Many reports and statistics show that the state and federal governments have failed miserably in Indian education. Tribes want to improve Indian student performance. Tribes want to make formal education relevant to the needs of their children and their tribal communities. Tribes want more decision-making options, more alternatives. Tribes want to make the decisions on how education resources will be focused such as in education goals, curriculum, teaching methods, funding, staffing, or in higher education.
Tribes are sovereign governments just like their state and federal counterparts.
Tribes have the sovereign responsibility to control the education of their citizens, just as do the states and the federal government. And of the three sovereign governments, common sense tells that tribes have the most interest in the education success of Indian children. Tribes can overcome centuries of outside control of education by exerting leadership as sovereign governments. Tribes can plan and set goals in education. Tribes can make education a priority by devoting financial, human, and technical resources to education.