The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) requires states and the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) to define and determine whether schools are making adequate yearly progress (AYP) toward the goal of 100 percent academic proficiency. To address tribes' needs for cultural preservation, NCLBA allows tribal groups to waive all…

The Washington Report currently identifies, analyzes and tracks legislation, administrative agencies' regulations and supreme court decisions relating to Indian affairs. (Author)

The hearing before the Select Committee on Indian Affairs, U.S. Senate, 97th Congress, 2nd Session, concerned the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) proposal to close three off-reservation boarding schools. Schools scheduled for closure were: Wahpeton Indian School, Wahpeton, North Dakota; Concho Indian School, Concho, Oklahoma; and the Southwestern…

This field hearing by the House Select Committee on Aging produced testimony on the mental health problems and service delivery needs of American Indian and Hispanic American elderly. A director of research and two American Indian advocates: (1) pointed out the high rate of depression among Indian elderly due to physical impairments and deprived…

There has been recently an increased interest in educational legislation. The school administrator and the student of educational systems now turn for information and help to legal provisions as they turn to statistics or to the opinions of experienced schoolmen. Accompanied with this new interest in educational legislation have been increased…

The statement by President Ronald Reagan on Indian policy, issued on January 24, 1983, indicates that the administration believes that responsibilities and resources should be restored to the governments which are closest to the people served, including federally recognized American Indian tribes. The attachment summarizes policy via 10 Reagan…

The Canadian government must move beyond its colonial mentality and provide First Nations with the tools to establish self-government as provided for under the authority of the Canadian constitution. Only then can First Nations governments properly provide for their citizens, both on and off reserve. More than half of the First Nations population…

Ignoring legal precedent, the Supreme Court recently ruled that states can impose cigarette taxes on reservation sales to nontribal members. The ruling will have a disastrous effect on the tribes' capability to raise revenue through taxation and on the business existence of many traders and merchants. (SB)

Testimony by the National Tribal Chairmen's Association (NTCA) states NTCA's opposition to S. 991 Section 7 (9) involving transfer of education programs out of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), Department of Interior (DOI), into the proposed Department of Education. Reasons for keeping education services of federally recognized tribes within…

In this statement on H.R. 13343 presented to the Committee on Government Operations, the National Tribal Chairmen's Association, along with the National Congress of American Indians and the Alaska Federation of Natives, has voiced an "emphatic and uncompromising no" to the transfer of Indian education out of the Bureau of Indian Affairs…

Between 1779 and 1864 the United States signed over 400 legal and binding agreements with Indian governments. Treaties signed between 1779 and 1810 sought Indian alliances against England, France, and Spain (all of whom also signed treaties with the Indians at one time or another). Treaties signed from 1817 to 1846 were treaties of removal, and…

This Senate hearing produced testimony on how the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA) has been administered by government agencies and the courts. Three members of the Select Committee on Indian Affairs presented background information on the act's intent to confirm the tribe as the primary authority in matters involving an Indian child's…

Testimony on two bills dealing with federal funding for American Indian tribally controlled colleges is reported. Introduced by Senator John McCain (Arizona), S. 2167 seeks to reauthorize the Tribally Controlled Community College Assistance Act of 1978 and the Navajo Community College Act. Introduced by Senator Kent Conrad (North Dakota), S. 2213…

Published in cooperation with the American Civil Liberties Union, the guide sets forth the rights of American Indians under the present law and offers suggestions on how these rights can be protected. Using a question and answer format, the book covers the changes in Indian policies from the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 to the present day,…

The historical involvement of the federal government in the education of the American Indian has always carried with it one clear and consistent underlying theme: the federal government has both explicitly and implicitly acknowledged that there is a federal responsibility to Indian education. Treaties between the United States Government and…