Tribal Education Departments National Assembly, Co. Serving education departments in Indian Country

TEDNA Directors Attend Executive Order Signing Ceremony

Deputy Under Secretary and Office of Indian Education Director Victoria Vasques give an overview of the Department of Education's Indian education activities, including TEDNA, before the signing cermony for the Executive Order Photo by Melody McCoy

The three original directors of TEDNA were among the attendees at the signing on April 30, 2004 by President George W. Bush of the Executive Order on American Indian and Alaska Native Education. Jerome Jainga, Education Director for the Suquamish Indian Tribe in Washington; Quinton Roman Nose, Education Director for the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma; and, Joyce Silverthorne, Education Director for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation in Montana were among the one hundred tribal leaders, Indian educators, and federal officials to attend the signing ceremony w hich was held at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC. The Executive Order recognizes "the unique educational and culturally related academic needs of American Indian and Alaska Native students consistent with the unique political and legal relationship of the Federal Government with tribal governments . . . ." In the Executive Order, the Administration affirms its commitment "to continuing to work with . . . Federally recognized tribal governments on a government-to-government basis, and . . . [to supporting] tribal sovereignty and self-determination." The purpose of the Executive Order is "to assist American Indian and Alaska Native students in meeting the challenging student academic standards of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public law 107-110) in a manner that is consistent with tribal traditions, languages, and cultures."

The Executive Order establishes an Inter-Agency Working Group to oversee its implementation. The Working Group consists of the Departments of Education, the Interior, Health and Human Services, Agriculture, Justice, Labor, and other departments, agencies, or offices as designated. Within ninety days of April 30, 2004, the Working Group must develop a federal interagency plan that recommends initiatives, strategies, and ideas for future interagency actions that promote the Executive Order's purpose. The Working Group also must conduct a multi-year study of American Indian and Alaska Native students that comprehensively describes their educational status and progress with respect to meeting the goals of No Child Left Behind, and report the study results to the President.

Other activities called for by the Executive Order include the enhancement of research capabilities of tribal educational institutions and the convening of a national conference on American Indian and Alaska Native education. The full text of the Executive Order and President Bush's remarks upon its signing are available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/04/20040430-3.html

The 2004 Executive Order supercedes the Executive Order on American Indian and Alaska Native Education signed by President William J. Clinton in August 1998. The 1998 Executive Order was the result of a proposal to the White House by the National Indian Education Association (NIEA) and the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) for improved administration of federal Indian education programs and funding. Many of the strategies and activities developed under the 1998 Executive Order, however, will be resurrected by the 2004 Executive Order. They include the Inter-Agency Working Group, the consultation between the Working Group and Indian tribes and organizations, and a focus on comprehensive Indian education research and reporting. NIEA and NCAI specifically had sought to reactivate these activities with the new Executive Order.

"This Executive Order is actually stronger than the first one with respect to the importance of Native language and culture when educating tribal students," said TEDNA Director Joyce Silverthorne. "NIEA did an excellent job of advocating for and securing that," she added.

Ten tribal high school students were on stage with President Bush as he spoke before signing the Executive Order. Also on stage were U.S. Department of Education Secretary Roderick Paige and U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Gale Norton. For the signing, they were joined by U.S. Senators Stevens (R-Alaska) and Thomas (R-Wyoming), and U.S. Representatives Calvert (R-California), Pombo (R-California), and Rehberg (R-Montana) who were in the audience

The signing was preceded by an overview by Deputy Under Secretary and Office of Indian Education Director Victoria Vasques of the Department of Education's Indian education programs and activities in the last eighteen months. Her report on national activities included the contract with the Native American Rights Fund to establish TEDNA. She affirmed the Department's commitment to support and work with Tribal Education Departments. TEDNA Director Jerome Jainga pointed out that, "the Executive Order clearly recognizes the importance of enhancing tribal governance in education generally, and specifically with respect to education research."

While each of the TEDNA directors were responsible for their own travel costs to attend the signing ceremony, TEDNA joined NIEA, NCAI, and other tribal organizations in sponsoring a pre-signing ceremony luncheon and briefing. The luncheon and briefing were held at the lobbying firm office of Johnston and Associates, who has been retained by NIEA to represent it on several activities including the Executive Order. About fifty tribal leaders, Indian educators, and national Indian organization representatives attended the luncheon and briefing, including the newly appointed by the President members of the National Advisory Council on Indian Education who had been sworn in by Secretary Paige earlier that morning.

The White House sponsored an after-signing reception in the Treaty Room at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. Many federal officials attended the reception along with tribal leaders, Indian educators, representatives of national Indian education organizations, and the tribal students who were present at the Executive Order signing ceremony. TEDNA Director Quinton Roman Nose concluded that the new Executive Order "is a very good document. We only wish that it had been done two or three years ago so that we all could have been working under it for that time."

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