[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 84 (Tuesday, June 17, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5876-S5878]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 100--RELATIVE TO THE EDUCATION OF AMERICAN INDIANS 
                           AND ALASKA NATIVES

  Mr. DOMENICI (for himself, Mr. Campbell, Mr. Inouye, Mr. Johnson, Mr. 
Dorgan, and Mr. Wellstone) submitted the following resolution; which 
was referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs:

                              S. Res. 100

       Whereas, there exists a unique legal and political 
     relationship between the United States and tribal governments 
     and a unique Federal responsibility to American Indians and 
     Alaska Natives; and
       Whereas, under law and practice, the United States has 
     undertaken a trust responsibility to protect and preserve 
     Indian tribes, Indians, and tribal assets and resources; and
       Whereas, the federal government's commitment to Indian 
     education has been recognized, reinforced and carried out 
     through most treaties with Indian tribes, Congressional 
     legislation, numerous court decisions and presidential 
     executive orders; and
       Whereas, this Federal responsibility includes working with 
     tribal governments and their members to improve the education 
     of tribal members; and
       Whereas, the 1990 Census shows the poverty rate for 
     American Indians and Alaska Natives was nearly twice the 
     national average--31 percent of Indians live below the 
     poverty level, compared to 13 percent of the total 
     population. Nearly 38 percent of Indian children above the 
     age of 5 were living below the poverty level in 1990, 
     compared with 11 percent of non-minority children; and
       Whereas, the development of tribal economies is dependent 
     on physical infrastructure, capital investment, and highly 
     developed human capital and an educated labor force; and
       Whereas, excellence in educational facilities and services 
     is a key to building the skills necessary for Indian people 
     to develop vibrant tribal economies; and
       Whereas, ever-increasing regional, national, and 
     international economic competition demands that Indians have 
     every competitive advantage accruing from achieving 
     excellence in education; and
       Whereas, there are approximately 600,000 American Indian 
     and Alaska Native children attending schools in this country. 
     An estimated 87% of these children attend public schools 
     located on or near reservations and in urban areas; another 
     10% attend schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs 
     (BIA) and an estimated 3 percent attend private schools; and
       Whereas, these schools have experienced an increase in 
     student population of 3-4 percent in the past five years, 
     however, annual funding for the education of Indian children 
     has not increased proportionately; and
       Whereas, U.S. Census data shows that the Indian and Alaska 
     Native population has increased significantly in the past 
     three decades. Primary growth concentrations are at ages 5 
     through 19; and
       Whereas, the 1994 National Assessment of Education Progress 
     (NAEP) showed over 50 per cent of American Indian fourth 
     graders scored below the basic level in reading proficiency, 
     compared with 42 percent of all students; and
       Whereas, American Indian students have the highest dropout 
     rate of any racial ethnic group (36 percent) and the lowest 
     high school completion and college attendance rates of any 
     minority group. As of 1990, only 66 percent of American 
     Indians aged 25 years or older were high school graduates, 
     compared to 78 percent of the general population; and
       Whereas, the demonstrated need for improvements to Indian 
     schools and colleges is acute as reflected in the great 
     disparity between average annual college funding per student 
     of $2,900 for Indian students, and $6,200 for non-Indians in 
     America, and the Federal Government should assist in bringing 
     the Indian schools and colleges up to parity with the rest of 
     America; and
       Whereas, tribal scholarship programs nationally are only 
     able to serve an estimated 40 percent of the eligible college 
     student population and funding for graduate scholarships has 
     been cut in half in the past two years; and
       Whereas, there is a major backlog of $680 million in 
     funding need for facilities construction, maintenance and 
     repair for the 185 BIA-funded schools as well as for public 
     schools located on and near Indian reservations; and
       Whereas, there exists an alarming decline in the use of 
     Native languages indigenous to the United States. A 1969 
     Senate Committee report stated that in 1969 there were 300 
     separate languages still being spoken. In 1996, the number 
     had dropped to 206 still being spoken. These languages are 
     spoken nowhere else in the world; and
       Whereas, despite these alarming statistics, funding for the 
     education of Indian and Alaska Native students has been 
     reduced substantially in the past three years. The U.S. 
     Congress in FY 1996 eliminated discretionary education 
     programs in the Office of Indian Education budget which had 
     funded adult education, research and demonstration programs, 
     the Indian Fellowship Program and teacher training and 
     professional development projects. At the same time, funding 
     for reservation-based education programs in the BIA budget 
     was reduced by more than $100 million in the FY 1996 budget. 
     Now, therefore, be it

[[Page S5877]]

       Resolved, That it is the sense of the United States Senate:
       (1) that the Senate recognizes and supports the federal 
     government's legal and moral commitment to the education of 
     American Indian and Alaska Native children, which is a part 
     of treaties, Executive Orders, court decisions and public 
     laws which have been enacted by the House and Senate of the 
     United States government.
       (2) that funding for all bills, including reauthorizing 
     legislation in the 105th Congress with specific programs for 
     American Indians and Alaska Natives be funded at levels 
     sufficient to meet the ever-increasing educational and 
     economic demands facing Indian people on reservations, urban 
     communities and Alaska Native villages.
       (3) that the Senate recognizes the adult literacy needs of 
     American Indians and Alaska Natives through the inclusion of 
     tribal provisions in the Administration's proposal to 
     reauthorize the Adult Education Act.
       (4) that the Administration's bill for reauthorization of 
     the Higher Education Act of 1965, P.L. 102-325, preserve the 
     original purpose and intent of the Tribally-Controlled 
     Community Colleges Act and promote access to higher education 
     opportunities for American Indians and Alaska Natives.
       (5) that during the 105th Congress' reauthorization of 
     agricultural research programs, the needs of Tribal Colleges 
     as designated land-grant institutions must be given close 
     attention, through amendments to the Educational Equity in 
     Land-grant Status Act of 1994.
       (6) that early childhood programs such as Head Start (P.L. 
     103-252) and Healthy Start contain resources needed to meet a 
     growing number of American Indian and Alaska Native children 
     whose rate of growth exceeds the national average.
       (7) that the Senate recognizes the need for development and 
     implementation of a government-wide policy on Indian 
     education which addresses the needs of American Indian and 
     Alaska Native people.

  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, today I am submitting a resolution that 
recognizes the large disparity between funding for Indian tribal 
colleges and mainstream colleges. Unfortunately, tribal colleges and 
technical vocational schools are barely able to keep up with growing 
enrollments. While many Indian colleges, like Crownpoint Institute of 
Technology, perform valiantly and have solid records of job placement, 
they are struggling to educate Indian students with roughly half the 
resources available to other colleges around the country. Indian 
colleges receive on average of $2,972 per year per pupil, compared with 
$6,200 per year for mainstream community colleges.
  My statement analyzes this situation further and concludes that the 
105th Congress should pay more attention to Indian education as we 
reauthorize important education legislation like the Carl D. Perkins 
Vocational Education and Applied Technology Act, the Higher Education 
Act, and the Tribally-Controlled Community Colleges Act. Hopefully, 
Senators will review this resolution and come to the conclusion that we 
are not doing right by Indian colleges and Indian junior colleges, and 
we could do a much a better job of educating Indians in America.
  Mr. President, Indian education remains far behind standard education 
in America. There are many reasons for this sad state of affairs. The 
problem is particularly acute among Indian colleges, where the average 
annual expenditure per student is $2,972 per year compared to $6,200 
per year for mainstream community colleges.
  It may surprise my colleagues, who may assume that the Bureau of 
Indian Affairs is primarily in charge of Indian education. The fact is 
that 87 percent of Indian students in America in grades K-12, are in 
public schools. Only 10 percent of all school age American Indians are 
in schools funded by the U.S. Department of the Interior's Bureau of 
Indian Affairs.
  While younger Indians are among America's fastest growing population, 
funding for their schooling gets further behind every year. While most 
elementary school Indian students are clearly in public schools, their 
educational attainments remain far behind most non-Indian students. In 
the federally funded Indian colleges we are seeing much larger student 
bodies; they are fed by both the public and Federal school systems.
  Federal funding for Indian schools simply has not kept pace with the 
population growth among Indians, and we are seeing this problem is 
particularly acute among Indian tribal colleges.
  I thank my colleagues, Senator Inouye, vice chairman of the Senate 
Committee on Indian Affairs and Senator Campbell, the committee's 
chairman, for joining me today to alert the Senate to this large 
disparity in education for American Indians.
  Most Americans and many of my Senate colleagues know, that, despite 
recent income and job increases due to Indian gaming activities, 
American Indians remain at the bottom by most measures of social and 
economic well-being. Thirty-one percent live below the poverty line; 
almost four times as many Indian children over the age of 5 live in 
poverty compared to nonminority children; life expectancy is the lowest 
among all ethnic groups; and housing conditions remain substandard for 
the most part.
  In terms of educational attainment, half of all American Indians in 
the fourth grade--in both BIA and public schools--read below the 
expected proficiency level, compared to 42 percent of all students who 
are below this level. American Indian students have the highest dropout 
level of any racial ethnic group at 36 percent. They also have the 
lowest high school completion rate and the lowest rate of college 
attendance. Only 66 percent of all American Indians are high school 
graduates compared to 78 percent in the general population.
  Mr. President, our resolution is really quite simple. We are asking 
the U.S. Senate to take note of this large disparity in educating 
American Indians. We ask that the Senate reaffirm the Federal 
Government responsibility for the education of American Indian and 
Alaska Native children. This obligation is spelled out in treaties, 
court decisions, Presidential Executive orders, and public laws. Our 
resolution delineates several key pieces of legislation that will be 
pending before the Senate in this Congress. Included in this list are 
the Higher Education Act of 1965, the Tribally-Controlled Community 
Colleges Act, the Educational Equity in Land-grant Status Act of 1994, 
and Head Start and Healthy Start.
  In addition, when the Senate considers reauthorization of such 
national education acts as the Adult Education Act, the Carl D. Perkins 
Vocational Education and Applied Technology Act, and the Individuals 
With Disabilities Act, we simply ask that special attention be paid to 
the great needs of American Indian students.
  We also need to consider the establishment of a governmentwide policy 
on Indian education that will better coordinate and address their 
educational needs, so that more of our citizens will be better prepared 
for life in the 21st century. It is our intention to work closely with 
the appropriate Senate committees to raise the level of educational 
attainment of American Indians for greater participation in our 
expanding economy. We hope to bring the funding disparity to a close 
within a few years. We can hardly expect Indian children to be well 
educated on less than half the resources we spend on the average 
American student.
  I urge my colleagues to join in this effort to become aware of the 
educational needs of American Indians and to help us find ways to close 
the gap.
  Mr. JOHNSON. Mr. President, I want to express my strong support for 
the Sense of the Senate Resolution on Indian Education submitted by 
Senator Domenici today. I am an original cosponsor of this resolution 
because of my strong commitment to prioritizing education for every 
American, and to bring attention to the ongoing inadequacies of 
education facilities and consistently feeble investment in student 
potential throughout Indian country.
  I have witnessed first-hand the devastating effects of poverty and 
unemployment that too often result from stunted academic growth. There 
are nine federally recognized tribes in South Dakota, whose members 
collectively make up one of the largest Native American populations in 
any state. At the same time, South Dakota has three of the ten poorest 
counties in the nation, all of which are within reservation boundaries. 
Unemployment on these extremely rural reservations averages above 50%. 
Yet economic depression on rural Indian reservations is not unique to 
my state.
  I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting this Resolution 
because Native Americans across the nation have been, and continue to 
be, disproportionately affected by both poverty and low educational 
achievement. In 1990, over 36% of Indian children ages 5-17 were living 
below the poverty

[[Page S5878]]

level. The high school completion rate for Native Americans aged 20 to 
24 was 12.5% below the national average. Indian students, on average, 
have scored far lower on the National Assessment for Education Progress 
indicators than all other students. In 1994, the combined average score 
for Indian students on the Scholastic Achievement Test was 65 points 
lower than the average for all students. These problems are compounded 
by the grave school facilities and construction backlog facing Indian 
Country. Currently, $680 million is needed for facilities construction, 
maintenance, and repair for the 185 BIA-funded schools and for public 
schools located on and near Indian reservations. These statistics 
reflect the continued neglect of America's under-served Indian 
population and are unacceptable.
  Congress must continue to promote the self-determination and self-
sufficiency of Indian communities, in keeping with our special trust 
responsibility to sovereign Indian nations. Education at every level is 
absolutely vital to this effort. Education is the cornerstone of the 
success of great nations and is a basic right of all persons. At a time 
when education is at the top of the agenda both at the White House and 
in Congress, we must work together to focus national attention on 
education, on and off reservations. Our goal must be the creation of 
academic environments where every student will have the opportunity to 
reach their full potential and acquire the knowledge and skills 
necessary to create better opportunities for themselves and their 
children.
  With this Resolution, Senator Domenici is calling on the Congress to 
bring equity to education for all students of every age nationwide. Mr. 
President, I am extremely pleased that my colleague has recognized the 
national need to improve education in Indian Country. Senator Domenici 
has developed this legislation in close consultation with Indian 
leaders, and I urge my colleagues to join in supporting this 
resolution.

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