The Obama administration is committed to the needs of Indian Country and to the education of Native American youth. U.S. Department of Education (ED) Secretary Arne Duncan has made it a priority to strengthen opportunities and outcomes for all students, including Native American students. As a result of the secretary's commitment to Native youth…

It's a long, long way from Bay Mills Community College, near the shores of frigid Lake Superior, to Detroit. But distance, time and demographics aside, the school and the city are united by Bay Mills' status as the nation's only tribally controlled college that authorizes quasi-public schools, known officially as public school academies. And it's…

"Native American Children in Michigan," provides a historical context for the tenuous relationship between Michigan's 12 federally recognized tribes and the state government, paying particular attention to the erosion of Native American education programs and the disproportionate number of Native children who find themselves in both the…

Focusing on student proficiency in reading and math from 2003-04 to 2006-07, this report compares gaps in performance on state achievement tests between grade 8 American Indian and Alaska Native students and all other grade 8 students in 26 states serving large populations of American Indian and Alaska Native students. In response to a request by…

Vulnerable children in Michigan face intersecting disparities, with race, class and geographic location often combining to limit access to health, education and economic security. Addressing this reality requires reliable and comprehensive data that can guide thoughtful action within communities and among institutions alike. To this end, the W. K.…

In order to acquaint Indian and non-Indian educators, legislators, and other concerned individuals with the status of Indian education in all 50 states, data has been gathered regarding policy statements that are under consideration or have already been implemented by state boards of education and state legislation, appropriations, and resolutions…

Michigan has had responsibilities for educating the state's American Indians since the Comstock Agreement of 1934. A 1976 legislative act and its subsequent revisions provided for state institutions of higher education to grant free tuition to certain American Indians through the Michigan Indian Tuition Waiver (ITW) program. Eligible Indians had…

The Summer School beginning the second year of the three-district, cooperative project was administered by the Saginaw, Michigan, Intermediate School District. The program had two objectives: to field test three curriculum packages dealing with Woodland Indian Social Studies-Language Arts, and to "provide for the special needs of Indian…

A consultant discusses his experience in assisting teachers and students to develop a democratic approach to education at a new school for high-risk American Indian students in northern Michigan. Strategies included appointing students to the school board, holding weekly student meetings, and creating a judicial committee to review student…

The second year of the three-district, cooperative program was only partially successful. The City of Saginaw, Michigan, was the Local Educational Agency (LEA) for the program designed for grades K-8 with funding of about $60,000. The project had three broad objectives. Only the first, to provide a program of cultural enrichment using local Indian…