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 (August 2010) The Administration of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina participated in a Listening and Learning Session with the US Department of Education Thursday, August 5, at the Indian Education Resource Center in Pembroke.
The session opened with the Lumbee Color Guard, led by Vice Chairman and Tribal Council member, Furnie Lambert. The session was then opened with a prayer by the Chairman of the Waccamaw Siouan Tribe, Rev. Mike Jacobs. After the session was called to order, Executive Director of the North Carolina Commission of Indian Affairs Greg Richardson read a proclamation issued by Governor Beverly Purdue declaring Thursday, August 5, 2010 as American Indian Education Day.
Lumbee Tribal Chairman, the Honorable Purnell Swett, brought greetings after the Commission, on behalf of the Lumbee Tribe. “The Lumbee have a rich history in dealing with education” said Chairman Swett. “Because of our grandfathers, our tribe was the first in the country to establish an Indian normal school, in which we stand in the shadows of today. So, with that being said, welcome.”
According to Assistant Deputy Secretary Kevin Jennings, the U.S. Department of Education is traveling the country looking for input as policymakers work on the reauthorization of the primary source for Indian education funding, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. “We are hoping that you will see this as the end of the beginning not the beginning of the end for American Indian education,” said Jennings.
Re-authorization of this education act is important to the Lumbee because as stated by the Superintendent of Robeson County Schools, Dr. Johnny Hunt(pictured above), “We are the largest Title VII program in the U.S.” Although Lumbee have access to Indian education programs provided through the public school system, they do not receive direct funding for their education from the federal government as do those tribes that are federally recognized.
All eight state recognized tribes were present except for the Eastern Band of Cherokee due to a tribal death within their education department. Each tribe had a representative present who was given the opportunity to speak to the struggles their tribe experiences with Indian education and offer up policy suggestions. “Culture is intertwined with education, you cannot separate the two,” said Haliwa-Saponi Rep. Catina Lynch, “we learn through our culture.”
Rev. Jacobs, Chairman of the Waccamaw Siouan Tribe said, “Statistics show that academic success is at a higher percentage when a child’s culture and identity are validated. We need culture classes and Boys & Girls Clubs to enhance self-esteem to increase academic success.”
Other testimony included, former director of Indian Education in Cumberland County Trudy Locklear. Mrs. Locklear requested that all teachers be mandated to be educated on the American Indians in North Carolina. She stated that not enough teachers had the appropriate knowledge of the American Indians that reside in the state and even though classes are offered for teachers to go to in order to be educated on Indians, it is not enough and it should not be a choice of whether or not to attend.
In a letter, President Barack Obama stated that his Administration’s blue print for reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act is not only a plan to renovate a flawed law, but also an outline for a re-envisioned federal role in education. He went on to say, this is a framework to guide their deliberations and shared work-- with parents, students, educators, business and community leaders, elected officials, and other partners-- to strengthen America’s public education system.
The Department of Education has issued A Blueprint for Reform: the Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and this blue print builds on four areas. First, improving teacher and principal effectiveness to ensure that every classroom has a great teacher and every school has a great leader. Second, providing information to families to help them evaluate and improve their children’s schools, and to educators to help them improve their students’ learning. Third, implementing college-and-career-ready standards and developing improved assessments aligned with those standards. Fourth, improving student learning and achievement in America’s lowest-performing schools by providing intensive support and effective interventions.
To submit written comments on the “Blueprint,” or on education matters more generally, e-mail Emily.miles@ed.gov or send your remarks to Office of Indian Education 400 Maryland Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20202.
CONTACT:
Kendra Danielle Chavis, Public Affairs Specialist
Office: 910.522.2187
Email: kdchavis@lumbeetribe.com |
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