{"id":38627,"date":"2025-04-04T15:49:45","date_gmt":"2025-04-04T20:49:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/betrayal-indian-country-slams-closure-of-department-of-education\/"},"modified":"2025-04-04T15:49:47","modified_gmt":"2025-04-04T20:49:47","slug":"betrayal-indian-country-slams-closure-of-department-of-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/betrayal-indian-country-slams-closure-of-department-of-education\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Betrayal\u2019: Indian Country slams closure of Department of Education"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/span><\/div>
\"\"<\/p>\n

Secretary of Education Linda McMahon is seen on her first day in office as the leader of the Department of Education in Washington, D.C., on March 4, 2025. Photo:\u00a0U.S. Department of Education<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

First it was mass firings at the\u00a0Bureau of Indian Education<\/a><\/u>. Now, tribes and their advocates are raising alarms about President Donald Trump\u2019s plans to shut down the\u00a0Department of Education<\/a><\/u>.<\/p>\n

An\u00a0executive order signed by Trump<\/a><\/u>\u00a0on March 20 directs newly-confirmed\u00a0Secretary of Education Linda McMahon<\/a><\/u>\u00a0to \u201ctake all necessary steps to facilitate the closure\u201d of her cabinet-level agency. The nation\u2019s largest inter-tribal advocacy organization called the action an \u201cattack\u201d on Indian Country.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet us be clear: This is not just an administrative change \u2014 it\u2019s an attack on the fundamental right of Native students to a quality education that reflects their identity, history, and sovereignty,\u201d\u00a0National Congress of American Indians<\/a><\/u>\u00a0(NCAI) President Mark Macarro said in response.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe trust and treaty responsibilities of the United States are not optional,\u201d\u00a0said Macarro<\/a><\/u>, who also serves as chair of the\u00a0Pechanga Band of Indians<\/a><\/u>. \u201cDismantling the Department of Education is a betrayal to Native Nations and future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though Trump\u2019s directive was expected, it occurred without tribal consultation, the\u00a0National Indian Education Association<\/a><\/u>\u00a0(NIEA) noted. But the new Republican administration does not appear to be concerned about complying with federal law or policy \u2014 only a week prior, in fact, the\u00a047th president of the United States<\/a><\/u>\u00a0revoked a standing\u00a0executive order aimed at bolstering the federal government\u2019s obligations<\/a><\/u>\u00a0to tribes.<\/p>\n

\u201cSovereignty is the foundation of effective education in Indian Country,\u201d NIEA Executive Director Jason Dropik wrote in a\u00a0March 25 letter to Secretary McMahon<\/a><\/u>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Federal government\u2019s trust and treaty responsibilities to Tribal Nations for education \u2014firmly established through treaties, laws, and legal precedents\u2014and its trust responsibility to Native Hawaiian education,\u201d Dropik continued, \u201care clear obligations willingly undertaken by the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cConsultation as a formal government to government exercise should be done respectfully to fully engage the input, direction, and consent of tribal nations,\u201d Dr. Aaron Payment, a council member for the\u00a0Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians<\/a><\/u>\u00a0and a former vice president of NCAI, wrote on\u00a0Native News Online<\/a><\/u>.<\/p>\n

\u201cConsultation must NOT be a one and done paternalistic exercise of collecting input from special interests or even constituents,\u201d said Payment, who also serves on the\u00a0National Advisory Council on Indian Education<\/a><\/u>, a\u00a0long-standing advisory body<\/a><\/u>\u00a0at the Department of Education.<\/p>\n

But the department\u2019s dismantling isn\u2019t limited to the youngest of learners. Tribal colleges and universities \u2014 already\u00a0reeling from mass terminations at the Bureau of Indian Education<\/a><\/u>\u00a0\u2014 are preparing for even more disruptions caused by the Trump administration.<\/p>\n

\u201cTribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), along with countless other educational institutions, rely on federal funding administered through the Department of Education,\u201d the\u00a0American Indian Higher Education Consortium<\/a><\/u>\u00a0said in a news release on\u00a0March 24<\/a><\/u>. \u201cThis 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Department of Education distributes billions of dollars annually to schools and colleges to support these programs, which includes fulfilling the federal government\u2019s trust and treaty obligations to provide education to American Indian and Alaska Native students,\u201d AIHEC continued. \u201cDismantling the Department of Education could severely impact the government\u2019s ability to meet these legal and moral commitments to Tribal Nations and their citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese actions against the higher education community, students, and families will make it more difficult for Native communities\u2014indeed all communities\u2014to have their basic needs met,\u201d Cheryl Crazy Bull, the President and CEO of the\u00a0American Indian College Fund<\/a><\/u>\u00a0said in a\u00a0March 21 blog post<\/a><\/u>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout 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,\u201d Crazy Bull added.<\/p>\n

The Republican-led\u00a0U.S. Senate<\/a><\/u>\u00a0confirmed McMahon as Secretary of Education on\u00a0March 3<\/a><\/u>. In her opening statement at her\u00a0nomination hearing on February 13<\/a><\/u>, the\u00a0former professional business wrestling executive<\/a><\/u>\u00a0did not mention the federal government\u2019s obligations to tribes and their communities.<\/p>\n

But in\u00a0written responses to the committee<\/a><\/u>, McMahon acknowledged the government\u2019s trust and treaty responsibilities to provide, as well as support, education in Indian Country. However, she repeatedly claimed that the \u201cvast majority of this work is carried out by the Bureau of Indian Education at the Department of the Interior\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf 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,\u201d stated McMahon, who led the\u00a0Small Business Administration<\/a><\/u>\u00a0during the first Trump administration.<\/p>\n

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\u00a0Senate Committee on Indian Affairs<\/a><\/u>\u00a0is holding an\u00a0oversight hearing in the nation\u2019s capital<\/a><\/u>\u00a0to examine the issues being raised by tribes and their advocates.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the President moves forward with his plan for the federal Department of Education, I\u2019ve heard from many who are worried,\u201d\u00a0Sen. Lisa Murkowski<\/a><\/u>\u00a0(R-Alaska), the chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, said in a\u00a0social media post on March 21<\/a><\/u>. \u201cWorried that funding to support opportunities for our most disadvantaged students will be drastically reduced, and that students with disabilities\u2014who have relied on the Department for support\u2014will be left behind.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the President has made his preferences clear, only Congress can shut down the Department,\u201d Murkowski asserted.<\/p>\n

Sen. Brian Schatz<\/a><\/u>\u00a0(D-Hawaii), the vice chair of the committee, was more forceful in his response to the closure of the Department of Education. He\u2019s agreeing with tribes that such a move violates the U.S. government\u2019s promises.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the federal government\u2019s core trust and treaty responsibilities to American Indians, Native Hawaiians, and Alaska Natives is to provide education,\u201d Schatz said in a\u00a0news release on March 20<\/a><\/u>. \u201cThe Department of Education plays a critical role in Native education, on everything from special education and Impact Aid to Native language revitalization.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout a functional Department of Education, Native students \u2014 more than 90 percent of whom attend public schools \u2014 will be at the mercy of state governments that have no legal responsibility to meet their needs,\u201d noted Schatz, responding to the\u00a0Secretary McMahon\u2019s claim that \u201cthe states\u201d<\/a><\/u>\u00a0are now going to be in charge of educating the nation\u2019s learners.<\/p>\n

The post \u2018Betrayal\u2019: Indian Country slams closure of Department of Education<\/a> first appeared on Native Sun News Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>

Visit Original Source<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<\/span><\/div>

Secretary of Education Linda McMahon is seen on her first day in office as the leader of the Department of Education in Washington, D.C., on March 4, 2025. Photo:\u00a0U.S. Department of Education First it was mass firings at the\u00a0Bureau of Indian Education. Now, tribes and their advocates are raising alarms <\/p>\n

Read More<\/a>
Shared by Native Sun News Today<\/a> April 4, 2025<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/div>","protected":false},"author":1541,"featured_media":38629,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5627],"tags":[6658],"class_list":["post-38627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-resource-directory-blog","tag-more-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38627","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1541"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38627"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38627\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38629"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitedresourceconnection.org\/cannon-ball-nd-58528\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}