ties to our ancestors and to provide this uniquely 

Meskwaki gift to our descendants. 

To this end we value bi-cultural education and intend to maintain high standards for both the education and evaluation of our 

youth. We also intend to implement research-based approaches in 

language and culturally-based learning to best position our students for success. We believe these initiatives will strengthen our 

tribal nation and enhance our ability to contribute to the American 

story, as our history always has. 

However, we cannot implement these initiatives on our own. 

While the programs must be driven by tribal leaders, we believe 

the Government can and should play a meaningful role in their design and implementation. We appreciate the Committee’s interest 

in preserving our Native languages and look forward to working 

with you in this regard. 

[Expression in native tongue.] Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Lasley follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF LARRY C. LASLEY, SR., MEMBER, MESKWAKI SETTLEMENT

SCHOOL BOARD

Chairman Akaka, Vice Chairman Barrasso and distinguished Members of the 

Committee, thank you for this opportunity to provide testimony on a topic critical 

to the Meskwaki people. My name is Larry Lasley, and I serve on the Meskwaki 

Settlement School Board, which oversees our Tribe’s Settlement School, a BIA 

grant-funded school serving students from early childhood through the 12th grade. 

I am also the Tribe’s Economic Development Director, a position which uniquely 

qualifies me to address the importance of educating our young people. 

I come before you today to speak on the significance of an education rooted in our 

traditional language and cultural values. Like many of my people, I am concerned 

about the dwindling number of fluent Meskwaki speakers on our Settlement. With 

each passing generation, fewer of our tribal members possess the ability to converse 

in the language provided by our Creator. This situation threatens to extinguish our 

language from our Settlement. Such a loss of language would carry profound and 

tragic consequences for my people. For this reason, our tribe is acting aggressively 

to stop this language loss, implementing programs in our school and our community 

to the best of our abilities. Without this concerted intervention, our youngest fluent 

speakers will soon be too old to effectively teach the Meskwaki language to a new 

generation. 

Over the past decade, we have implemented two comprehensive surveys of our 

Tribal members to better understand the status of the Meskwaki language on our 

Settlement. According to these surveys, the 1960s marked the beginning of a language shift—one which continues to this day. When I speak of language shift, I 

speak of a shift away from the heritage language of Meskwaki and a strengthening 

of the English language among my people. In essence, fluency in English began to 

replace fluency in Meskwaki. As a result, each subsequent decade since the 1960s 

has yielded decreased fluency among tribal members; now, unfortunately, it has advanced to the point where our children are not mastering the Meskwaki language. 

More troubling, this language shift has undermined the Tribe’s very ability to teach 

our children our native tongue. 

The most recent survey, conducted during the tribal membership audit of 2010, 

found that only 16 percent of tribal members identify themselves as ‘‘fluent’’ in the 

Meskwaki language. On the other hand, 63 percent said they understood only a few 

words or no words at all. While it is fortunate that almost all tribal members (90 

percent) understand something of the language, the age distribution of these figures 

exhibits the critical situation we face. The majority of fluent speakers are 50 or 

older. Virtually no tribal members under the age of 40 are fluent in the Meskwaki 

language. 

These facts carry profound implications for the strength of the Meskwaki nation. 

Our language is a key component of our identity. It provides an important link to 

our history, our story, our spirituality. Our language is integral to our way of life 

and to our sovereign identity. Alarmingly, our language is in peril. 

16

The Importance of the Meskwaki Language 

For our people, the Meskwaki language is a gift from the Creator. We know that 

this language is the only language that our deities use. This is the language that 

our souls know—this is the language we are meant to use from the time we are 

born until we journey on to the next world. The Meskwaki language is central to 

our identity—it carries the most meaningful and deepest levels of our selves. It carries our spirituality, our religion, our connection to the Earth, and our connections 

beyond the continuums of time and space. 

Our language provides an important connection to our Creator and to the other 

spirits we know. These connections must never be broken, as to be broken from 

those spirits is to experience the end of all things. Similarly, our connections to our 

past—our ancestors—and our future—our descendants—serves as another key tenet 

of our spirituality. Our language is a key tie that binds those connections for all 

time. The loss of our language threatens these sacred ties. 

Even today, the Meskwaki culture permeates our daily life, from the food we eat, 

to hunting and gathering, to harvesting, clothing, and home making. Our games, 

songs, athletics, and dances incorporate our tribe’s original cultural attributes. Our 

kinship system, a critical component of our way of life, is not anything like that of 

mainstream Western culture. To be a part of the Meskwaki tribe means being responsible to family and extended family, to the clans, the leadership systems, and 

the unique duties each of these roles are given. Most important, all of our cultural 

attributes and the resulting thought processes, feelings and ideas are uniquely 

Meskwaki. As such, they cannot be equated or fully expressed in any language other 

than the Meskwaki language. 

Languages vary from society to society, and often the meanings and implications 

of statements cannot be simply translated. When translations occur, critical knowledge and meaning becomes lost or lessened. These interruptions in the continuum 

of language, culture, spirituality, religion, and understandings cause disruptions in 

our social wellbeing. Our people have naturally suffered for generations from the 

unfortunate events in our history. The disconnection from culture, language, and 

spirituality makes recovery even more challenging for many of our people—as individuals, as families, and as a tribe. 

For our nation to be successful, we must keep an open connection to our past, our 

future, our spiritual beliefs, and our cultural ways. Our tribe needs the freedom to 

remain who we are and preserve our identity. We hope to be afforded a chance for 

survival. But it will not be possible for the Meskwaki people to endure with broken 

pieces. Without our language and culture, we will perish. 

Challenges to a Language-Based Curriculum 

As a Tribe, we have prioritized the education of our young people as a critical 

piece of our strategic development. To this end we value bicultural education and 

intend to maintain high standards for the education and evaluation of our youth. 

We also intend to implement proven research-based approaches on language and 

culturally-based learning in an effort to best position our students for success. 

Since the early 1980s the Tribe has supported a language and culture program 

within school operations. However, the program remains more of a special activity 

than an essential element of our education curriculum or a tribe-wide mandate. We 

desire to apply a language and culturally-based curriculum on a much broader 

scale—along the lines that have been expressed by tribal people and educational 

professionals alike—so that our students may progress and perform at higher levels 

of academic achievement. Implementing this ambitious agenda, while critically important, remains difficult. 

To this end, we have secured grant funding to develop a tribal-wide language 

preservation program. Our language coordinator has begun holding language 

roundtables three times a week—sessions that bring together Meskwaki speakers 

and learners. We have begun to develop technologies to support classroom instruction and independent studies. Still, additional training and support is needed to 

build the capacity to teach the Meskwaki language. As the tribe is the sole tribe 

in Iowa—and as Indigenous languages are particularly difficult to learn—language 

instruction proves especially challenging. 

We must connect our tribal-wide language preservation program with our schools. 

This effort will prove especially challenging with the approximately 310 Meskwaki 

students that attend the public school system. However, the Committee could help 

remedy this situation by supporting culturally-based education best practices and 

language immersion in early childhood education. 

With regard to challenges to language programming, we have identified the following: 

17

I. Timely Access to Supporting Information 

Currently, there is helpful information available to tribes who are just starting 

out with building language revitalization programs. However, this trend of creating 

programs is still relatively new and is being enacted by tribes, who almost always 

have restricted resources. As a result, access to the most helpful information is limited. There is not an overabundance of information—and much of the information 

is not directly on point. One must first locate the information, which is somewhat 

of challenge when first starting out, and then the useful must be separated from 

the useless. 

We believe funding allocated toward a centralized repository of knowledge—something analogous to the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development—would benefit all tribes, as tribes need their culture, language and identity 

as much, if not more, than economic development. Fact based material, proven 

methods and documented experience all in one central repository would both save 

time and money for all new and existing language programs. 

The very nature of language loss essentially means that there is a limit in the 

number of years in which a solution can be completely implemented. Language loss 

can occur in little as one generation. The information that we need in order to be 

successful must be available to us immediately, it must be supported by evidence, 

and it must be reliable. Government support for a centralized repository for such 

research would be of great assistance to all tribes. 

II. Funding for Tribal Language Programs 

Language Revitalization is an expansive and expensive project that attempts to 

halt the shift away from the native language. Tribal Language Programs have dozens of initiatives that must be implemented in order to reestablish a safe state of 

the language and culture, including staffing, education, documentation, equipment, 

and teacher training. These initiatives require significant resources, resources that 

are too often lacking in tribal economies where scarce necessities such as clean 

water, access to health care, care for our elders, public safety and other essential 

services must take priority. 

Staffing 

Tribal language programs have myriad tasks to accomplish. Common goals necessary for success in any tribal language program include: Assessment of the Language (surveying or thinking groups), Documentation, Program Planning, Community Building, Teacher Training, Understanding Second Language Acquisition, and 

Establishing Educational Systems that include Cultural Standards and Culturally 

Based Curriculum. Many of these tasks lend themselves to a standardized approach. 

By assuming a lead role in identifying the best practices in applicable areas, the 

Federal Government could substantially lessen the burden of designing and implementing these initiatives. Moreover, as a repository of such practices, the government could provide training in order to establish and enhance Tribes capacities to 

successfully operate language preservation programs. 

Education 

Similarly, the federal government should assist tribes in establishing capacity in 

the areas of linguistics, data collection and analysis, language teaching, second language acquisition, community building and curriculum design to ensure an effective 

and focused approach to language preservation. 

Documentation 

Language Revitalization cannot have instantaneous results. Therefore, one key 

priority in all language programming must be to preserve the existing cultural 

knowledge. This preservation is referred to as Documentation. Language and Cultural Documentation is critical for future reference and often relies on the leadership of tribal elders. 

Documentation as a linguistic data collection activity can take years. It can include thousands of pages of transcriptions, hundreds of hours of video and audio recording, dozens of hours of cataloguing, and ample media to collect and store such 

information. While documentation is time consuming, utilizing state of the art technologies can reduce the time and expense associated with these activities. The Federal Government should work to ensure that Tribes have access to these technologies as well as to properly trained staff to provide support to these efforts. 

Equipment 

As noted above, a basic amount of equipment is necessary to accomplish many of 

the goals of language programming. Setting up a new department is difficult to 

fund, and modern equipment required for such things as Documentation can become 

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costly. Equipment needs include printing capabilities for large numbers of booklets, 

handouts, and awareness building materials for community building. Computers are 

required for daily tasks as well as long-term projects such as surveying, documentation, and training. Native language teaching and learning materials are often made 

from scratch by program staff and language teachers. Creating language learning 

resources often requires the capabilities of creating graphics, printing large documents, and lamination or other finishing. 

Training for Teachers 

The skill set for teaching a language like Meskwaki to second language learners 

is not an innate ability, but rather a learned set of skills. Native language speakers 

must be trained in order to become successful teachers. Due to the unique methods 

of teaching Native languages, training often requires travel or immersion—which is 

not widely available in local areas. 

III. Mandate State Support of Tribal Language Programming in Schools 

In every state, teachers must meet certain requirements before being certified as 

a teacher, with good reason. However, in Indian Country these requirements may 

undermine the ability of schools to employ native fluent speakers as ‘‘teachers.’’ Too 

often, such native speakers receive lower pay and a lower status in the school as 

a result of the failure to meet certain requirements. 

This poses a dilemma, as there are a limited number of speakers, and therefore 

there are only a limited number of people who can teach the native language. Moreover, the likelihood of a native fluent speaker pursuing a teaching certificate is significantly lowered by the aging population of fluent speakers and by the unique lifestyle and belief systems of tribal people. 

Some states have passed amendments to allow for tribes to establish their own 

requirements for certifying a ‘‘Native Language Teacher.’’ This type of amendment 

must be made available for the benefit of every tribe. We recommend the Federal 

Government mandate such a policy across the board. The presence of Native Language Teachers is essential to allowing the Native Languages to be taught to students. 

For example, although the Settlement School seeks to employ Native Americans, 

primarily enrolled tribal members and descendants who are speakers and have 

knowledge of the Meskwaki culture, the ‘‘Highly Qualified’’ requirements in NCLB 

impede the ability to fill positions with Tribal members. If these ‘‘Highly Qualified’’ 

requirements are not addressed, funding will be needed to send tribal members to 

school to seek further certification and to create a local certification and training 

program for Tribal and community members so that they can gain employment in 

the school and support our Meskwaki language and culture programs. 

IV. Assistance and Support for Culture-Based Standards and Curriculum 

We have a great need for educational standards and curriculums both in the 

school and our community. Standards would put into effect a minimum amount of 

tribal, traditional, linguistic, and cultural knowledge among each learner, each student, and each community member. This is an overwhelmingly enormous task that 

requires the involvement of traditional elders, experienced educators, and program 

planners. Tribes are short on the number of fluent speakers who are experienced 

in the areas of education, standards and curriculum design—let alone teaching language and culture in a classroom environment. Culture teachers are often not 

trained teachers, so they have limited access to courses and even less access to 

courses specific to Native language and culture instruction. We have found traditional methods are no longer effective enough to push and revitalize the language. 

Therefore, language and culture teachers need advanced and state-of-the-art training-training in research-based instructional practices and evidence-based practices 

like in differentiation of instruction and sheltered instructional practices. 

History of the Meskwaki Language 

As demonstrated below, the Meskwaki language is tied to and integral in the history and life of our Tribe and our Nation. Our language falls into the Algonquian 

language family, one of the five major language families into which the majority of 

North America’s Indigenous languages can be categorized. Algonquian is not a tribal 

name or identification, but rather the name of the language family itself. 

1800s—Reservation era: The Federal Government established the Sac and Fox 

Reservations in Kansas and Oklahoma. While some of our relatives went to the Sac 

and Fox reservations, a small bunch, refused to be placed on the reservations. This 

group of Meskwakis wished to settle and remain along the Iowa River—lands that 

more closely resembled the home we once had. The tribe gathered and pooled their 

resources to purchase its first 80 acres of land in 1856. By 1857 our agreement with 

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the State of Iowa was firmly in place to be established as a tribal group, owning 

land in common. Each parcel of land was subsequently purchased with common 

funds. The land that was purchased was bought with the tribe’s primary priority 

in mind-the well being and livelihood of our people. The purchase of land in common 

serves as evidence of our unity as a tribe, our sense of community, and our reliance 

upon one other for the benefit of the whole. Through this period, our language and 

cultural practices served as both unifying and motivating factors. 

1880s—Emergence of the Written Meskwaki language: Earliest documented use of 

reading and writing. 

1900s—Boarding Schools: Our people were subject to the boarding school era—

many of our surviving elders were sent to boarding schools as children and forced 

to abandon their usage of the Meskwaki language. They were compelled to speak 

English and faced physical and verbal abuse for the use of the Native tongue. Despite this treatment, or perhaps in part because of it, the Meskwaki language remained a vibrant and integral part of our Tribal community. 

1900s—Linguistic Studies: Franz Boas and Leonard Bloomfield, two of history’s 

most influential linguists, conducted some of the first—as well as the most important—studies on the various Algonquian languages, Meskwaki included. Their 

works serve as the baseline to any further study of Algonquian languages and have 

contributed substantial knowledge to the linguistic analysis of Meskwaki. In the 

early 1900s a Meskwaki linguist by the name of William Jones, himself a disciple 

of Franz Boas, conducted further study on his language—advancing the understanding of the importance of the language relative to the Algonquian family. In furtherance of this work, the Bureau of American Ethnology commissioned a year-long 

study of Meskwaki language and culture, collecting thousands of pages of data on 

the Meskwaki language and way of life. These studies reflect the amount of interest 

in the Algonquin languages—particularly Meskwaki—and provide an important historical baseline. 

1940s—Language in Service of the United States: 16% of our Tribal members enlisted in the Army in the wake of Pearl Harbor. Ultimately 8 Members of the Tribe 

were recognized by Congress for their contribution to the war effort as Code Talkers. Relying on our unique language, these Meskwaki helped successfully direct efforts against the Germans in North Africa. 

1940s–1980s—Infrastructure Enters the Meskwaki Lifestyle: The Meskwaki were 

selfsufficient and self-sustaining in the days of hunting and gathering and the days 

of freedom of migration. However, by purchasing our land in Iowa, and therefore 

committing to this location, we surrendered to the reality of our new lifestyle and 

its limitations. To gain water, food, materials, sanitation, housing, and other resources, increasingly we were forced to utilize the English language. As this increasing utilization of the English language grew, the tribe experienced, perhaps inevitably, a decrease in the use of Meskwaki. 

1990–2000s—Linguistic Studies—A Growing Appreciation of the Meskwaki Language: Many prominent contemporary linguists have conducted, and continue to 

conduct, analyses of the Meskwaki language. For many of these scholars, the 

Meskwaki language holds a special mystique among the Algonquian languages. In 

a 2008 Culture Symposium at the Meskwaki Settlement, Dr. Amy Dahlstrom explained the Meskwaki language’s significance to linguists. Often linguists compare 

the distinct languages within a language family for their similarities in an effort 

to trace them back to the original language, or a ‘‘proto’’ language. Dr. Dahlstrom 

explained that of all Algonquin languages, the Meskwaki language is most similar 

to the Proto-Algonquian language. This implies that over the past 200 plus years 

of history, the Meskwaki language has changed the least from its original form. So 

there lies special significance of this language as to why it didn’t change, a particular link to our ancestors who spoke the Meskwaki language much as it is today, 

and important potential insights as to why other Algonquian languages deviated 

more from the original proto-language. 

Conclusion 

Like many of our fellow Tribes we have dedicated ourselves to preserving our language and our cultural heritage. In so doing, we seek to strengthen our spiritual 

connections to our Creator, to renew our ties to our ancestors and to provide this 

uniquely Meskwaki gift to our descendants. We believe these initiatives will 

strengthen our Tribal nation and enhance our ability to contribute to the American 

story as we have throughout our history. While the programs must be driven by 

Tribal leaders, we believe the federal government can play a meaningful and constructive role in their design and implementation. On behalf of the Meskwaki Tribe, 

thank you for the opportunity to present our thoughts in this regard. 

This concludes my prepared statement. I welcome any questions you may have.

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The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Mr. Lasley. 

Mr. Parker, will you please proceed with your statement? 

STATEMENT OF ALVIN N. PARKER, PRINCIPAL, KA WAIHONA O 

KA NAAUAO PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL 

Mr. PARKER. Aloha, Chairman Akaka and Committee members. 

My name is Alvin Parker, and I am the Principal of Ka Waihona 

o ka Na‘auao Public Charter School, which is located on the 

Waianae Coast, the western side of the Island of Oahu. 

The school is situated in an economically depressed community 

that is predominantly Native Hawaiian or part Hawaiian. The 

Waianae community, as many Native American communities, has 

experienced rapid alcohol, sexual and substance abuse, early teen 

pregnancy, a large percentage of Native Hawaiians incarcerated, 

and the disintegration of family and Native Hawaiian values due 

to these social maladies. 

The mission of Ka Waihona o ka Na‘auoa is to create socially responsible, resilient and resourceful young men and women by providing an environment of academic excellence, social competence 

and cultural awareness. This environment offers a moral compass 

molded by the students’ early experiences with Native educators 

who understand and pass on all that is good in our Native cultural 

values. 

The school has purposefully sought out highly qualified Native 

Hawaiian educators who come from the community. Of the school 

faculty members, 63 percent have advanced degrees and 20 of 41 

members are graduates of the Kamehameha Schools. Ka Waihona 

thrives on the premise that this type of role modeling empowers 

the student body to believe that they can achieve, and that all 

things are possible. 

Ka Waihona embraces a curriculum that is academically rigorous 

and culturally sensitive. The school is in good standing with the No 

Child Left behind Federal mandate and has made annual yearly 

progress for four of the last six years. Ka Waihona embeds cultural 

values in everyday education by displaying visual prompts in the 

classrooms and referencing them consistently. These Native values 

include Ho‘ihi, be respectful, Kuleana, be responsible, Malama, be 

safe, Ha‘aha‘a, be humble, Lokahi, unit, and Ho‘omau, persevere. 

Students also participate in a host of cultural vents and activities 

throughout the school year. These include honoring the Native rulers of the past at the royal mausoleum, displaying their knowledge 

in a cultural show for the community, participating in a day of festivities which include activities ancient Hawaiians conducted on a 

daily basis for survival, weekly hula lessons, daily Hawaiian language lessons for the middle school students and a daily schoolwide protocol that includes Native Hawaiian chants and songs. 

Ka Waihona is founded on the belief that exposing the students 

to Native Hawaiian values and offering them opportunities to participate in the culture is imperative to their social maturation. The 

exposure and substantive support by the faculty to make these values a part of everyday lessons and behavior expectations is integral 

to the school’s approach to education and ultimately the school’s 

mission. 

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The combination of a cultural component and intensely rigorous 

academic curriculum provides the students with a solid base that 

allows them social mobility that is often not a reality for Native 

Hawaiians. Education, whether it be cultural or academic, plays a 

vital role in nurturing and sustaining our Native people. 

Finally, I would like to thank Senator Daniel K. Akaka for extending the invitation to provide testimony on this important subject. Senator Akaka embodies all that is good and possible for Native Hawaiians and part Hawaiians. His leadership in the United 

States Senate has set a precedent for indigenous people, and I believe every Hawaiian and part Hawaiian says Mahalo to Senator 

Akaka. 

Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Parker follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF ALVIN N. PARKER, PRINCIPAL, KA WAIHONA O KA NAAUAO

PUBLIC CHARTER SCHOOL

Ka Waihona o ka Naauao (KWON) is located on the Wai‘anae Coast, the western 

side of the island of O‘ahu. The Wai‘anae community, as many Native American 

communities, has experienced rampant alcohol, sexual and substance abuse, early 

teen pregnancy, a large percentage of Native Hawaiians incarcerated, and the disintegration of family and Native Hawaiian values due to the above listed social maladies. The mission of Ka Waihona o ka Na‘auao is to create socially responsible, resilient and resourceful young men and women by providing an environment of academic excellence, social confidence and cultural awareness. Because of this, KWON 

embraces a curriculum that is both academically rigorous and culturally sensitive. 

KWON houses opened ten years ago in an educationally altered chicken coop with 

60 students in grades kindergarten through three. Currently, there are 572 students 

in 24 classrooms in grades kindergarten through eight on a traditional school campus. Of our students, 93 percent are Native Hawaiian and 62 percent are economically disadvantaged. Each class has an educational assistant in addition to a classroom teacher which allows for a lower student-teacher ratio and more effective 

classroom management. KWON provides a core curriculum of language arts, social 

studies, science, and math along with resource courses that include music, art, language, physical education, and culture. 

The school is in good standing with the No Child Left Behind federal mandate 

and has made Annual Yearly Progress for four of the last six years. KWON’s founder formed the school with the strong belief that education is the most effective way 

to remedy the maladies of a community. This belief is at the heart of the school’s 

efforts to foster a more community inclusive form of education, an integrated curriculum, and an academically rigorous educational experience, along with measurable outcomes set at the highest standard. KWON offers a schooling experience that 

is a viable alternative to the existing conventional public school model. KWON is 

structured to be responsive to the learning styles, cultural values, and future desires 

of the families of the community. It emphasizes a caring, collaborative environment 

for all persons within the school community. This includes students, teachers, parents, staff, volunteers, and community members who, together, implement an effective and relevant educational experience. 

KWON is founded on its Na Mea Waiwai or Core Values: Ho‘ihi (respect), 

Kuleana (responsibility), Malama (safety), Ha‘aha‘a (humility), Lokahi (unity), and 

Ho‘omau (perseverance). A set of posters displaying these school values is displayed 

in every room on campus to allow for easy reference and frequent discussion. The 

exposure and substantive support by the faculty to make these values a part of everyday lessons and behavior expectations is integral to the school’s approach to education and ultimately the school’s mission. Students participate in a host of cultural 

activities throughout the school year. These include honoring the native rulers of 

the past at the Royal Mausoleum (burial place), displaying their knowledge in a cultural show for the community, participating in a day of festivities which include activities ancient Hawaiians conducted on a daily basis for survival, weekly hula 

classes, daily Hawaiian language classes for middle school students, and a daily 

schoolwide protocol that includes a variety of Native Hawaiian chants and songs including Hawaii Ponoi, our state song. KWON exposes students to native Hawaiian 

values and offers them opportunities to participate in a culture which is beneficial 

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to their social maturation. The combination of a cultural component and an intensely rigorous academic curriculum provides the students with a solid base that 

allows for a social mobility that is often not a reality for native Hawaiians. Education, whether it be cultural or academic, plays a vital role in nurturing and sustaining our native people. 

KWON’s Hawaii State Assessment scores have steadily improved since the 

school’s first taking of the HSA in 2005. In the most recent state assessment data 

(2009), where 300 is passing, KWON scored a 303 in reading and a 288 in math. 

This is an improvement from 296 in reading and 280 in math in 2008. KWON was 

able to meet AYP this year and is now in School Improvement Year One, Good 

Standing, due to the consistent gains in each class and grade level, especially in 

mathematics. This is remarkable considering only one other public school in the district met AYP. The surrounding community’s schools house eight of the 10 lowest 

scoring schools in the state. The schools in the same district have consistently struggled to make gains on state tests. In SY 2009–2010, KWON met the school’s goals 

set in SY 2008–2009. KWON moved 10 percent of students in each reading standard 

up to higher standard by moving 8 Students move from Well Below standard to Approaching standard, 6 Students move from Approaching standard to Meets standard, and 11 Students move from Meets standard to Exceeds standard. We were also 

able to move 10 percent of students in each math standard up to higher standard 

by moving 12 Students move from Well Below standard to Approaching standard, 

7 Students move from Approaching standard to Meets standard, and 6 Students 

move from Meets standard to Exceeds standard. All teachers use the same assessments and are using the data from those assessments to drive instruction. 

KWON implements Guided Reading Groups and Literature and Inquiry Circles 

in grades Kindergarten through eight. KWON supports these Guided Reading 

Groups and Literature and Inquiry Circles with a number of Big Books, Shared 

Reading Kits, Internet Sources through SmartBoards and other technology rich 

sources, the Accelerated Reader Program (a daily progress monitoring software assessment for monitoring the practice of reading), STAR Reading (standardized computer adaptive assessment) from Renaissance Learning (which works hand in hand 

with Neo IIs and Notebook software), A to Z Readers (materials to teach guided 

reading, phonemic awareness, reading comprehension, reading fluency, alphabet, 

and vocabulary through professionally developed downloadable leveled books, lesson 

plans, worksheets, and reading assessments), Leveled Reading Libraries for grade 

levels K–8, and many Hawaiian culture books, which assist in teaching our curriculum’s cultural component. 

All teachers, parents, and students sign an annual school compact and middle 

school parents stay in close contact with instructional staff through the TeacherEase 

program. The middle school implements Teacherease, which systematized our 7th 

and 8th grade classrooms through standards-based lesson plans, curriculum mapping, gradebooks, report cards, and parent communication/access. The website enhances teacher collaboration and improves communication between administrators, 

teachers, parents, and students. We also use the portion of the system that provides 

demographics, attendance, and scheduling assistance. The various supports for 

KWON students include the following: in class technology tutoring through Accelerated Reading and Math, Reading Fluency Software, skill specific online programs, 

daily grade updates and communication with parents, counseling services, and Title 

I and IDEA support. Kindergarten through sixth grade employs a Standards Based 

report card. 

During instruction, lower elementary teachers focus on phonemic awareness, 

phonics, and differentiation with pre-decodable and decodable books. KWON employs Small Group Instruction through Guided and Shared Reading on a daily basis. 

Teachers also use listening centers, Author’s Chair, and Reader’s and Writer’s Theatre daily as another teaching strategy that easily allows for differentiation. Literature and Inquiry Circles are used for focused critical thinking sessions to introduce and break down new material and allow students to learn from one another 

through collaborative groups. Middle and upper elementary teachers create projectbased, interdisciplinary, independent research projects in order to promote non-fiction reading and writing, internet familiarity, and independent work. Science, math 

and reading journals are conducted daily in classrooms. Students also work in small 

groups using strategies such as role playing, think/pair/share, and jigsawing. 

Teachers differentiate using multi-sensory, multiple intelligence lessons in order 

to engage each student in the classroom. Teachers also differentiate according to 

student ability using skill specific work they have created or by using differentiated 

items provided by KWON’s curricular programs. Formative assessments are employed frequently in the form of self-assessment and goal setting, peer assessments, 

observations, reviews, summarizing, and exit cards. 

23

KWON uses software and online programs such as Lexia, My Reading Coach, 

Reading Plus, and Fluent Reading Trainer as supplemental supports for students 

in order to instruct in a differentiated, skill-specific format. These programs are scientifically proven and data driven allowing students to be frequently assessed and 

support students until mastery. Teachers are able to access assessments and further 

drive instruction through worksheets and 1:1 or small group instruction. The programs are designed to support students experiencing difficulty with reading. In addition, low achieving students participate in one-to-one sessions with teachers and 

educational assistants using skill specific, leveled readers, computer programs, and 

manipulatives. During the summer prior to kindergarteners beginning school at 

KWON, students attend a mandatory session in which teachers assess students and 

meet with parents in order to introduce the entire family to KWON’s expectations. 

Singapore Math is implemented in grades kindergarten through eight as a core 

math curriculum. Singapore Math’s method of teaching mathematics is based on 

textbooks from the national curriculum of Singapore. It is based primarily on timetested traditional mathematics instruction methods. Singapore Math frequently uses 

word problems and the strategies towards solving them, rather than repetitive drilling. Singapore Math also frequently uses models in teaching problem-solving (a 

form of pre-algebra) rather than the trial-and-error methods. This method is a problem solving strategy which simplifies the list of 11 or more problem solving skills 

suggested by the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). 

KWON supplements the curriculum with Accelerated Reading and Accelerated 

Math which are research-based computer programs that produce high gains in reading and math for students of different achievement levels in all grades. The program 

creates custom-designed practice assignments for students based on a computerized 

diagnostic test, scores their work, and reports the results immediately. The classroom teacher is then able to work with individual students on their particular skill 

strengths and weaknesses. Students work at their own individual levels and are 

given practice time to achieve proficiency. Teachers set realistic, achievable math 

goals with students for optimum growth using this program. Teacher use program 

reports and feedback for planning instruction, diagnosis of student needs, and also 

to provide information for parents. 

KWON’s technology rich supports include MacBooks, listening centers, Samsung 

doc cameras, I–Pod Touch System, MacBooks, Elmos, Ipads, Neo II Boards, and 

SmartBoard Techonology. The programs are used for reading & math instruction 

which increases test scores through multi-sensory literacy and math comprehension 

strategies, vocabulary and language development, and repeated reading/math practice. Programs are scientifically proven, skill specific, differentiated, and current, 

best practice. 

KWON uses a three tiered RTI model. Tier I consists of general education (curricula, grading, and testing). KWON concentrates on Tier II which is an individualized, intervention level. Tier III is an intensive, skill specific intervention designed 

for each student. This includes Title I, Special Education, and one to one sessions 

conducted with teachers. All students participating in Tier II and III are monitored 

to ensure students’ progress over time and close the achievement gap with their 

peers. 

Highly Qualified Status of Instructional Staff 

32 of the 33 instructional staff are licensed and Highly Qualified. The last teacher 

is currently in the process of finishing her State Approved Teacher Education Program (SATEP) and completing her Praxis tests in order to obtain licensure and is 

scheduled to obtain her license by the end of SY 2010–2011. 50 percent of KWON 

teachers hold graduate degrees in education from schools such as Gonzaga, 

Chaminade, and the University of Hawaii. 

KWON’s environment molds students’ early experiences through native educators 

who understand and pass on all that is good in our native, cultural value system. 

The school has purposefully sought out highly qualified, Native Hawaiian educators 

who come from the community. Of the school’s faculty members, 63 percent have 

advanced degrees, and 20 of 41 members of the staff are graduates of the Kamehameha Schools, a private school exclusively for Native Hawaiians which is difficult 

to gain acceptance from. KWON thrives on the premise that this type of role modeling empowers the student body to believe that they can achieve and that all things 

are possible. 

Professional Development Activities 

All KWON Professional Development (PD) activities are geared toward the increase of effective instruction. The focus of PDs at KWON is enrichment, differentiation, and skill specific instruction that is scientifically proven and data driven. 

24

Cultural workshops connect our staff and students to the wealth of ancestral 

knowledge available to us. The cultural workshops also enrich the relationships 

among our staff and students through the focus on our Na Mea Waiwai (core values: 

respect, responsibility, safety, humility, unity and perseverance). Activities such as 

creating kikepa (Hawaiian garb), kahili (Hawaiian version of a flag), and learning 

new ‘oli (Hawaiian songs) are conducted on a consistent basis. Historical background, personal and academic connections, and staff unity are always at the forefront of all cultural workshop activities. 

KWON teachers attend Kamehameha Schools’ professional development days in 

order to learn and implement new strategies in their classrooms. KWON teachers 

attended an I Teach K Conference, Singapore Math Training Conference and a Differentiation Conference for which all teachers completed a collaborative project and 

presented statistical and anecdotal results reflecting the worth of attending the conference. All strategies and trainings are conducted within the framework of student 

achievement in order to close the achievement gap and increase academic achievement. 

All teachers participate in Professional Learning Communities on a weekly basis. 

These communities work toward (1) recognizing a need (with a focus on leadership 

training), (2) organizing for change (with a focus on leadership and infrastructure), 

(3) working on the building blocks (with a focus on infrastructure, school philosophy, 

and vision), (4) moving as a whole school (with a focus on the standards based 

change process), (5) sharing results within a professional learning community (with 

the focus on assessment results), (6) implementing the curriculum (with a focus on 

teacher-developed curriculum guides), and (7) engaging students and families (with 

the focus on portfolios, student self-assessment, and goal setting). Initially, the communities’ meeting topics began with an assessment (by way of surveys, focus groups, 

and individual interviews, along with data collection) of three components of our 

school: infrastructure, classroom practices, and student outcomes. According to the 

results of the assessment, consistent professional development workshops were created and conducted. These workshops cover topics such as standards-based education, formative assessment to inform instruction, and the employment of instructional strategies across the schoolwide curriculum, all in the context of Professional 

Learning Communities. These communities are created and fostered not only to affect change through a partnership among the teachers but to sustain that change 

through grassroots involvement. We are continuing the growing process of refining 

our school curriculum, benchmarks, and anchor pieces for each benchmark. The 

communities also determine the expectations for each grade level through specific 

methodologies that are scientifically-proven to be effective. Through these Professional Learning Communities, teachers who are effective/knowledgeable in different 

areas instruct other teachers through professional workshops. These Grade Level 

PLCs also function as the teacher mentoring program through consistent meetings 

that discuss each teacher’s strengths and needs in order to allow seasoned and beginning teachers to learn from one another. These learning communities allow 

teachers to receive the support they need to improve their classroom practices and 

give them adequate time to work together, both scientifically-proven necessities for 

classroom success. 

KWON has an extensive Support Services System that supports underperforming 

students with skill specific, individually designed instruction. The support system 

provides current, best practice reading and math strategies in the following areas: 

sustaining improved reading outcomes through phonics interventions, data analysis/

data driven instruction from formative and summative assessments in order to target core reading and math strands for increased test results, RTI/Tier III reading 

interventions, teaching creatively to increase standardized test scores, metacognitive 

and multi-sensory interventions, motivating reluctant learners, and the use of technology in the classroom. KWON’s closed circuit television plays professional development DVDs that contain Best New Practices and innovative teaching strategies for 

teacher utilization on a consistent basis. KWON also continues to build a professional development library available for the KWON staff in the Curriculum Room. 

This room houses texts, CD’s, and DVD’s that equip teachers with current strategies 

and methods that engage students in order to increase student achievement. 

KWON also offers Apple Institutes for Mac Software and Internet Programs 

Training for instructional staff. Training is for Apple Software and Internet Programs for supplemental, differentiated, skill specific, data driven reading and math 

instruction in the form of project based digital storytelling which increases test 

scores through multi-sensory literacy and math comprehension strategies, vocabulary and language development, and repeated reading/math practice. These PD days 

cover best instructional strategies by instructing teachers in how to best use the 

25

programs for differentiating for each student using skill specific software and internet reading and math programs. 

Partnerships and Collaboration 

Kamehameha Schools—Kamehameha Schools’ Ho‘olako Like Program as well as 

Kamehameha Elementary School (KES) supports KWON by financially supporting 

the school’s initiatives and providing the staff with opportunities for professional development (teacher trainings at the KES campus on literacy, conferences for Math 

and English Teachers, and workshops concerning topics such as differentiation). The 

Public Education Division of the Kamehameha Schools supports KWON through a 

longitudinal study that will track the long term effects of KWON’s educational efforts through High School and beyond. This will help KWON address academic 

strengths and/or weaknesses that appear later in our students’ academic career. KS 

also donated $5000 in cultural books for our Backpack Program to begin in SY 

2010–2011. 

Hawaii Association of Independent Schools—is partnering with KWON to assist 

in the process of accreditation with the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. 

KWON began the process in SY 11–12. 

Na Lei Na‘auao Native Hawaiian Charter School Alliance—KWON is a member 

of the Na Lei Na‘auao which offers support among 12 Native Hawaiian Charter 

Schools. 

Hawaii Charter School Network—The 31 charter school network provides opportunities for KWON to learn from other charter schools throughout the islands. 

University of Hawai’i at Manoa, College of Education, Center on Disability Studies—Collaborates with KWON through the financial support of four free after school 

reading and math tutoring programs. These four programs focus on reading and 

math fluency. Currently, 200 of the 572 students at KWON attend these programs 

on a daily basis. 

Hawaii State Teachers Association—Supports the teachers of KWON through 

union labor representatives that keep the staff aware of changing state laws that 

affect teachers. 

Department of Education—Provides Financial Management Services for payroll, 

SPED services and trainings, as well as counseling referrals that require Department of Health involvement. 

University of Hawaii Curriculum Research Development Group—Provides core 

science curriculum (DASH) 

PDERI (Professional Development and Educational Research Institute)—provides 

opportunities for professional development for our staff. 

Alu Like—collaborates with KWON by donating hundreds of books to build our 

school library. 

Office of Hawaiian Affairs—financially supports KWON through grants that allow 

for our free bus service. 

Department of Hawaiian Home Lands—agreed to a minimal cost, 30 year lease 

agreement with KWON to ensure KWON’s long term support and success. 

Disney—granted KWON a 2500 sq. ft. playground and a 1,000 sq. ft garden in 

the 2010–2011 school year. Disney continues to support KWON through additional 

grants and school visits from Mickey and Minnie. 

HeadStart—applications are distributed during the school year for siblings of students to encourage pre-school attendance. 

Queen Liliuokalani Children’s Center, The Institute for Native Pacific Education 

and Culture (INPEACE), Parents and Children Together (PACT), and Families for 

R.E.A.L. (the State Student Support Services Program)—are all resourced as needed.

The CHAIRMAN. Mahalo nui. Thank you for your testimony, Mr. 

Parker. 

Before I call on our next witness, I would like to say that we are 

happy to have with us another member of the Committee, Senator 

Udall. Thank you for being here. I am going to ask him to introduce our next witness. 

STATEMENT OF HON. TOM UDALL,

U.S. SENATOR FROM NEW MEXICO 

Senator UDALL. Thank you, Chairman Akaka. I really appreciate 

that and have enjoyed very much hearing the earlier witnesses 

here. 

26

I want to welcome Kevin Shendo to our Committee. He is the Director of the Department of Education at the Jemez Pueblo. Kevin 

chairs in New Mexico a very important committee that is called the 

New Mexico Indian Education Council that gives significant advice. 

He is also a leader in the field of Indian education across New 

Mexico. I think you are going to see by his testimony that Jemez 

Pueblo and Kevin Shendo have a lot to offer in terms of the subject 

of this hearing. 

Welcome today, Kevin, and thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Senator Udall. I also 

want to thank you so much for chairing the hearing on stereotypes. 

Senator UDALL. It was my pleasure to do. You have a very able 

staff to support me here. Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Senator Udall follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. TOM UDALL, U.S. SENATOR FROM NEW MEXICO

Mr. Chairman, 

Thank you for convening a hearing on this important topic, Expanding on the 

Success of Native Language and Culture based Education. I have been a strong supporter of preserving native languages and culture, recognizing both the historical 

and cultural significance of language preservation, in addition to the inherent value 

and sense of identity that comes from the recognition of native cultures. Native languages are a treasure in and of themselves, and we must ensure their survival. 

We cannot deny the role the United States government has played in the loss of 

Native languages. We remember the cruel history when students at government 

boarding schools were prohibited from using their native languages. Our policies of 

relocation and assimilation further diluted native languages and strained the ability 

of many tribes to pass their language and culture down to their children. Thankfully, the days of denying native language and culture are ending. 

I am proud to have helped create the Esther Martinez Native American Languages Preservation Act in 2006, which authorized funding to tribes for new programs to revitalize native languages and prevent the loss of their heritage and culture. This program has helped fund language nests, survival schools, and restoration programs. For example, in my own State of New Mexico, these funds have 

helped support such programs as the Mescalero Apache Language Immersion 

School, and Pueblo of Pojoaque and Ramah Navajo School Board Native Language 

Preservation and Maintenance programs. 

I’d like to say a word about Esther Martinez. Esther Martinez was a 94-year-old 

language instructor and storyteller. She was killed on her way home to Ohkay 

Owingeh in 2006, a pueblo in northern New Mexico. Ms. Martinez had just been 

honored with the National Heritage Fellowship award here in Washington, D.C. for 

her role in teaching Tewa to generations of students. 

Ms. Martinez was dedicated to preserving her Native language. She was known 

by her Tewa name, Poe Tsawa, which means Blue Water. Among her former students, both young and old, she was simply referred to as Ko‘o, or Aunt. 

Many of us also honor the Navajo Code Talkers, those World War II soldiers who 

used their language to create an unbreakable code, helping the Allies win the war. 

Because the Navajo language had survived and been passed down, Americans had 

a code that the Japanese were never able to crack. Their success in that mission 

helped the Marines capture Iwo Jima. It contributed to American victory. And it 

saved untold numbers of Allied soldiers. This legacy, and these languages, must not 

be lost. 

According to the Indigenous Language Institute in New Mexico, of the more than 

300 languages spoken in the U.S. at the time of European contact, only 175 remain, 

and by 2050, only 20 will be spoken with regular use, unless efforts are taken to 

teach the languages to new generations. We must not let this happen. 

I’d like to welcome the witnesses today, and look forward to learning about their 

experiences and hearing their advice on how we can further honor and preserve native language and culture for our children and future generations.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Senator Udall. 

Mr. Shendo, will you please begin with your testimony? 

27

STATEMENT OF KEVIN SHENDO, EDUCATION DIRECTOR, 

PUEBLO OF JEMEZ 

Mr. SHENDO. [Greeting in Native tongue.] Good afternoon, Chairman Akaka, Senator Udall. Thank you for the invitation to be able 

to provide testimony to you here today on this very important subject of Native language and culture-based education. 

Again, I am Kevin Shendo, Education Director for the Pueblo of 

Jemez. The Pueblo of Jemez is situated in north central New Mexico. We have a population of about 3,700. What is significant about 

Jemez is it lies in a rural mountainous area of north central New 

Mexico. The last survey we did in 2006 showed that 80 percent of 

our membership are still fluent in the Jemez language. It is an oral 

language that is not written. So this is very vital for us to continue 

to teach our young people and raise them within the context of the 

language and the Jemez community, within where language is 

learned. So I truly do appreciate the opportunity to share our story 

and our success with the work we have done in education. 

The Pueblo of Jemez in 1999 began its reorganization efforts and 

had a visioning session which they entitled Vision 2010 and asked 

the community to come together and share what they envisioned 

Jemez looking like in the year 2010. From that visioning session 

came three main priorities. The first was to build capacity within 

our young people to be able to assume responsible leadership roles 

within our community as well as beyond our community boundaries. Second was to take ownership over the education systems of 

our young people. 

And third was to redefine education, redefine it so that Jemez 

language and culture are at the heart of what we teach, how we 

teach and where we teach our young people. So that whole redefining education movement began 10 years ago in Jemez, looking 

at the importance of language and culture and it being at the heart 

of how we educate our young people and looking at how we move 

forward in the educational process. 

Through that visioning session and the three themes that 

emerged, one of the most important things that came out of that 

was building what today we know as the Jemez Collaborative Education Group. That is the tribal program managers and coordinators working with our local schools: public, charter and Bureau, 

and really looking at bringing them together to begin to coordinate 

our school systems and really looking at how we can best serve the 

needs of our students, looking at the unique curriculum that each 

school offers, looking at the transitions that need to be put in place, 

and honoring language and culture across all school systems. And 

rather than competing for students, because we come from a small 

community, but are very rich in school choice, looking at how we 

can best meet the needs of our students as they transition from one 

school system to the next. 

From that collaborative effort came the growth of our joint professional development days with all our educators and our annual 

Education retreats. From which we have been able to develop our 

Jemez language and culture curriculum, K through 8th, that we 

are now looking at implementing and integrating within our school 

systems. This really has enabled us to evolve with the work we 

have been doing on our language, looking at how important it is 

28

and the retention of it. Currently at our Head Start, early childhood level, over 60 percent of our children coming into our Head 

Start program are Jemez language speakers. So it does become 

really important that not only the education but the transitions 

that take place within our school systems are responsive to the priorities and needs of the community. So this collaborative work has 

become a key piece in the work that we are able to do. 

Through that works, the growth of the curriculum and development of it; what we have realized now, is that as we begin to look 

at laws like No Child Left Behind and Head Start mandates, that 

a lot of the Research-based curriculum and assessments and evaluations do not fit the model that we are trying to build that is rooted in an oral language within our community. So we are really 

looking at now beginning to define Research that supports the 

work that we are doing, Research that is owned by the tribe, directed by the tribe, working with institutions of higher education. 

Two of the posters you see displayed here are from a Research 

project that was conducted by our Head Start in partnership with 

Arizona State University. The title of the Research was Becoming 

Jemez: Looking at the Early Childhood Experiences of Jemez Children, where language is learned, how it is learned and whether 

Head Start supports the language learning of our young people or 

not. 

So this whole step and process of really looking at how language 

has become an integral part of how we move forward in our educational system and looking at the importance of oral language 

learning, I think that has made language and culture integration 

in the school systems very key. When you look at the report by the 

common core that was developed looking at the countries where 

student performance is very high, they are offering an education 

that is deeper and going wider, whereas the United States has 

been looking more of narrowing the curriculum and really looking 

at a monolingual system. 

What we are hoping to prove is that a multilingual effort is vital 

and for multilingualism to be seen as an asset rather than a deficit 

with English language learners. That is why this hearing is important for us in looking at language and culture and how it is integrated throughout all our school systems, and also allowing the 

ability for tribes to develop our own research based methods, and 

giving tribal education departments and tribal governments more 

authority, similar to that of State education agencies over the education of our children. 

Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Shendo follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF KEVIN SHENDO, EDUCATION DIRECTOR, PUEBLO OF JEMEZ

The Pueblo of Jemez, is located in north central New Mexico and we have a tribal 

membership of approximately 3,788. Jemez is a very traditional Pueblo and we have 

maintained our cultural and religious practices. We are the only Pueblo where the 

Towa language is spoken, a language that is unwritten. In 1999, the Pueblo of 

Jemez, through its Vision 2010 community sessions, asserted our authority and desire to determine what is most important to the education of our tribal members. 

Jemez began our re-organization efforts in 1999 as part of the Visioning and Planning sessions for our community. From Vision 2010 and the community planning 

sessions, emerged three overriding themes that have been at the core of our Redefining Education Movement; one of these themes is to Redefine Education—so that 

29

Jemez Language and Culture are at the heart of how, where and what we teach 

our children to ensure the survival and advancement of our Jemez people. 

After a series of organizational changes, the Jemez Department of Education was 

redesigned to reflect a comprehensive approach to education which begins with our 

most precious resource, our infants and works up to our adult learners and college 

students. Encompassing all support programs, schools and services from our different tribal programs and local schools: bureau, public and charter. The Jemez Department of Education is a part of the Jemez Tribal Government and Administration. The Education Director reports to the Tribal Administrator who in turn, reports to the Jemez Governors and the Jemez Tribal Council. 

The Pueblo of Jemez is pleased with the progress it has made in creating a tribal 

education system that engages with State, Tribal and Federal institutions. Markers 

of success for the Pueblo of Jemez Educational System include:

• Creation of the Jemez Education Collaborative, a coalition of Tribal Education 

Program Managers, Coordinators, and School Administrators from the Public, 

Bureau and Charter schools serving Jemez students. The Education Collaborative meets monthly to discuss critical education issues impacting our student 

population. Rather than compete for students, funding and resources, the collaborative works cooperatively to ensure that the best educational services, 

transitions and supports are provided to our students to ensure their success.

• As part of this collaborative began the development of a Jemez Language and 

Culture Curriculum from Early Childhood to 8th Grade through the annual 

Teacher Retreat and the Joint Professional Development Days involving all 

teachers from the local community schools and tribal programs.

• Further, the involvement of the tribe in the schools has resulted in an integration of our tribal language, culture and priorities directly into the curriculum. 

This was done in coordination with the teachers, community schools, the Jemez 

Language Team, and the Jemez Education Department. We are, in essence, developing an indigenous pedagogy that best meets the academic needs of our student population.

• Conducting research to support the Jemez educational initiatives focused on developing Jemez Educational Standards, complete with assessments and evaluations, rooted in Jemez Language, Culture and Tribal priorities that integrate 

State, National and International educational standards.

—‘‘Becoming Jemez PhotoVoice Project—the early childhood experiences of 

Jemez children and the context within which language is learned’’ is a 

prime example of one such research project being directed by the tribe 

in collaboration with Arizona State University.

The Pueblo of Jemez Tribal Education Department has developed meaningful relationships with our community and State partners:

• Jemez has established two public charter schools within reservation lands with 

Tribal Council approval in collaboration with the local public school district, as 

New Mexico initially set up a dependent charter school law, listing LEAs as the 

authorizing agents; but the charter law was reauthorized to now allow the State 

of New Mexico to become a second authorizing agent, making two options available and honoring the government-to-government relationship between NM and 

its 22 tribes.

• Jemez has entered into an MOU with the State of New Mexico for alternative 

licensure for Jemez Language and Culture Instructors. Jemez will determine 

which of its tribal members are viable to teach Jemez Language and Culture 

within the local schools and the state will honor the tribe’s authority by granting the recommended individuals an alternative license to teach within the public school systems.

• Jemez also has an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) with the NM Public 

Education Department—Indian Education Division for grant funds awarded to 

the Jemez Department of Education to support language programs and student 

support services.

The work of the Jemez Education Department has had and continues to have an 

impact on increasing the academic performance of our students:

• The Jemez Valley Public School District was only one of two school districts in 

the State of NM to make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) as a district in the 

2009/10 school year based on the academic achievement of the students within 

their respective schools.

30

• Jemez on average has over 80 percent of its high school graduates going on to 

2 and 4 year institutions.

• Through its different programs, the Jemez Education Department is directly 

reaching and impacting over 450 students per month, and over 100 students per 

day.

• The four and five year graduation rates for Jemez Valley High School and 

Walatowa High Charter School are above the state averages and significant for 

schools with high Native populations.

Recommendations to strengthen tribal control and to ensure language and culture 

based education models are funded and made a priority are as follows:

• ESEA Reauthorization needs to be inclusive of tribal priorities: Opportunities 

for integrating language and culture based programs have been overlooked because of No Child Left Behind. Focus has been on Reading and Math, because 

our Native children are unique, a lot of them have succeeded but are we losing 

our Native identity along the way.

• NCLB English only legislation needs to be repealed and be made inclusive of 

home languages other than English. A greater value and acknowledgement of 

multilingualism as an asset is a must.

• Recognizing that ‘‘Top Down’’ mandates don’t work and western education models are not the answer to tribal communities working to develop educational 

standards that are rooted in Language and Culture and that integrate local priorities.

• Parent’s are a child’s first teacher—a financial investment and focus needs to 

be put on parent support and education programs/services. Without strong parental support and intervention, a child often struggles and is more prone to 

experiment with and participate in risky behaviors.

• Bureau of Indian Education mandate on background checks for all classroom instructors takes up to six (6) months. Revisiting policy to expedite the process 

or work with local police departments for community educators, some of which 

are certified language/culture instructors and respected elders.

• Invest in ‘‘Grow Your Own’’ programs: Each community has unique needs and 

challenges so they need to develop their own programs. This empowers community members and develops a sense of ownership, ‘‘when we ‘‘Grow our Own’’ 

we then take pride in, and want, need, and value what we produce. This brings 

ownership and local responsibility.’’

• Increasing the role of Tribal Education Departments to that of State Education 

Agencies and giving Tribes more authority in the education of their children 

through the ESEA Reauthorization: ‘‘Jemez people know best, what is best for 

Jemez children.’’

• Legislation needs to address federal and state educational funding going directly to the tribes, helping to build capacity, thus enabling them to best meet 

their community’s educational needs and priorities.

• Invest in research that supports Native language and traditional community 

based learning models. These are ‘‘Education Best Practices’’ and legislation 

should support best practices in Native Communities and research that is driven by tribal communities and their research partners.

• Invest in holistic education models that incorporate all aspects of a child’s 

learning, to meet the needs of the whole child: Educationally, Socially, Culturally, Spiritually, Emotionally, Physically and Nutritionally. A healthy, well 

child can be taught to learn and master most anything. ‘‘It takes a village to 

raise a child.’’

As Tribes and Tribal Education Departments, we have a responsibility to hold the 

Federal and State Governments, public school districts and schools that serve our 

students accountable, to ensure that our students are readily prepared for college 

or a career. So Jemez echoes that the burden of education for our young people not 

to be the responsibility of one, but that it truly becomes a joint, collaborative effort, 

which creates a win-win situation for all; thus ensuring the educational sovereignty 

of tribes and our right to self-determination. 

The Pueblo of Jemez has always been and will continue to be a strong supporter 

of educational initiatives. Diverse educational opportunities, together with traditional knowledge, fluency in our Towa language and a strong cultural foundation 

have empowered us and education has opened doors of opportunity. The Pueblo of 

Jemez realizes that education is a lifelong journey and that it is critical to meet the 

needs of our community at all levels: educationally, culturally and socially. 

31

The Pueblo of Jemez Department of Education is central to providing different 

educational opportunities, services and programs to all tribal members. Because of 

its partnerships and collaborations with higher education institutions, community 

schools and organizations, state and federal agencies; It is a place from which one 

is able to access a multitude of services within the educational arena. 

In closing, I would like to quote the National Congress of American Indians and 

the National Indian Education Association’s Tribal Priorities for Indian Education. 

‘‘The health, well-being, and success of Native children are central to Tribal Sovereignty. Tribal Communities, supported by strong tribal governments, are responsible for raising, teaching and caring for children. Native children in turn form the 

back bone of future tribal success.’’

Thank you for the opportunity to provide Testimony before the Senate Committee 

on Indian Affairs.

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Mr. Shendo, for your testimony. 

Now we will move into questions for our witnesses. My first 

question is to Namaka Rawlins. Your consortium has done work 

with other Native peoples to assist in their own language perpetuation efforts. Can you describe the work that you do and the impact 

that work has had on other Native communities? 

Ms. RAWLINS. Mahalo. Yes, let me see, I wrote it down. Our consortium, with the two partners as I explained earlier, has a full P–

20, preschool through the doctorate degree. Within the consortium, 

we are providing, and with our laboratory school, we are providing 

technical assistance to others that are looking at our model and 

wanting to replicate the model. So we have had visitors, over 350 

indigenous visitors annually, that come to see our model, on the 

ground. 

So they are able to see firsthand what language nest looks like, 

with our preschoolers, and then able to see what the K through 12 

looks like, education, what teaching in our language, all subject 

areas, what that looks like. Then onto the Hawaiian language college, where you have the bachelors, masters program and the doctorate degree, along with the teacher certification program, indigenous teacher certification program, and the curriculum development center and technologies. So we have offered this technical assistance for many years. We were able to get the support of private 

foundations to help us, so that we could provide this sort of support. 

And in particular, we were able to support the Cherokee Nation 

in the development of a similar model to have the eastern, I think 

it is called North Eastern University, the similar model, working 

with the Cherokee immersion program there. So having that integrated elementary and university component to support that, we 

were able to demonstrate that and support taking that model to 

that community as well. 

The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Lasley, you talked about the challenges associated with teacher certification in your written testimony, and a 

desire to see tribes have the authority to certify Native language 

teachers. Can you explain what minimum qualifications tribes 

might adopt if such authority was made available? 

Mr. LASLEY. I think the qualifications clearly have to be one, that 

the teacher is a tribal member who is very familiar with the language itself and also cultural values pertaining to child-rearing. 

Many of our children have to begin learning the language almost 

from birth. Beyond that, I think something akin to an associate’s 

32

degree, whereby they are provided enough training in modern 

teaching techniques to be able to apply those or refine them in a 

tribal setting, so that indeed, they do meet some minimum qualifications, but also that they are acknowledged and recognized by 

tribal standards that they are adequately trained to provide the instruction. 

So it would be up to the tribes to develop that criteria. I believe 

we can successfully do that if in fact we have the mandate or the 

means, the opportunity to be able to do that without being stifled 

by other Federal regulations that emphasize the most recent ways 

of judging or certifying qualified teachers. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you. We will have another round of questions. 

Senator Udall? 

Senator UDALL. Chairman Akaka, thank you very much. This 

has been an excellent panel. 

I am very interested in strengthening the pipeline for tribal students to become professionals, and returning to their communities, 

especially as teachers and health care providers. What suggestions 

do any of the panelists have for growing our own Native teachers 

and how do we encourage college students to pursue a career in 

teaching, especially in Native communities? Kevin, do you want to 

start? 

Mr. SHENDO. Thank you, Senator Udall. One of the things we 

have done in our community actually, is looking at growing our 

own, starting a college internship program, that we have had our 

tribal programs invest resources and funding in, so that they are 

able to set aside funding through their regular budgets to hire college students coming back into the community, both giving them 

the opportunity to work in the field that they are studying within 

the local community, but also then, to build a pipeline to reintegrate them back into the community once they receive their degrees. 

This has been a tremendous program that we have put together. 

That is one. The other partnership that we established is with the 

AmeriCorps Vista program, looking at volunteer service to our community and giving young people the professional experience they 

need, but also the resources to be able to continue to pursue their 

education. I think opportunities as such have been very beneficial 

to us. One thing that has been a real focus for a lot of our college 

students is learning about the tribal government, tribal programs 

and how they function within the context of the community. That 

is something that cannot be taught in a college classroom, but one 

that has to be learned and experienced through those professional 

experiences that we are able to provide our young people. 

Senator UDALL. Do any of the other panelists want to weigh in 

on that? 

Ms. RAWLINS. I would like to. I was thinking about your question. In our experience, over the 30 years that we have been in the 

development of programs based on our language and our culture, 

it has brought up from within our own communities the empowerment from within our communities to return, that is part of the 

education. We talked about Kuleana earlier, responsibility, so it is 

innate, it is a part of the way we do things. 

33

So today’s hearing, the way we do our language and culture education, it fosters and it builds upon that strength of our Native 

communities to want to be a part of solutions and coming back and 

giving back. So when we look at the Punana Leo, when we started 

our language nest, we had parents that got involved that went on 

to become teachers themselves, because they were becoming involved in the education of their children and sought to get their 

teaching certification so they could be a part of this education in 

our language and through our language. 

We have now, because of being around this long, 30 years, we 

now have students that have graduated from our education system 

that are now returning and contributing back. It is just part of the 

way our education and how we are building within our communities that idea of Kuleana, responsibility, and coming back and 

contributing back to your community. You just don’t take away, 

you come back and give back, too. 

Mr. LASLEY. We would agree. I think our tribe sees that as an 

opportunity, grow your own programs, things of that nature. We 

see glimmers of hope at the earliest grade levels now, when we introduce Meskwaki speakers into those classrooms as teacher aides. 

So we also have certified teaching staff in certain classrooms that 

also voluntarily implement some of our Meskwaki language, even 

though they are non-Indian. We still see the students responding 

and learning phrases and words. 

So we believe it can be done, and we also would like more support in the reauthorization to promote those practices to be seen as 

continued opportunities. 

Mr. PARKER. May I say something? Curiously, where my school 

resides in Waianae, the major problem it had is retaining teachers. 

So that was used as a reason for educational failure. At the school 

that I am the principal at, 21 of my 40 teachers are of Hawaiian 

ethnicity. And the school has 93 percent Hawaiian, so obviously the 

role modeling automatically takes place in this community. We 

have found it to be a very powerful component in that a number 

of our students go on to private schools after they leave our public 

school. Private schools are obviously the elite of the educational 

system in the State of Hawaii. 

Senator UDALL. Thank you. Thank you very much. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Senator Udall. 

My question now is directed to Alvin Parker. Can you discuss 

how the Native Hawaiian community in Waianae has been involved in the design and goals of your school? And also whether or 

not you think that contributes to student achievement? 

Mr. PARKER. Yes, Senator. Waianae coast is made up of three 

mokus, Makaha Moku, the Waianae moku, the Maili moku, excuse 

me, four mokus, and Nanakuli moku. These are four individual 

communities that are along the 17-mile Waianae coast. We have 

students from every one of these mokus. So a total student body 

of about 600 children, ranging from K to eighth grade. 

So we get a lot of input from our families. But what we basically 

return to them is a high-quality educational facility. That is what 

they appreciate. Why I am using the four mokus to identify how 

we work together, if just one Nanakui moku provided all 600 stuVerDate 0ct 09 2002 10:03 Jul 20, 2011 Jkt 067288 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 S:\DOCS\67288.TXT JACK
34

dents, then you wouldn’t be getting this cross-section. But we get 

a lot of people. 

I will give you an example. We recently put this project Kaboom 

together, with the help of the Disney Corporation. In one day, 250 

family members and about 50 students showed up and built a 

$250,000 playground in one day. It was the most amazing sight. I 

never could have believed it if I hadn’t seen it, it was a fantastic 

sight. That is one way I can indicate to you, physically indicate to 

you that it is being done in the Waianae coast. 

We were one of only two grants that Disney allocated. And the 

other allocation came from the NFL Players Association in the 

State of Hawaii. That is my most recent example. This happened 

on April 28th. 

The CHAIRMAN. Mahalo. Mr. Shendo, despite their different 

structures, how has the Pueblo been able to successfully integrate 

cultural language programs in each school? What recommendations 

can you provide the Committee? 

Mr. SHENDO. I think the overriding theme has been staying true 

to the vision of the community and honoring that. Even regardless 

of the school system or the educational system that is in place, 

when serving the needs of our tribal students, every school system 

within its leadership has come to understand and honor the vision 

of the community and honor the priority of language and culture 

in its educational system. I think with that, and the tribe 

prioritizing and pushing that has enabled the different educational 

systems to stay true to the vision of the community and honor it. 

There have been barriers or challenges in certain school systems. 

But we have been able to come together as a collaborative and 

work through them to ensure that language and culture are integrated. In some schools it is more present than others. But it is 

present in every school system. I think that is the important piece, 

that the schools have come to the table with the tribe and honor 

and respect the priority of language and culture that the tribe is 

integrating. 

The other piece that has made this collaboration possible is the 

State of New Mexico has an Indian Education Act. Through the Indian Education Act, the State recognizes the authority of the Tribe 

with the ultimate control or authority of tribes over the education 

of their children. So through that, there are different avenues and 

ways. One is the alternative licensure where each tribe is able to 

enter into an agreement with the State of New Mexico, so that the 

tribe becomes the authorizing agent to decide which of its tribal 

members they can license to be able to teach language and culture 

within the public school systems, Bureau or charter, and then the 

State will recognize them by giving that individual an alternative 

licensure to be able to come into the school systems. 

So there are different avenues that have been put in place at the 

State level. But also at the local level, it is just the coming together 

and recognition of honoring the tribe and its priorities. But really 

also, teaching from the perspective of honoring and validating the 

prior knowledge that children bring into the classroom, and relating education to the experiences that children bring from their respective communities, because in our school district, we have the 

Pueblo of Jemez and also the Pueblo of Zia. 

35

I think the recommendation that I would make to the Committee 

is, the Indian Education Act really helped to propel Indian education within the State of New Mexico. So maybe looking at legislation that forces the different entities and agencies to come together 

in a sense. But I think through a collaborative process, because if 

it is not written in law, there are lost opportunities where the collaboration won’t happen. But if the mechanisms are put in place 

to enable the collaborations to happen, they become key to the success that can be realized. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much for your response. 

Ms. Rawlins, could you provide the Committee with additional 

information on English language outcomes for immersion programs? Do students educated in Native American languages face 

challenges when they move on to higher education taught in 

English? 

Ms. RAWLINS. Thank you. Our model is that English is offered, 

or English Language Arts is introduced in grade five for an hour 

a day. At the end, I reported that we have 100 percent graduation 

rate. When our students graduate, they are 100 percent bilingual, 

biliterate, both in Hawaiian and in English. They are, at senior 

year, they are concurrently enrolled in local university courses or 

the community college. So they are taking courses in English in the 

12th grade. 

So the system that we have is a rigorous acquisition of both Hawaiian language as your prime language of instruction and prime 

target language in the early years, and then the gradual grade five, 

your hour of English in grade five. Then of course, there is the research that students do in intermediate high school or like you 

Google your regular researches in English. A lot of the textbooks 

that they have in high school and intermediate school are English 

textbooks. But the medium of instruction remains Hawaiian. 

So this model has proven to have the, like I said, 100 percent 

graduation rate, 80 percent of them entering college. In addition to 

this, our students have graduated from the university, both our 

local universities, University of Hawaii at Hilo, at Manoa, our community colleges in Hawaii, as well as colleges on the mainland, including Loyola and Stanford. We just had our first Punana Leo 

graduate receive his Ph.D. from Oxford. 

So these are examples of the success of English language, positive English language outcomes for our students that are grounded 

in their language in Hawaiian that are then moving into English 

and all of the other support that, like I said earlier, they are having to research and everything is in English. So they are well prepared. 

I think I answered the question. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much. 

Mr. Lasley, you mentioned the need for a central repository of 

knowledge pertaining to language programs. Please describe the 

challenges you face due to the lack of a central repository. And any 

suggestions you may have regarding how a repository would function. 

Mr. LASLEY. I think first and foremost this centrally-located repository of knowledge and resources would be certain amassed and 

would be the responsibility of either that institution or an organiVerDate 0ct 09 2002 10:03 Jul 20, 2011 Jkt 067288 PO 00000 Frm 00039 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 S:\DOCS\67288.TXT JACK
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zation which has frankly, a huge amount of resources, financially 

and human, in order to bring all the resources and materials, for 

example, that have been developed by the Native Hawaiian population to the broader Native American or tribal audience or consumer. I think across the United States there are varying levels of 

success taking place. But in our case, for example, with me, over 

40 years ago, being brought up in immersion, in the Meskwaki language was simply part of our life, our lifestyle. 

Over that amount of time, lifestyles have changed, technologies 

have changed. And the influences on our young people are much 

more mainstream, as opposed to tribal. So an organization that has 

a huge amount of resources and the ability to travel to touch each 

and every one of these Native communities with regard to whatever stage they are in in development of language preservation 

from those that are the most advanced, that have been doing this 

for 30 years, to those that are only starting but may have a strong 

culture and heritage still intact. The raw material is there within 

the community. But it simply has to be organized based on effective and proven models that have been developed over a long period of time by other tribal cultures. 

It will take a fair amount of work, it will take a fair amount of 

time. But I think it can be accomplished to the betterment of not 

only Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, but also Native American 

tribes here on the mainland, so to speak. But again, I think it has 

to be very business-oriented, it has to be very structured. But I do 

believe it can be accomplished. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you for your response. 

Mr. Parker, how are your students performing as compared to 

the other schools in the communities that you serve? Can you identify what you believe to be the key factors in their success? 

Mr. PARKER. That is a loaded question, Senator. We are the only 

school on the Waianae coast that has passed AYP. And we have 

done it four out of six years. 

I believe it is because one of the key ingredients is we have a 

sustainable faculty. We don’t lose teachers. The majority of my 

teachers, except for two of them, have been with me for five years 

or longer. There is only one teacher that is not HQTd, and she is 

in the process of getting her highly-qualified status. 

Another reason would be that the students, when they enter in 

kindergarten, which is our entry point, they don’t leave until they, 

if they get into Kamehameha from sixth to seventh grade, then 

they will leave, or eight and ninth, but they normally stay the entire nine years. I think the consistency of faculty, the stability of 

the student body, it matters quite a bit. 

I wrote a masters project on how do you build a sustainable 

school, a successful sustainable school. Part of it was design. So the 

school has been in existence for, it is going on its 11th year. We 

have done pretty well. 

Another thing is the faculty is predominantly Hawaiian. So the 

children, they look at their teachers and they realize that anything 

is possible. The only two Caucasian teachers I have, one was born 

in Hawaii and her name is Noni, and the other has been living 

there for 35 years. So that is the type of faculty, I think it really 

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pressed community. And these people travel as far as Hawaii Ke 

to get to Nanakuli to work. You know the geographics, that is quite 

a distance to travel every morning. 

The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Shendo, the Pueblo’s charter school has a 

graduation rate of 89.4 percent. This program has been very successful compared to the national rate for Native students of 49 percent. Can you describe why you think the charter school is so successful in graduating students? Also, how can we translate that 

success to other schools through legislation? 

Mr. SHENDO. The graduation rate at Walatowa High Charter 

School, again, one of the key factors is the zero, minimal to zero 

turnover of staff. That is key. The other thing that has been key 

and I have expressed is the honoring of the language and culture, 

and really teaching to the students within the context of the communities they come from. It is taking the academic subjects and 

knowledge, but putting them and teaching them from a perspective 

where it relates back to the community, then education really 

means something. And working with our community professionals 

that are serving the tribe as well as elders and community members that carry key knowledge and integrating them as co-teachers, 

as facilitators, as part of the learning process. 

So it is really taking the school and integrating it into the community and teaching from the perspective of the community, so, as 

the different subjects are taught, they relate back to the community that the students come from and also, they honor the prior 

knowledge that young people bring into the classroom. That has 

been one of the biggest keys of success. 

Walatowa High also received an early college grant. So we are 

trying to transition it now. We have been working the last four 

years, implementing an early college program, and really raising 

the expectations of our students. Looking at multi-lingualism as an 

asset, looking at models internationally that have been successful 

and integrating what has been successful with those international 

models that integrate multi-lingual, multi-cultural programs into 

the school systems. The motto of the school is think globally, create 

locally. 

So it really affords the opportunity of the staff to look at diversifying the curriculum. Doesn’t look at the subject matter singly. But 

looking at integration of experiential learning processes that are 

across disciplines, so that one project may involve all the different 

disciplines in the schools and contribute to that student’s learning 

of that particular lesson from the different subjects. But they all 

interrelate. I think that has been one of the biggest successes of the 

school, of its success rate and graduation rates, that have helped 

really to benefit the students and their success. 

And how can we translate that to other schools and areas? It is 

really helping, I think, and I don’t know how we can do this 

through legislation, but helping communities to define a vision. 

That has been one of our biggest benefits, having a vision, a common vision that we can all work toward, and everyone understanding that vision. And through the reauthorization, some of the 

proposed legislation is to develop the capacity of tribal departments 

of education within different Native communities. Maybe that may 

38

be an avenue to begin to address this, and looking at what ways 

which can be utilized to help to replicate a similar model. 

But it is really looking at validating the prior knowledge that 

young people bring, it is integrating the educational system into 

the communities and communities into the schools. 

The CHAIRMAN. I want to thank you very much, our first panel, 

for your responses to our questions. Without question, your responses will help us refine what needs to be in our education programs for Native peoples. That is the intent of all of this. The thing 

is, we want to make it the best. 

What has been coming out also is that there have been successes. 

There is a reason for that. We would like to take advantage of this 

and as I have said earlier, want to build on the basis of what we 

have done that has been successful and make it better. All for the 

sake of retaining and keeping our culture and language alive for 

the people of our Country. 

And for me, without question, this will help the United States 

also. So this will help our peoples to be more productive. Because 

the future is there, and there are so many new things that are 

coming up and our young people need to be educated to the point 

where they can begin to contribute to this production. This Committee will be taking up some of these, like energy and other areas, 

that can help the tribes as well, to help them be productive. 

Again, mahalo nui loa, thank you very much for your responses 

and I want to tell you, we are very indebted to you for helping us 

achieve a better future for education in our Native languages. 

Mahalo. Thank you. 

I would like to now call the second panel, and invite the second 

panel to the witness table. Mahalo nui for the lei, and this really 

honors me. We are so happy to have all of you. 

We have Jana Harcharek, Director of the In ̃upiaq Education, 

with the North Slope Borough School District in Barrow, Alaska. 

David Beaulieu, a Professor with the University of Wisconsin At 

Milwaukee, will speak second. And our final witness, Shawn 

Kanaiaupuni, with the Kamehameha Schools, in Honolulu, Hawaii. 

Welcome to the Committee, and to this hearing. 

Ms. Harcharek, will you please proceed with your testimony? 

Your full testimonies will be included in the record. 

STATEMENT OF JANA HARCHAREK, DIRECTOR OF IN ̃ UPIAQ 

EDUCATION, NORTH SLOPE BOROUGH SCHOOL DISTRICT, 

BARROW ALASKA 

Ms. HARCHAREK. [Greeting in Native tongue]. Chairman Akaka, 

and distinguished members of the Committee, thank you for the 

opportunity to provide comments. 

My name is Pausauraq Jana Harcharek. I am the Director of 

In ̃upiaq Education at the North Slope Borough School District. I 

have lived in Barrow, Alaska, all of my life save for when I had 

to leave home to attend high school. 

I have devoted my entire professional life to language and cultural preservation and perpetuation. The North Slope Borough 

School District is comprised of 11 public schools, situated in 8 communities spread across 88,000 square miles. Our district serves 

1,816 students from preschool and kindergarten through grade 12. 

39

Founding North Slope Borough Mayor Eden Hobson was an astute man who knew that we had an unprecedented opportunity to 

direct our own destiny. In 1975, he said, ‘‘Today we have control 

over our educational system.’’ He wanted an assessment of whether 

or not our school system was truly becoming an Inupiat school system, reflecting Inupiat educational philosophies, or if in fact, we 

were merely theoretically exercising political control over an educational system that continued to transmit white urban culture. 

Thirty-six years later, our school board continues to strive for the 

realization of Mayor Hobson’s vision for education. The mission of 

the district as defined by the board is that learning in our schools 

is rooted in the values, history and language of the Inupiat. Our 

board wants our students prepared to excel as productive citizens 

of the world, able to integrate Inupiat knowledge and values with 

western ways. 

Five years ago, the North Slope Borough School District finally 

decided that it was time to go to the people, it was time to forego 

the abysmal philosophical underpinnings of the district to impose 

a system created in white urban America for white urban children 

on Inupiat children, because it was failing. It was time for a 

change. It was time to begin building the bridge of trust between 

school and community. So the District went to the people, and the 

people spoke. 

The people said loudly and clearly that they want their children’s 

schools to reflect who they are. They said their children no longer 

should have to leave their identities outside when they walk into 

their schools. They should know their history and who their leaders 

are. They should see Inupiat art forms in their buildings. They 

should learn to think like Inupiat, because they are Inupiat. 

Two years ago, the District formed a committee called 

Ilinniagnikun Apqusiuqtit. They are the people who break the trail 

for learning. It is through their efforts that the Inupiat learning 

framework was born. This framework, adopted by the board last 

summer, is now the foundation upon which Inupiat culture and 

language-based academic curricula and assessment processes are 

being developed. 

The prospects for increasing academic achievement as a result 

are very, very promising. The goal is for all North Slope students 

to reach their intellectual potential and achieve academic success 

through the integration of Inupiat knowledge into the core content 

areas of reading, writing, mathematics and science. 

The District is actively mapping its curriculum and aligning it 

with the Alaska State Content and Performance Standards, adapting a nationally-recognized curriculum development methodology, 

referred to as understanding by design. The process includes the 

engagement of our communities, elders, parents, leaders, business 

and governmental partners, teachers and students. We all know 

that students perform better academically when parents are involved. 

The development of Inupiat language and culture-based curriculum, written from the perspective of the Inupiat, will have 

long-term positive outcomes for increased academic performance 

and local teacher hire and retention. This is supported by research. 

Through community ownership of education and investment in new 

40

educational practices now, we increase the relevance and viability 

of the teaching profession from the perspective of our students. 

When our students see themselves honored in the classroom with 

curriculum that is written from their perspective, they will see that 

teaching is an honorable profession. 

Seems Mayor Hobson had figured out what needed to be done to 

make our schools more effective decades before the mainstream 

did. Thank you very much. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Harcharek follows:]

41

PREPARED STATEMENT OF JANA HARCHAREK, DIRECTOR OF IN ̃ UPIAQ EDUCATION, 

NORTH SLOPE BOROUGH SCHOOL DISTRICT, BARROW ALASKA


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The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Ms. Harcharek. 

And now we will receive the testimony of Dr. Beaulieu. Please 

proceed. 


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STATEMENT OF DAVID BEAULIEU, PROFESSOR OF

EDUCATION POLICY AND COMMUNITY STUDIES; DIRECTOR, 

ELECTA QUINNEY INSTITUTE FOR AMERICAN INDIAN

EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN–MILWAUKEE 

Dr. BEAULIEU. Mr. Chairman, members of the Committee, I am 

David Beaulieu. I am an enrolled member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe from the White Earth Indian Reservation in Northern 

Minnesota. I am a former director of the U.S. Office of Indian Education and a past president of NIEA, the National Indian Education Association. 

Between 2002 and 2005, I was involved, along with William 

Demmert and other research partners, in an effort funded by the 

U.S. Department of Education to consider whether it was feasible 

to conduct experimental or quasi-experimental Research to determine the impact of culturally-based education on the academic 

achievement of Native American students, and if so, to propose a 

Research design to do that. 

The need for such Research originated in President Clinton’s and 

President Bush’s executive orders on American Indian and Alaska 

Native education. Our Research group proposed a quasi-experimental design that ultimately was not funded, nor was there a request for any other design to answer the Research question. 

There has not been any Federal support for this type of research 

or Research concerning best practices in culturally-based education 

also required by the executive orders since the request for feasibility in 2002. The importance of doing Research on this subject, 

outside of the fact that Native American educators and leaders 

wish to have the kind of information that allows for effective development of educational programs for Native American students, is 

a realization that all of our Native American education-related 

statutes in part suggest a relationship of meeting what is known 

as the special educational and culturally related academic needs of 

Native American students with academic achievement. 

The theoretical literature in this area focuses on the need for social-cultural congruency between the expectations of the school and 

the dispositions of learners for education-related discourse. For example, Research related to cognition or the ability to acquire 

knowledge has focused on what is known as elaboration, or the 

process of forming associations between new information and prior 

knowledge. For learning to occur, the new information must undergo some form of processing that focuses on conceptual characteristics of the new information, such as its meaning, personal or social 

relevance or relationship to prior knowledge and experience. Culture and language provides a basis for such associations. 

An area known as cultural historical activity theory looks at language vocabularies and routines acquired by the learners through 

the process of socialization as children through language exchanges 

and social activity as a primary cognitive tool for individual and 

group problem-solving and adaptation. The processes of schooling 

result in positive outcomes when they are congruent with the 

learner’s cognitive and linguistic tools. 

Positive learning also occurs when school participation structures 

are congruent with the learner’s. Examples include turn-taking, 

wait time, observational learning versus trial and error, and other 

45

various courtesies and conventions of conversation unique in many 

cultures. 

William Demmert and John Towner, as a part of the feasability 

study, conducted a literature review to identify all the experimental and quasi-experimental research on culturally-based education and academic achievement that had been accomplished. 

Starting with over 10,000 documents, only two directly looked at 

the relationship of culturally-based education to academic achievement. This type of Research simply has not been done. There are 

many studies of less scientific rigor that demonstrate potentially 

positive relationships. It is noted that the literature does not suggest the opposite is true. 

The achievement and education progress data of Native American students in school programs without culturally-based efforts 

indicate the current educational strategies are not effective for 

many Native students. Where there is a comprehensive focus on 

Native language and culture, as the core of the school’s approach, 

the results are significantly different. Dr. Teresa McCarty from Arizona State University in a 2009 report to the U.S. Department of 

Education describes the educational approach and results of a 

number of schools, including those that focus on students where 

the home language is other than English, or where the objective is 

language and culture revitalization as well as focused culturallybased education programmatic efforts. 

Summarizing the results of her report, she stated that there is 

compelling empirical evidence that strong, additive, academically 

rigorous Native language and culture programs have salutary effects on both Native language and culture revitalization and student achievement as measured by multiple types of assessments. 

Time spent learning the Native language in a strong program, regardless of Native language expertise, is not lost in developing academic English. 

She also noted other aspects of what is considered a strong program: enhanced self-esteem, motivation, ethnic pride are evidenced 

as factors, improved attendance, and college-going rates, and 

unique and varied opportunities for involvement of parents and elders in the children’s learning is associated with enhanced achievement. Both of these factors are noted for strong Native language 

and culture programs. 

There is ample evidence that well-developed efforts work. My testimony elaborates on these points, and I have provided the Committee with both the reports I have mentioned. My testimony also 

suggests areas where existing statutory language, if utilized, could 

be a basis for more success. We need more research and programmatic support that assists in developing strong Native language programs. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

[The prepared statement of Dr. Beaulieu follows:]

46

PREPARED STATEMENT OF DAVID BEAULIEU, PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION POLICY AND

COMMUNITY STUDIES; DIRECTOR, ELECTA QUINNEY INSTITUTE FOR AMERICAN INDIAN EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN–MILWAUKEE


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The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Dr. Beaulieu. 

Now we will receive the testimony of Dr. Kanaiaupuni. Will you 

please proceed? 

STATEMENT OF SHAWN KANAIAUPUNI, PH.D., DIVISION 

DIRECTOR, KAMEHAMEHA SCHOOLS 

Dr. KANAIAUPUNI. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and aloha, Members of the Committee. 

My name is Shawn Kanaiaupuni, and although the Kapuniai’s 

did live down the street from me growing up, it is a real honor and 

privilege to be able to share research with you today about new research on Native language and culture that very much is consistent 

with those of my colleague, David Beaulieu, about improving educational outcomes for Native students. 

I am currently the Director of the Public Education Support Division and formerly the Research and Evaluation Division of Kamehameha Schools, and have also served on the National Indian Education Association as a board member and sit on the Native Hawaiian Education Council. 

I represent Kamehameha Schools, which is a 125-year old private charitable trust in Hawaii, dedicated to educating our Native 

children. We operate several private campuses, but also spend 

some $25 million to $30 million annually in support of our public 


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schools and public education, because they educate about 85 percent of the 70,000 Native Hawaiian youth in our State. 

Data trends over time within our DOE indicate that although 

proficiency rates for all race and ethnic groups have increased over 

time, and you can see this busy slide really shows an increasing 

trend since 2003 in proficiency rates. But what we see is that there 

is a very large achievement gap. I want you to focus on the red line 

there at the bottom, compared to the top performing groups in our 

State, which tend to be Japanese, Chinese and Korean. The State 

average is somewhere in the middle. But basically that achievement gap has existed over the last 50 to 60 years, based on our research. 

This chart is for math. The same is true in language arts. The 

concerning thing about this is that our Native students comprise 

the largest single race and ethnic group in our State public school 

system, about 25 percent. So one in every four. Our Samoan youth 

also fare very poorly. They comprise about 3 percent of our public 

school system. 

The other important thing that is concerning to us besides the 

enduring nature of the achievement gap is that based on the data, 

conventional methods of educating our Native students have not 

worked. It is not a gap, it is a gaping hole. 

So really I want to share with you some of our research results 

of a recent study on what works for Native students. The study 

specifically addresses culture-based education and the resulting impact on student outcomes, including academic student outcomes. It 

is the first large-scale empirical study of its kind that we know of, 

including data from 600 teachers, some 3,000 students, about 2,000 

parents, from 62 participating schools that include conventional 

DOE schools, the DOE has been a partner in this study, culturebased charter schools, which have been very promising in terms of 

Native education and conventional charter schools as well, also language immersion schools in our State (we have 17 public language 

immersion schools) and our own private campuses. 

We ran lots of analyses, from very simple descriptive analyses to 

multi-variate analyses to very sophisticated multi-level statistical 

analyses run by national experts in the field. In the interest of 

time, the key findings are the following. 

We find a very consistent, enduring, positive impact of culturebased education on student outcomes. Higher CBE use is related 

to higher socio-emotional development for students, things like 

identity, self-efficacy, aspirations, the things that lead to positive 

academic achievement. We find that higher culture-based education 

use is related to higher student civic engagement, not only feeling 

connected to your community and to civic issues in your area, but 

also taking action on those issues, like getting out there to protect 

the environment, to share with others and educate others about 

how fragile our environmental system is, about getting out there to 

attend public meetings about community affairs. These are what 

our students do. 

And these are the students that we want to see taking care of 

us when we grow older. 

Higher culture-based education use is also related to students 

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longing in school, a sense of having trusting relationships, like 

teachers really care about them. Some may call that the soft fuzzy 

stuff of education, but in reality, if you are familiar with many of 

our Native communities that have sustained multiple generations 

of marginalization in public schools, feeling a sense of connection 

to school is really the single most leading indicator of future educational success, of wanting to go to college, of being successful in 

your career. 

In fact, our data show that from culture-based charter schools, 

90 percent of students graduate and go on to their successful careers in college. That is compared to our State average of 80 percent and for Native Hawaiians, around 60 percent. 

We find that higher culture-based education use is also related 

to students expecting to graduate from college, not just high school, 

but also college. And finally, higher culture-based education use, in 

our fancy, nested, multi-level hierarchical linear models, controlling 

for all kind of other explanatory factors, is related to student academic success in both reading and math test scores. That is kind 

of what everybody wants to hear. It is a smaller but statistically 

significant effect in the positive direction. For Native students, that 

is the right direction. So we want to build on those successes. 

Put very simply, research shows that culture in the classroom 

matters. We need more funding and support at the Federal and 

State levels to promote culture-based education, rigorous and relevant culture-based education. Because these investments have demonstrable benefits for Native students. As we like to say in our 

State, what is good for Native students is good for all students. 

Mahalo. 

[The prepared statement of Dr. Kanaiaupuni follows:]

58

PREPARED STATEMENT OF SHAWN KANAIAUPUNI, PH.D., DIVISION DIRECTOR, 

KAMEHAMEHA SCHOOLS


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The CHAIRMAN. Mahalo. Thank you very much for your testimony. 

Ms. Harcharek, you mentioned that the In ̃upiaq learning framework, in particular you mentioned that as the foundation for the 

development of an academic curricula and assessment processes. 

Can you elaborate on how the In ̃upiaq learning framework was developed and how the school district trains its teachers in this 

framework? 

Ms. HARCHAREK. Thank you, Senator. 

The In ̃upiaq learning framework came about as a result, as I 

mentioned earlier, of going to the people. We initially traveled to 


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each of the communities and said to the people, we have imposed 

our school system on our people for far long enough. It is now time 

for us to hear from you what it is your expectations are of our 

school. And what we heard them say is that they wanted to see 

themselves in school. 

As a result of that, and they even wanted to see Native foods 

served in school in the lunch program. So we heard a wide range 

of suggestions, ranging from curriculum content to food that is 

served in schools to the aesthetics of the building. 

In terms of the content piece, we again convened a group of people from across the district, comprised of elders, and we included 

people who were in the younger age range, the young parents, and 

worked them through a process that lasted over a year, asking 

them what it is they believe the 18 year old well-grounded, welleducated young person looks like today. And they arrived at quite 

a list, as you can imagine. 

It is from that list, then, we derived what we are referring to as 

the In ̃upiaq learning framework. It is divided into realms that are 

realms important to the In ̃upiaq world view. And from that, then, 

we have proceeded into the process of a curriculum mapping and 

alignment process. 

At first, when we present the In ̃upiaq learning framework to our 

cadre of teachers, 98 percent of whom, of course, at not from the 

North Slope, who are from the lower 48, we knew we had the 

daunting task of first of all, convincing them that this is the way 

to go, and secondly, to provide them with the level or comfort that 

they need in order to be able to effectively utilize the In ̃upiaq 

learning framework. We have done that mainly through in-servicing. 

The next piece in the plan is to, rather than in-service teachers, 

where they are passive receivers of information, we are going to 

again engage the community in a dialogue about different facets of 

the In ̃upiaq learning framework, and have the teachers surrounding them so that the teachers are learning from the community people. We continue to search for other ways to do the training 

and have tried a variety of different ways, many of which haven’t 

worked. So we are hoping that this new way of bringing in the 

community into the conversation will aid us in that process. Not 

only will it train teachers, but it will also continue to engage the 

community in the education process. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much for that response. 

Dr. Beaulieu, your testimony points to several best practice Native language programs throughout the United States. To what extent have Native communities been able to utilize these so-called 

best practice programs to develop their own language programs? 

Are there ways to expand the success of these best practice programs to new and emerging Native language programs? 

Dr. BEAULIEU. Senator, Mr. Chairman, yes, there is. One of the 

issues we have, of course, with Native language programs, immersion and others, is that there is a lot of need and little resources 

out there. It is very difficult to focus on attempts to develop approaches and to bring through to fruition. 

There are many good examples, and I think the Department of 

Education study that I alluded to that Dr. Teresa McCarty subVerDate 0ct 09 2002 10:03 Jul 20, 2011 Jkt 067288 PO 00000 Frm 00070 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 S:\DOCS\67288.TXT JACK
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mitted is an effort to try to bring together a listing of what are 

those best practices, best practices for school programs where the 

home language is other than English or programs that emphasize 

language revitalization immersion. 

Aside of documenting the results of those schools, which are all 

similar to the ones just reported by Shawn, is that they also indicate what is the strong program, how do you define a strong program, what do you need to work on. That is encouraging, to have 

that kind of information to develop programs. 

There are opportunities, I believe, in the Indian education statutes, to begin to look at ways of doing more comprehensive approaches to language and culture education in schools which educate Native American students. There are areas of the statute 

which are under-utilized or not used, which could show some potential. 

There is a requirement in the Title VII formula grant program 

that talks about the development of a comprehensive Indian education plan, both local and State, that responds to the assessed 

needs of American Indian students regarding their special education and culture-related needs, and to align them with State and 

local education plans. We don’t do that. I think if we did, I think 

that there would begin to be an ability to focus on language and 

culture education. 

We know from the research literature that the school-wide programs are more effective than programmatic interventions. We also 

know the social linguistic approaches are more effective as well. We 

need better dissemination of results and we need more opportunity 

to accomplish good programs. Thank you. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you for your response. 

Dr. Kanaiaupuni, can you describe some of the gains that are 

being made by Native Hawaiian focused charter schools, and how 

they are using culture-based education to reach children who may 

have otherwise fallen through the cracks in the regular school system? Is there data showing that progress is being made for these 

children in the standard math and reading categories using this 

approach? 

Dr. KANAIAUPUNI. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Yes, there is data. Our organization supports 17 culture based 

charter schools in our State. So we are very committed to collecting 

and gathering and assessing data, so that we can continue to make 

good, wise choices in how we invest our monies. And supporting 

those schools in an environment of very scarce resources for charter 

schools in our State has been paramount to our leadership. 

Knowing a little bit about the context matters, as you suggested. 

The proportion of low income students in our culture-based charter 

schools is about two-thirds, so one out of every three. In some 

schools, 100 percent are low income students. Also, in the schools 

that are middle and high schools, the students tend to come in several grade levels below the entering grade that they are starting 

in a charter school. So there is sometimes an academic gap to make 

up for in charter schools. 

What we have seen is some amazing progress. These are community-based schools that employ culturally-relevant, rigorous learning. So they engage students right off the bat. Eighty percent of 

68

our Hawaiian focused charter schools using culture-based education met or exceeded proficiency in reading on our State assessment scores last year. Math is an area of concern for the entire 

State and Nation. Of the schools that did not meet proficiency on 

last year’s State assessment in math, 80 percent of them made improvements in their gains (so moving kids from starting point A to 

ending point B in a single year) of between 6 and 15 percent. According to our State DOE, 9 percent is exceeding expectations in 

the amount of a gain in a single year. That is what our charter 

schools are doing. 

The other really important thing to us is far beyond math and 

reading test scores. It is actually about graduation and kids making it through high school on a timely basis. As I mentioned before, 

90 percent of our students in culture-based charter schools are 

graduating on time from high school, which is an amazing feat. 

Many of them go on to college. And many of the charter schools are 

very innovative on building that college credit momentum by starting college in the last year of high school, while they are at the culture-based school. 

We also have very high percent of family involvement. That is a 

leading indicator, again, of achievement, of math and reading test 

score achievement for students. And students are seven times less 

likely to be chronically absent in culture-based education in charter 

schools. So those are some of the statistics that I can share with 

you today. Thank you. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much. 

Jana Harcharek, how has the focus of the North Slope Borough 

School District shifted over time with respect to teaching In ̃upiaq 

language and culture? What best practices can you share with 

other public school districts who want to embrace culture-based 

curriculum development and implementation? 

Ms. HARCHAREK. Thank you, Senator. 

I believe that initially, as I mentioned in my testimony, the vision was there to have local control over our educational system operate in such a way that we also had local control over content. 

That dream hasn’t been realized. And it hasn’t been until recently 

that we have put a concerted effort into making that happen. 

So historically, what our district was doing was perpetuating the 

assimilationist methodology. And so the major shift has been in 

shifting to one of embracing the culture and the language of the 

people. The results we are seeing initially with the implementation 

of some of our culture-based units have been absolutely phenomenal. We have students who are wanting to come to school, we 

have teachers who are using our culture-based units as reward for 

completing tasks in other areas, we have students who don’t want 

to put their reading texts down that accompany the culture-based 

units because they are so interested in the stories. We have students saying, we want more of this, we have parents saying, we are 

learning about our own culture from our kids, things that we never 

knew before. 

So my response to that has been, the shift has been in one of not 

continuing to shut out who we are in our schools, but rather embracing it and using it as a mechanism by which to promote and 

increase the academic achievement of our students. 

69

In terms of best practices and sharing those, I am very proud to 

share with you today a partnership that we have had with our regional corporation, Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, in the development of a unit that teaches about the history of our regional corporation. So the unit is designed to bring kids to an understanding 

about how the land claims movement happened up through how a 

corporation can be used as a tool to advance the In ̃upiaq agenda. 

It is through these kinds of partnerships that I believe we can really strengthen the responsibility that we all share, not only as individuals, but as entities in our communities, for education. 

Our hope is that we continue to build on these partnerships and 

through these partnerships and the sharing of resources, really, if 

you can imagine a school, or our school district, my dream for our 

district is that there will be one day when we don’t have to order 

the textbooks that are produced in massive quantities here in the 

lower 48 that really, by omission, do our kids such an injustice. It 

is through the sharing of these kind of methodologies, especially in 

curriculum development, that I think we can make great inroads. 

A suggestion was made to me this morning in Senator Murkowski’s staff that this is exactly the kind of thing that we need to do 

in all of our public schools in Alaska in order for us to understand 

the history of Alaska and the direction into which our future is 

leading us. 

The CHAIRMAN. Yes. And you did mention this, and I just want 

an answer to this one, you mentioned that during your time, you 

had to go to high school away from home. Now, how is that today? 

Do they go to high school at home? 

Ms. HARCHAREK. We can now say, we go to high school at home. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much. 

Dr. Beaulieu, what role does research play in developing, implementing and assessing the success of Native language programs? 

Dr. BEAULIEU. It plays a great role, not only in terms of doing 

national studies and other things, it sort of attempts to document 

the success, because we need to document that success. But it also 

is extremely important to guide the development of schools. Typically that research is more focused on the school at hand, where 

you can do Research in the context of actually developing the 

school. So you develop the data that you need, where you can discuss and interpret that data within the school leadership and you 

can apply it where it matters. And you can document results over 

time. 

We find that that is a wonderful approach, of course, to improving schools. And then of course, sharing that result. We need research, we need to understand what works and to develop programs which are strong and can get the job done. 

So it is very important, both in terms of a national level and in 

terms of understanding the approaches that sort of generally work 

and then also more specifically, to guide school improvement. We 

need to document this particularly for the Senate and the Congress 

and others who have issues and need to know the extent to which 

these practices work. We have not been supported in that. I mentioned that in my remarks, that we haven’t had Federal support, 

typically, to do that type of research. We have attempted to do that 

through the research agenda that President Clinton had required 

70

under the executive order and also President Bush had required in 

his iteration of the executive order on American Indian and Alaska 

Native education. 

But outside of a few small efforts that were initiated then, nothing has occurred since. We need that kind of support for that effort. 

Thank you. 

The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much. 

Dr. Kanaiaupuni, I would say that Hawaii is so fortunate to have 

Kamehameha Schools support these charter school programs, 

which has been a big help, as you said. They are working with 17 

schools in Hawaii. Kamehameha is providing specific kinds of assistance and investment into the culture-based charter schools in 

Hawaii. 

Do you think the kinds of support you are offering these schools 

can be replicated around the Country? Are there additional supports that your data suggests could help to expand the success of 

these kinds of schools nationally? 

Dr. KANAIAUPUNI. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

And thank you for your kind words about our support. We have, 

as I mentioned, done so in an environment with scarce resources 

and wanting to support our communities in educating Native students in particular. The things that I think could be taken into consideration to inform policy, to support culture-based schools and 

language-based schools across the Nation include things like leadership development; teacher education and professional development for our culture-based and culture-rich environments; and curriculum, instruction and assessment resources for our culturebased education environments. 

We need to support educational rigor, because a lot of what we 

found is that communities are creating their own environment in 

a dearth of not liking what they are seeing in a conventional DOE 

school. So communities are creating our own culturally relevant 

educational systems. 

So supporting those efforts in systemic ways through policies, 

through funding, through legislation, is highly desirable, in particular around the areas that I mentioned, leadership and teacher 

development, highly-qualified teachers—in culture-based settings. 

Curriculum instruction and assessment, especially for Native language-based schools that always struggle with different assessment 

needs. 

And further research, of course, to understand how we can 

achieve the highest quality in educational rigor through culturebased education. Those are just some of the ways. 

We also support our schools, most recently, with an effort to support all of them, all 17, through the accreditation process. I am 

pleased to report that we have one that has already been accredited, on the big island of Hawaii, and then five more that are all 

Hawaiian-language based have just been accepted for WASC candidacy last month, and will go through the process next year. 

So really important, systemic support for culture-based education 

in general. I hope that helps. Thank you. 

The CHAIRMAN. I thank all of you on our second panel very 

much. Your response, without question, again, will be helpful to us 

in trying to improve the Native American education programs 

71

throughout our Country. That is the whole intent of all of this. This 

Committee will continue to pursue that and craft a bill that can 

continue to help you in your work as you work with Native education in your areas. 

Again, I want to thank our witnesses for participating in today’s 

hearing. I want again to thank you for your commitment that you 

are demonstrating to Native education and for exemplifying the 

principle of kulia i ka nu‘u, striving for excellence. 

I will remind everyone that the record is open. Again, we want 

to hear from you if you have feelings that you want to express. We 

will be open for written testimony for two weeks. So if you have 

others who may be interested in doing that, please tell them they 

have two weeks to do it. We look forward to all the responses we 

can get to put this together. 

So I want to tell you, I really enjoyed this hearing, to hear how 

you have done and to know that what you have been doing has 

been working. I still believe that teaching young people through 

their cultures and traditions helps them to learn well, and it takes 

their interest. Because I think that culture and traditions are the 

roots of their lives and if you force or cut that root off, somehow 

it interferes with the natural growth and progress of our Native 

people. 

We have so much to work for, and I am so delighted and feel it 

a privilege to be working with you on this and with you, I look forward to trying to do a great job legislatively for the Native education of our Country. This hearing is adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 4:15 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.] 

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APPENDIX

PREPARED STATEMENT OF HON. DANIEL K. INOUYE, U.S. SENATOR FROM HAWAII

Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding this oversight hearing on expanding the success of Native Language and Culture-Based education. I would also like to extend 

a special welcome to Ms. Namaka Rawlins from the University of Hawaii Hilo College of Hawaiian Language; Mr. Alvin Parker, Principal of Ka Waihona o ka 

Na‘auao public charter school; and Dr. Shawn Kanaiaupuni, Division Director with 

Kamehameha Schools. Thank you for taking time out to travel to Washington D.C. 

and personally deliver your testimony in front of the Committee today. 

In Hawaii, back in 1896 education through the Hawaiian language was outlawed 

in both public and private schools. There were strict punishments for those who 

taught or spoke Hawaiian in school. This led to a rapid disappearance of the Hawaiian language, in fact by 1984 there were only a few elders and a tiny population 

on the island of Niihau that were fluent speakers of the Hawaiian language. This 

is one example of the delicate conditions indigenous native languages face every 

day. 

The story of the Hawaiian language did not end in 1984 but it was the start of 

a new beginning. After many long discussions with the elders and the Native Hawaiian community the importance of perpetuating the language became imminent 

and the course was to re-establish Hawaiian medium education schools. This was 

the beginning of Aha Punana Leo a preschool that is based upon the language nest 

model where students are taught solely in their native language and culture. 

Today I am so proud to say that the Hawaiian language still lives. In Hawaii 

today a student can choose to be entirely taught through the Hawaiian language 

from the preschool level all the way up to a doctoral level. Adding language or culture to the education of Native students not only improves their test scores but it 

provides a sense of belonging a sense of self-worth that they might not get in a traditional educational setting. 

I understand that while this has worked for the Hawaiians it might not work for 

all the other indigenous native peoples across the country. I also recognize that 

there have been many challenges along the way. My hope is that you could work 

together, share with each other, and speak with one voice, so that you can bring 

a fundamental piece of your culture back to your people. 

I look forward to continuing this discussion and working with my colleagues on 

this most important issue. 

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PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE CHEROKEE NATION


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PREPARED STATEMENT OF COLIN KIPPEN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INDIAN

EDUCATION ASSOCIATION


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PREPARED STATEMENT OF TAFFI U‘LLEL SHEATHER-WISE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, 

KANU O KA AINA LEARNING ‘OHANA


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PREPARED STATEMENT OF FLORIAN TOM JOHNSON, PRINCIPAL, ROUGH ROCK

COMMUNITY SCHOOL


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