Key dates in American Indian Education
1794:
United States signs the first Indian treaty that includes provisions for federal funding of Indian education, in exchange for tribal land.
1860:
Federal government establishes the first federal Indian boarding school.
1892:
Captain Richard Pratt, founder of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, declares it necessary to “Kill the Indian in him, and save the man” by removing children from Indian reservations and inculcating in them “civilized” ways through education. Pratt’s idea was considered forward-thinking for the time in that Pratt believed Indians were worthy of respect and worth “saving,” rather than simply being enemies to be killed. But the effect of his ideas was like a cultural genocide. Boarding schools operated in this way for nearly another century.
1928:
Social scientist Lewis Meriam leads a study for the Institute of Government Research, resulting in a report to Congress that condemns governmentrun boarding schools for their failure to provide skills relevant to Indian youth. Though Meriam brings to light cases of abuse, kidnapping, and malnutrition in the boarding schools, the practices continue for another 40 years.
1968:
The Navajo Nation establishes the Navajo Community College, the nation’s first tribally-controlled college.
1972:
The federal Indian Education Act establishes the Office of Indian Education within the U.S. Department of Education.
1975:
The Indian Self-Determination Act gives tribes, rather than government officials, the authority to prioritize federal funds for education.
1989:
The American Indian College Fund begins disbursing scholarships to tribal college students.
2001:
The Sovereign Nations Scholarship Fund Endowment was established by and for American Indians with a gift of $900,000 by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Dakota Sioux community to establish a permanent endowment. The fund disburses scholarships to American Indian students of any major, undergraduate, graduate, or professional school who are attending either tribal colleges or mainstream universities. Source: American Indian College Fund
