‘Betrayal’: Indian Country slams closure of Department of Education

First it was mass firings at the Bureau of Indian Education. Now, tribes and their advocates are raising alarms about President Donald Trump’s plans to shut down the Department of Education.

An executive order signed by Trump on March 20 directs newly-confirmed Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to “take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure” of her cabinet-level agency. The nation’s largest inter-tribal advocacy organization called the action an “attack” on Indian Country.

“Let us be clear: This is not just an administrative change — it’s an attack on the fundamental right of Native students to a quality education that reflects their identity, history, and sovereignty,” National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) President Mark Macarro said in response.

“The trust and treaty responsibilities of the United States are not optional,” said Macarro, who also serves as chair of the Pechanga Band of Indians. “Dismantling the Department of Education is a betrayal to Native Nations and future generations.”

Though Trump’s directive was expected, it occurred without tribal consultation, the National Indian Education Association (NIEA) noted. But the new Republican administration does not appear to be concerned about complying with federal law or policy — only a week prior, in fact, the 47th president of the United States revoked a standing executive order aimed at bolstering the federal government’s obligations to tribes.

“Sovereignty is the foundation of effective education in Indian Country,” NIEA Executive Director Jason Dropik wrote in a March 25 letter to Secretary McMahon.

“The Federal government’s trust and treaty responsibilities to Tribal Nations for education —firmly established through treaties, laws, and legal precedents—and its trust responsibility to Native Hawaiian education,” Dropik continued, “are clear obligations willingly undertaken by the United States.”

More than 90 percent of American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian students attend public schools that receive funding through the Department of Education. Native students also depend on a slew of Congressionally-authorized programs that are managed by the agency being targeted by Trump.

“Consultation as a formal government to government exercise should be done respectfully to fully engage the input, direction, and consent of tribal nations,” Dr. Aaron Payment, a council member for the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and a former vice president of NCAI, wrote on Native News Online.

“Consultation must NOT be a one and done paternalistic exercise of collecting input from special interests or even constituents,” said Payment, who also serves on the National Advisory Council on Indian Education, a long-standing advisory body at the Department of Education.

But the department’s dismantling isn’t limited to the youngest of learners. Tribal colleges and universities — already reeling from mass terminations at the Bureau of Indian Education — are preparing for even more disruptions caused by the Trump administration.

“Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), along with countless other educational institutions, rely on federal funding administered through the Department of Education,” the American Indian Higher Education Consortium said in a news release on March 24. “This funding is essential for supporting programs that serve not just American Indian and Alaska Native communities, but low-income, remote, and rural students, as well as other underserved communities.”

“The Department of Education distributes billions of dollars annually to schools and colleges to support these programs, which includes fulfilling the federal government’s trust and treaty obligations to provide education to American Indian and Alaska Native students,” AIHEC continued. “Dismantling the Department of Education could severely impact the government’s ability to meet these legal and moral commitments to Tribal Nations and their citizens.”

It’s not just post-secondary institutions that will feel the pain either, Indian education advocates warn. Native students who rely on financial aid through Pell Grants and loans are entering another era of uncertainty in the middle of the academic semester.

“These actions against the higher education community, students, and families will make it more difficult for Native communities—indeed all communities—to have their basic needs met,” Cheryl Crazy Bull, the President and CEO of the American Indian College Fund said in a March 21 blog post.

“Without the Department of Education, we are concerned about the ability of the federal government to fulfill its promise of delivering on all statutory programs, including student loans and Pell Grants, funding for higher education institutions, enforcement of civil rights protections in higher education,” Crazy Bull added.

The Republican-led U.S. Senate confirmed McMahon as Secretary of Education on March 3. In her opening statement at her nomination hearing on February 13, the former professional business wrestling executive did not mention the federal government’s obligations to tribes and their communities.

But in written responses to the committee, McMahon acknowledged the government’s trust and treaty responsibilities to provide, as well as support, education in Indian Country. However, she repeatedly claimed that the “vast majority of this work is carried out by the Bureau of Indian Education at the Department of the Interior” despite the fact that the overwhelmingly majority of American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian students of all ages are served by the cabinet agency she is now charged with dismantling.

“If confirmed, I look forward to reviewing all laws and programs that support Native educational programs, meeting with tribal leaders and key stakeholders, and charting a path forward that provides support to the tribes in the most effective way possible,” stated McMahon, who led the Small Business Administration during the first Trump administration.

McMahon will have an opportunity to learn about the laws and programs that support Native educational programs on Wednesday. Though no one from her department is testifying, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs is holding an oversight hearing in the nation’s capital to examine the issues being raised by tribes and their advocates.

“As the President moves forward with his plan for the federal Department of Education, I’ve heard from many who are worried,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), the chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, said in a social media post on March 21. “Worried that funding to support opportunities for our most disadvantaged students will be drastically reduced, and that students with disabilities—who have relied on the Department for support—will be left behind.

“While the President has made his preferences clear, only Congress can shut down the Department,” Murkowski asserted.

Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), the vice chair of the committee, was more forceful in his response to the closure of the Department of Education. He’s agreeing with tribes that such a move violates the U.S. government’s promises.

“One of the federal government’s core trust and treaty responsibilities to American Indians, Native Hawaiians, and Alaska Natives is to provide education,” Schatz said in a news release on March 20. “The Department of Education plays a critical role in Native education, on everything from special education and Impact Aid to Native language revitalization.”

“Without a functional Department of Education, Native students — more than 90 percent of whom attend public schools — will be at the mercy of state governments that have no legal responsibility to meet their needs,” noted Schatz, responding to the Secretary McMahon’s claim that “the states” are now going to be in charge of educating the nation’s learners.

The post ‘Betrayal’: Indian Country slams closure of Department of Education first appeared on Native Sun News Today.

Visit Original Source