Friday, March 21, 2025

Educators and lawmakers are blasting President Donald Trump’s push to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education. Among them is the vice-chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. In a release, U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) said the education department is part of the federal government’s core trust and treaty responsibility to American Indians, Native Hawaiians, and Alaska Natives. Sen. Schatz says over 90% of Native students attend public schools, who will be at the mercy of state governments that have no legal responsibility to meet needs. The elimination of the department would affect special education, language learner supports, and Title VI Indian education programs, among others. Furthermore, Native higher education would be affected including funding for tribal colleges, and programs administering federal loans and Pell Grants. President Trump’s rationale includes low academic scores during the pandemic. Neither Trump nor his staff have explained how ending the department would boost student performance. (Photo: Anne Meadows / Flickr) The Native American Rights Fund (NARF) has filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s efforts to cut U.S. Department of Education spending. Mountain West News Bureau’s Yvette Fernandez has more. The non-profit argues in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., that funding cuts are a violation of long-standing treaties between tribes and the U.S. government. Attorney Jacqueline De León is leading the legal effort. She says cuts, including layoffs of about a quarter of the staff, were made without input from tribes. “The federal government has to consult with tribes before they make changes to education, including to staffing and they have a responsibility to fulfill those education requirements separate and apart from policy decisions or politics.” The suit names two Indigenous colleges – one in Kansas and the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute in New Mexico. DeLeon says a ruling could affect schools across the American Indian Higher Education Consortium of 37 tribal institutions across the country, including those in Mountain West states. The secretary of the Department of Interior is named as the defendant in the suit, and has not yet filed a response, according to court filings. Native American students in New Mexico will be able to wear their tribal regalia at graduation ceremonies this spring after Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham (D-NM) signed a bill into law on Wednesday. Reporter Jeanette DeDios has more. Senate Bill 163 prevents school boards from banning tribal regalia at graduation ceremonies. The bill is a response to an incident that occurred last May in Farmington, N.M., where a Native American high school graduate was ordered to remove their graduation cap that had an eagle plume and beads. Despite some initial concerns from lawmakers, the bill passed unanimously through both chambers before being signed by the governor. Gov. Lujan Grisham says Native American students are at higher risk of being bullied and committing suicide and this bill encourages them to be proud of who they are and can help promote their well-being. “This is really about making sure that New Mexico stands on the right side of this civil rights issue and on the right side of kids.” New Mexico Secretary for the Indian Affairs Department Josett Monette (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa) says she’s excited to see this year’s graduates in their tribal regalia. “It shows New Mexico’s dedication and respect for our Native students throughout the entire state.” Monette said her department plans to create a campaign that will collect pictures of this year’s Native American students during their graduation ceremonies. Those will be shared on social media and other outlets to recognize the hard work of the students and the passing of this bill, which goes into effect immediately. And yesterday we reported on the disappearance of references to Navajo Code Talkers on U.S. military websites. We’ve learned since then that following widespread outcry, those references and webpages are back up.   Get National Native News delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up for our daily newsletter today.