[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 85 (Wednesday, June 18, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S5944]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                            INDIAN EDUCATION

 Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, today, I lend my support of the 
resolution my colleague Senator Domenici has introduced to bring the 
quality of Indian education on par with the rest of America. Increasing 
the quality of education available to our Native American youth will go 
far in solving many of the problems facing tribal governments and 
Indian people.
  This resolution acknowledges that the facts are discouraging. Indian 
youth lead all ethnic and racial groups in drop-out and poverty rates. 
Their juvenile delinquency rate continues to grow faster than the rest 
of young people in America. Both Indian reservation and Bureau of 
Indian Affairs schools are severely underfunded from a programmatic 
standpoint. These schools attempt to provide services to their children 
in spite of substandard facilities--facilities that no parent should 
have to send their child to and that no teacher should have to work in. 
These schools are understaffed and Indian educators are sorely 
underpaid.
  As this resolution makes clear, the United States has a moral and 
legal obligation to provide or aid tribal governments in providing 
quality education to American Indian and Alaskan Native youth. This 
responsibility is recognized in treaties, Executive orders, court 
decisions, and statutes. Yet, the disturbing facts that I have just 
mentioned make it clear that this obligation is not being met. It is my 
hope that this resolution will be the first step in building awareness 
of the current state of Indian education that will allow us to focus on 
a pragmatic solution.
  The importance of Indian education cannot be overstated. It holds the 
key to solving the most prevalent and devastating problems in Indian 
country: grinding poverty and the absence of opportunity for Indian 
youth.
  I am drafting legislation to address the unemployment problem on 
reservations by helping tribes create jobs and attract businesses. But 
in addition to a lack of capital and an abundance of regulatory 
obstacles, tribes face the challenge of filling jobs with trained 
people. Education and job creation must go hand-in-hand if tribes are 
to improve the standard of living for their members. Only through 
education will Indian tribes be able to solve problems such as 
unemployment, economic development, and achieving higher standards of 
living.
  At a recent Indian Affairs Committee hearing, a member of the Office 
of Juvenile Justice stated in his testimony that ``while violent crime 
is falling in American cities, it is rising on American Indian 
reservations.'' Additionally, a report released by the Federal Law 
Enforcement Training Center reveals that over the past 5 years gang 
related crimes, in the form of drive-by-shootings and homicides, have 
increased by more than 500 percent in some Indian communities. Mr. 
President, it must be understood that many of the problems facing 
Indian youth today center on the erosion of their culture. Too often, 
Indian children lack pride in who they are, where they live, and where 
they come from. This lack of self-esteem has caused consequences that 
ripple through the lives of Indian youth such as high drop-out rates 
and a growing juvenile delinquency and gang problem. As we resolve to 
better the quality of education for Indian children, we must strive to 
do so while acknowledging the importance of promoting Indian culture.
  Mr. President, as the 105th Congress proceeds, I urge my colleagues 
to join in supporting this resolution.

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