admin, Author at Tulalip News

DNA links Kennewick Man to Native Americans

By Julia Hill, BioNews 807

New DNA evidence has reignited a longstanding debate over the ownership of a 9000-year-old skeleton, known as Kennewick Man.

After its chance discovery in 1996, Kennewick Man was claimed as an ancestor by local groups of Native Americans, who wanted to rebury the remains. However, they were blocked from doing so by a group of scientists who questioned their assertion and won the legal right to study the skeleton.

Genetic analysis has now shown the skeleton to be more closely related to Native Americans than to any other group.

‘The trail from past to present is often poorly marked in the archaeological record,’ commented co-author David Meltzer from the University of Dallas. ‘With the recovery and careful analysis of ancient DNA, we can better follow that trail: in Kennewick’s case, it leads unerringly to Native Americans.’

During the study, published in Nature, scientists extracted fragments of DNA from 200 milligrams of a hand bone and patched them together to construct a whole genome. They then sequenced this genome and compared it with samples from across the world.

Although the DNA within the bone was highly degraded and mixed with DNA from soil bacteria and other sources, the scientists are confident that the results are correct: the DNA from the skeleton is closer to that from the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Federation than to any of the other samples they compared it with.

The results were supported by matches in the autosomal DNA, mitochondrial DNA, and the Y chromosome.

Kennewick man was originally found in the Columbia River, near Kennewick, Washington. Over 350 bones and bone fragments were found, and the skeleton is one of the most complete for its age.

Anthropologists originally determined that the skeleton had ‘Caucasoid’ features and was a historic-period Euro-American. However, radiocarbon dating placed the skeleton of Kennewick Man at 8500-9000 years old, making him pre-Columbian.

This led to a legal battle between scientists who wished to study the remains and local Native American tribes who believed the skeleton – whom they call the Ancient One – to be an ancestor.

Under the Native American Graves and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), five tribes requested the bones be returned to them for burial. However, anthropologists argued that the skeleton could provide a unique insight into America’s early inhabitants, and in 2004 it was ruled that scientists had the right to study the remains because the origin of the skeleton could not be proved.

Jim Boyd of the Colville Tribe told the BBC that he is very pleased with the outcome of the genetic analysis: ‘We’ve maintained the belief at the Colville Community tribes that the Ancient One is a relative of ours. This is proven now and we are very happy about this.’

It is not yet known what impact these findings will have on the fate of the remains, but the Colville tribe and others are continuing their legal case and hope that the study results will strengthen their case.

‘We need the Ancient One to be respected and returned to the ground,’ Boyd said.

USDA Seeks Partner Proposals to Protect and Restore Critical Wetlands

Source: Press Release, United States Department of Agriculture

WASHINGTON, June 22, 2015 – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the availability of $17.5 million in financial and technical assistance to help eligible conservation partners voluntarily protect, restore and enhance critical wetlands on private and tribal agricultural lands.

“USDA has leveraged partnerships to accomplish a great deal on America’s wetlands over the past two decades, Vilsack said. “This year’s funding will help strengthen these partnerships and achieve greater wetland acreage throughout the nation.”

Funding will be provided through the Wetland Reserve Enhancement Partnership (WREP), a special enrollment option under the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program’s Wetland Reserve Easement component. It is administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Under WREP, states, local units of governments, non-governmental organizations and American Indian tribes collaborate with USDA through cooperative and partnership agreements. These partners work with willing tribal and private landowners who voluntarily enroll eligible land into easements to protect, restore and enhance wetlands on their properties. WREP was created through the 2014 Farm Bill and was formerly known as the Wetlands Reserve Enhancement Program.

Wetland reserve easements allow landowners to successfully enhance and protect habitat for wildlife on their lands, reduce impacts from flooding, recharge groundwater and provide outdoor recreational and educational opportunities. The voluntary nature of NRCS’ easement programs allows effective integration of wetland restoration on working landscapes, providing benefits to farmers and ranchers who enroll in the program, as well as benefits to the local and rural communities where the wetlands exist.

Proposals must be submitted to NRCS state offices by July 31, 2015. Projects can range from individual to watershed-wide to ecosystem-wide. Under a similar program in the 2008 Farm Bill, NRCS and its partners entered into 272 easements that enrolled more than 44,020 acres of wetlands from 2009 through 2013. Most of these agreements occurred through the Mississippi River Basin Healthy Watersheds Initiative (MRBI). Through partnerships, MRBI identifies high-priority watersheds where focused conservation on agricultural land can make the most gains in improving local, state and regional water quality. The new collaborative WREP will build on those successes by providing the financial and technical assistance necessary for states, non-governmental organizations and tribes to leverage resources to restore and protect wetlands and wildlife habitat.

Through WREP, NRCS will sign multi-year agreements with partners to leverage resources, including funding, to achieve maximum wetland restoration, protection and enhancement and to create optimum wildlife habitat on enrolled acres. WREP partners are required to contribute a funding match for financial or technical assistance. These partners work directly with eligible landowners interested in enrolling their agricultural land into conservation wetland easements.

Today’s announcement builds on the roughly $332 million USDA has announced this year to protect and restore agricultural working lands, grasslands and wetlands. Collectively, NRCS’s easement programs help productive farm, ranch and tribal lands remain in agriculture and protect the nation’s critical wetlands and grasslands, home to diverse wildlife and plant species. Under the former Wetlands Reserve Program, private landowners, tribes and entities such as land trusts and conservation organizations enrolled 2.7 million acres through 14,500 agreements for a total NRCS and partner investment of $4.3 billion in financial and technical assistance.

The funding announced today was authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill, which builds on historic economic gains in rural America over the past six years, while achieving meaningful reform and billions of dollars in savings for taxpayers. Since enactment, USDA has made significant progress to implement each provision of this critical legislation, including providing disaster relief to farmers and ranchers; strengthening risk management tools; expanding access to rural credit; funding critical research; establishing innovative public-private conservation partnerships; developing new markets for rural-made products; and investing in infrastructure, housing, and community facilities to help improve quality of life in rural America. For more information, visit www.usda.gov/farmbill.

Visit NRCS’s ACEP webpage to learn more about NRCS’s wetland conservation options.

Montana creates Office of American Indian Health

By Associated Press

HELENA, Mont. – Gov. Steve Bullock signed an executive order last week establishing a state Office of American Indian Health, saying the current health care system in Indian Country limits access to preventative care and quality health care services and providers.

Bullock issued the directive with health officials and tribal leaders at the conclusion of the Montana Tribal Leaders’ Summit at the Capitol.

Third graders present cultural fair highlighting STI curriculum

Second grade to fifth graders attended the cultural fair and learned about the various tribes presented on Thursday, June 11, 2015, at the Quil Ceda Tulalip Elementary School. Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. Montreuil — Second grade to fifth graders attended the cultural fair and learned about the various tribes presented on Thursday, June 11, 2015, at the Quil Ceda Tulalip Elementary School.
Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. Montreuil

By Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News

TULALIP – In the midst of summer excitement, third graders from Quil Ceda Tulalip Elementary School presented the last project of the school year to their peers, which incorporated the Since Time Immemorial curriculum. On Thursday, June 11, third graders hosted a mini cultural fair where they presented information on six tribes they had been studying. The cultural fair is an example of the unique learning environment cultivated at the school, which serves a large population of Native students in the Marysville School District.

The school’s cultural specialist Chelsea Craig worked with students on a six-week project in which they chose a tribe to study and present what they learned about the tribe. Chosen for study were the Muckleshoot, Nooksack, Tulalip, Spokane, Suquamish and Yakama Tribes, along with Afognak Village located in Alaska.

As part of the project the students were asked to contact their chosen tribe to learn first-hand about the tribe’s history and culture. Many of the students were provided letters of support for the project containing information about treaty rights, economic development and tribal history. One tribe even provided a DVD for students to watch.

As part of Since Time Immemorial curriculum students learned what role canoes play with Coast Salish tribes. They held a cultural fair on Thursday, June 11, 2015, to present the information they learned. Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. Montreuil — As part of Since Time Immemorial curriculum students learned what role canoes play with Coast Salish tribes. They held a cultural fair on Thursday, June 11, 2015, to present the information they learned.
Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. Montreuil

Jimmy Faria chose to study Nooksack. Before the project he knew nothing about the tribe of 2,000 members. “I wrote to them and they actually wrote me back. You will learn a lot about tribes here. I learned the difference between how a coastal tribe builds a house and how a plains tribes build a house,” said Jimmy, who handed out brochures on Nooksack he created using the program Publisher.

The project provides a great example of how STI works in schools. STI helps addresses the need for Native representation in class lessons. It provides a basic framework of Indian history and understanding of sovereignty for grades k-12. Lessons can be adapted to focus on tribal history and culture, such as Mrs. Deveraux’s class which completed a writing assignment that focused on canoes. Students learned how canoes were made, cared for, and their importance to Coast Salish tribes. This is a great example of how STI curriculum can be integrated into lessons. Tribal components can be added to each learning subject, for example math students can learn the dimensions of different Coast Salish canoe styles, or in reading students can read about tribes using canoes for transportation or art assignments can include designing mock canoes, as tribal carvers do. This is how STI works.

Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. Montreuil

“They were so thrilled to write to the tribes and wait for a response,” said Craig, “A lot of these students are learning about tribes for the first time while others are learning more about their own tribes. This work is about empowering them. It really is amazing to see how passionate they are about learning this stuff.”

For more information about STI please visit the website www.indian-ed.org.

Brandi N. Montreuil: 360-913-5402; bmontreuil@tulalipnews.com

Tulalip Boom City opens for fireworks season

By Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News

TULALIP- Fireworks stands and distributors have taken up temporary residence in the lot behind the Tulalip Resort Casino, which means that fireworks season is upon us and Boom City is officially open for business.

This season boasts 139 fireworks stands, 11 concession stands and 3 arts and crafts vendors. That is 12 more firework stands than last year.

Despite the recent debate on a firework ban in neighboring Marysville, stand owners expect a bountiful season. Many stand owners are fully stocked and ready to barter prices on the first day.

According to Washington state law it is illegal to discharge illegal fireworks, however, this does not include the reservation, which is subject to Tulalip and federal firework laws. This allows stand owners to sell fireworks prohibited by Washington state laws. To compensate buyers, Boom City provides a lighting area where fireworks banned off-reservation can be discharged in safety.

In Marysville residents are limited to discharging legal fireworks on July 4 from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. only.

Josh Fryberg who co-owns the 'Josh-n-Rocks One Stop Shop with Rocky Harrison hasn't missed a season since he started as a youth. Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. Montreuil — Josh Fryberg who co-owns the ‘Josh-n-Rocks One Stop Shop with Rocky Harrison hasn’t missed a season since he started as a youth.
Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. Montreuil

Safety is top priority for the Boom City Committee which is responsible for the organization and compliance of stand owners. To ensure safety of stand owners and visitors, security personal are on-site throughout the selling season. Tulalip Police Department also maintains an active presence with K9 units and foot patrols to discourage illegal activity.

Boom City will close late evening on July 4. Hours of operation are 6 a.m. to midnight. The lighting area is open all hours of operation except when a memorial show or demo show is scheduled.

For more information please visit the Boom City Facebook Page.

Brandi N. Montreuil: 360-913-5402; bmontreuil@tulalipnews.com

Jared Parks co-owner of 'Crazy Deals vs High Times' plans to amp up his fireworks season by including technology to market his products. Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. Montreuil — Jared Parks co-owner of ‘Crazy Deals vs High Times’ plans to amp up his fireworks season by including technology to market his products.
Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. Montreuil

Professor Looks At Evolution Of American Indian Education

By Samantha Sonner, KRWG.org

New Mexico is a state rich in American Indian culture and history, but the way American Indian children are educated has changed drastically over the years. This was the topic of a recent discussion at the Branigan Cultural Center.

Tad Conner, Assistant Professor of Government at New Mexico State University says when most people think of American Indian Education they remember the boarding school era that tried to force assimilation. He says a lot has changed since then.

“Tribes kind of reasserted themselves,” Conner said. “Preserving their languages, preserving their traditions and their customs, but also to try to create positive change and reform in public schools and in public education. And so today I think that’s why we’ve seen sort of a role reversal, away from assimilationist policies but more toward this era of self-determination.”

He says New Mexico is a good example of American Indian history and culture being taught in the classroom.

“I think New Mexico is actually one of those states that’s really kind of taken a lead,” Conner said. “In trying to create at the state level some type of coherent image of instituting an American Indian education curriculum, and traditional kind of cultural programs in public schools that are not only going to benefit native children but are also going to benefit non-native students as well.”

He says it’s important for non-native children to learn more about native culture.

“It’s never a bad thing to learn more,” Conner said. “Especially about your state, and especially in New Mexico when the history of the pueblos, and tribes, and apaches are intimately connected with the experience of non-Indians in this state. So, I think it’s really important for New Mexico’s students in terms of learning the history of the state to be familiar with the history of the tribes, the tribes that are in this particular region and the rights of those particular groups.”

He says there are a growing number of schools on American Indian territory.

“With the tribally controlled schools it gives the tribes a little bit more control over the curriculum,” Conner said. “In terms of being able to bring into the classroom things that are unique. Not only to American Indians as a whole, but unique to their particular groups historical experience as well, especially with regards to the language.

He says there is still a long way to go in the evolution of American Indian Education.

Approval given for gambling compacts with New Mexico tribes

SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN, Associated Press

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Gambling compacts negotiated by the state and a handful of American Indian tribes have cleared their final hurdle.

The U.S. Interior Department reviewed the compacts but took no action. Under federal law, the agreements are considered approved by the agency as long as they’re consistent with the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.

The assistant secretary for Indian Affairs, Kevin Washburn, spelled out some concerns the department had with the compacts in a four-page letter sent Tuesday to Gov. Susana Martinez and tribal leaders.

Washburn pointed to an apparent increase in revenue sharing rates for some tribes, but he acknowledged that the agreements had the support of the tribes.

Under the compacts, the Navajo Nation, Jicarilla and Mescalero Apache nations and three pueblos can operate casinos for another two decades.

Moms suit up to raise money for youth football

Marysville Powderpuff Football Team during a scrimmage game against the Arlington Eagle Mamas on October 13, 2015. Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. Montreuil — Marysville Powderpuff Football Team during a scrimmage game against the Arlington Eagle Mamas on October 13, 2015.
Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. Montreuil

By Brandi N. Montreuil, Tulalip News

MARYSVILLE – They are a team of 31. They are tough. They are proud and they play with heart. They are moms who play football to support their kids. Through a combination of tackle and flag football, called “flackle,’ the Marysville Powderpuff team raises funds for youth in the Marysville Youth Football League through ticket sales. While the goal is to raise money for the kids, these moms say they also play for themselves.

Marysville Powderpuff is comprised of mothers with youth playing football and cheerleading through the MYFL. Ticket sales from each game go to support MYFL through uniforms, protective gear, and travel costs. This year the team boasts three Tulalip tribal members.

Mytyl Hernandez is in her second season. She joined to help support her daughter who cheers through MFYL. But that isn’t her only reason. “I love the competitive aspect of it and being with this amazing group of women a few days a week. I don’t love the bruises, most of the other girls love their bruises but that isn’t my favorite part.”

Team organizer Kym Gallo has been playing since the start and is now in her sixth season. She knows it might be strange to see moms suiting up for practice right along with their kids who are running drills on the opposite side of the field, but says the kids think it’s awesome. And the large ticket sales on game day show people are intrigued to see these moms showcase their skills in one of the fastest growing sport across the nation.

Women’s football is becoming a role model for young women by breaking barriers in traditionally assigned gender sports. More and more girls are joining flag and tackle football teams, such as the professional women’s tackle football team, Everett Reign.

“In the first year we struggled just to get 17 women playing. Now we have 31 on our roster.” Gallo credits this appeal to play football to those early women who were brave enough to break the stereotype of football as a male only sport.

Gallo explains other moms in MYFL and women attending game day who caught the flackle bug quickly signed up to join Powderpuff.

“They see us on game day and they want to try it. Our kids are so proud of us; that just helps boost us up. Each one of these women make you want to come back and be around them, not only are we learning football, we are picking each other up. We are a sisterhood,” said Gallo.

Tulalip tribal member Veronica Iukes #20 if known as the "Wreckingball" for her hard hitting style. Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. Montreuil — Tulalip tribal member Veronica Iukes #20 if known as the “Wreckingball” for her hard hitting style.
Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. Montreuil

This sisterhood is what drew Tulalip tribal member Veronica Iukes, known as “Wreckingball” on the field, who is playing her first season as a Powderpuff.

“I lost my sister almost two years ago and have had a hard time adapting. I feel like I gained 20 more sisters being on this team. We have created a bond. When one of us is having an off day, everyone is there to pick one another up. They are the strongest mammas I know who will go above and beyond for their kids,” said Iukes, who has two daughters who cheer for MYFL and a son who plays football and encouraged her to start playing this year.

Also a newcomer to this year’s season is Tulalip tribal member Yvonne Williams whose son has played with MYFL for the past six years. Although interested in joining she was unable to find the time until now.

“When suiting up with full gear it’s game time, whether we are in a game or getting in a good practice. We get a glimpse of what our kids do on the field. The real MVPs are these amazing kids,” said Williams.

“These women are doing what mom’s do best, working hard for their kids. I know some younger girls that can’t wait to play for our team,” continued Williams, who hopes her daughter will join her on the field some day.

While the idea of women playing football is still a new concept it has gained popularity as women athletes challenge stereotypes.

“We break the stereotype just by looking at us,” said Hernandez. “We are all different ages and sizes in full gear. We are more than just a bunch of moms. This is a sisterhood. We all want to see each other do our best so it’s a constant stream of encouragement, positivity and helping each other get stronger and better. It’s really quite amazing.”

“I would strongly recommend and encourage all mother, aunts, sisters and guardians of children who participate in MYFL or Marysville Junior Cheer Association to play,” said Clarissa Young-Weiser who played with the team last year. “You have a better understanding of the sport and what your child has to go through when playing. There is no other intensity like football.” An injury this season is preventing Young-Weiser from playing this year. She hopes to return the following season.

Marysville Powderpuff team plays their first game on June 26 at 7 p.m. at the Quil Ceda Stadium at Marysville-Pilchuck High School. You can check out their Facebook page at Marysville Powderpuff Football for more information on tickets and team updates.

Brandi N. Montreuil: 360-913-5402; bmontreuil@tulalipnews.com

Yvonne WilliamsPhoto courtesy of Yvonne Williams — Yvonne Williams
Photo courtesy of Yvonne Williams

Tulalip tribal member Yvonne Williams #58 gets ready to perform a play during a scrimmage game against Arlington Eagle Mommas on October 13, 2015. Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. Montreuil — Tulalip tribal member Yvonne Williams #58 gets ready to perform a play during a scrimmage game against Arlington Eagle Mamas on October 13, 2015.
Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. Montreuil

Tulalip tribal member Mytyl Hernandez known for her speed is in her second season with the Marysville Powderpuff Football Team. Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. Montreuil — Tulalip tribal member Mytyl Hernandez known for her speed is in her second season with the Marysville Powderpuff Football Team.
Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. Montreuil

Marysville Powderpuff Football team performs practice drills before their upcoming game against the Lakewood Cougar Moms on June 26, 2015. Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. Montreuil — Marysville Powderpuff Football team performs practice drills before their upcoming game against the Lakewood Cougar Moms on June 26, 2015.
Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. Montreuil

Marysville Powderpuff Football team performs practice drills. Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. Montreuil — Marysville Powderpuff Football team performs practice drills.
Photo/ Tulalip News, Brandi N. Montreuil

Mytyl HernandezCourtesy of Mytyl Hernandez — Mytyl Hernandez
Courtesy of Mytyl Hernandez

Maine American Indians, fishing for millennia, regroup as latest effort for state pact fades

By Patrick Whittle, Associated Press

BANGOR, Maine (AP) — Marie Harnois stands on the banks of the Penobscot River at dusk, swirling a dip net under the water, fishing for eels — something her ancestors in the Passamaquoddy tribe have done for thousands of years.

Fishing has been a way of life for Maine’s American Indians since time immemorial — “Passamaquoddy” is derived from a word that means “the people who spear pollock” — and Harnois thinks it’s past time the state government’s regulators came to the table to share management of fisheries with the tribes.

“I think the tribe should be able to set their standards however they want,” she said, alongside sisters Fawn and Eva, as she emptied wriggling baby eels into a bucket. “They’re perfectly capable of managing resources.”

Like Harnois, members of Maine’s four federally recognized American Indian tribes are regrouping just as a tribal effort to forge a fishery management pact with state regulators is faltering. The tribes proposed an ambitious bill that called for regulators and tribes to craft “memorandums of agreement” about managing marine resources.

The bill, which stemmed from recent squabbles the tribes have had with regulators about quotas and gear used in the lucrative baby eel fishery, was soundly rejected by a key state legislative committee in May, and it appears unlikely to pass if it reaches the full Legislature.

But former Passamaquoddy tribe legislative Representative Matthew Dana, who sponsored the bill and withdrew from his seat in protest last week, said he is hopeful the tribe and state can still reach agreement without passing a law. The tribes feel as though the state is preventing them from beginning an era of cooperation with a government regulatory structure with which they have frequently been at loggerheads, he said.

“I thought this was going to go somewhere, and obviously it did not,” Dana said. “We’re trying to keep the lines of communication open and hopefully meet before the start of the season next year.”

There are about 8,000 Maine residents of Native American descent, about 2,500 of whom are Passamaquoddies. The other recognized tribes are the Penobscot Nation, Aroostook band of Micmacs and the Houlton band of Maliseet Indians. They are descendants of the Algonquian-speaking Wabanaki peoples who lived in Maine before the time of the earliest European settlements. The tribes have harvested everything from lobsters to porpoises from Maine’s waters over the centuries.

In that time, their methods have changed. Oral traditions say Penobscots would fish for eels by poisoning the water with berries and plants. Today the tribes fish mostly with modern gear. The importance of fishing to the tribes’ culture, however, has never wavered, Dana said.

“We know the importance of maintaining the balance of nature and the natural systems,” he said in a presentation to a legislative committee earlier this year. “We take only what we need.”

Tribal-state relations have a long and frequently difficult history in states around the country, particularly in managing resources, but there have been recent breakthroughs. In Washington, Gov. Jay Inslee this month signed a bill into law that creates a method for tribes to enter into pacts with the government to sell marijuana.

Maine Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher is “open and committed to dialogue with the tribes,” a spokesman said. Keliher opposed the tribes’ plan for shared management of fisheries, and he and his department have sparred with Passamaquoddies in recent years.

Keliher criticized Passamaquoddy leadership last month about the tribe’s use of fyke nets to fish for baby eels. The eels, also called elvers, are a moneymaking species that is highly prized in Asian markets, sometimes selling for $2,000 per pound, and are subject to strict quotas. Both tribal and nontribal members fish for them in the state’s rivers and streams. Keliher said the tribe’s gear could cause the state to exceed the quota, but Passamaquoddy leaders have said the tribe plans to continue using the nets.

The Penobscot Nation and Passamaquoddy Tribe have also said recent actions by Gov. Paul LePage, such as the withdrawal of an executive order that sought to promote cooperation between the state and the tribes, have damaged relations. The two tribes and the Aroostook Band of Micmacs said in a joint document on Wednesday that they are no longer recognizing the authority of state officials, lawmakers and courts to interfere with their “self-governing rights.”

And a year ago, the tribe resisted the state’s effort to enforce quotas on individual tribal elver fishermen. The Passamaquoddies believe natural resources belong to all tribal members and not individuals, but they eventually agreed to the quotas.

Back in Bangor, Fawn Pirruccello, one of Harnois’ sisters, was having better luck with her elver catch than she had expected. All three sisters, in fact, were doing well for the breezy, cool conditions of a May evening. While she said she’s not a big fan of the quotas, for now, state laws leave her little choice.

“Like anyone else, I don’t like them,” she said. “But there’s not much you can do.”

Miccosukee Indian School Receives Historic Flexibility to Meet Academic and Cultural Needs of Students

By DOI Media Release

WASHINGTON – U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Interior Secretary Sally Jewell announced today that the Miccosukee Indian School (MIS) has received flexibility from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), also known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), to use a different definition of Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) that meets their students’ unique academic and cultural needs. The Miccosukee Indian School in Florida is funded by the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Education (BIE).

As part of the Obama Administration’s Generation Indigenous (Gen-I) initiative to remove barriers to Native youth success, granting flexibility for the Miccosukee Indian School to define AYP specifically for their students is an important step in making the BIE work better to support individual tribal nations and Native youth. This is the first tribal school to be approved to use a definition of AYP that is different from the state in which it is located, and the flexibility is the first of its kind from the Department of Education.

“The plan that Miccosukee put forward will support culturally-relevant strategies designed to improve college and career readiness for Native children and youth,” said Secretary Duncan. “We believe that tribes must play a meaningful role in the education of native students. Tribal communities are in the best position to identify barriers and opportunities, and design effective, culturally-relevant strategies to improve outcomes for Native students.”

This flexibility builds on the work that MIS has already accomplished through its transition to higher standards and more rigorous assessments, and will allow MIS leaders to further their work to ensure students graduate high school college- and career-ready. MIS serves approximately 150 students in grades kindergarten through 12 and is the only school of the Miccosukee Indian Tribe.

“I applaud Chairman Billie and the Miccosukee Indian School for developing this innovative and culturally-relevant plan for guiding and measuring their students’ academic progress,” said Secretary Jewell. “This flexibility will help the Miccosukee Nation achieve their goal of maintaining a unique way of life, cultural customs and language by transmitting the essence of their heritage to their children. This not only advances Tribal self-determination but can also serve as a model for other tribes within the Bureau of Indian Education school system seeking to achieve the same goal for their students.”

The announcement was made during a ceremony at the Department of the Interior with Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Kevin Washburn, BIE Director Dr. Charles ‘Monty’ Roessel, Director of the White House Initiative on American Indian and Alaska Native Education William Mendoza, Chairman Colley Billie of the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, and MIS Principal Manuel Varela.

According to recent U.S. Department of Education statistics, the graduation rate for American Indian students has increased by more than four percentage points over two years, outpacing the growth for all students. The graduation rate for American Indian students increased from 65 percent in 2010-11 to 69.7 percent in 2012-13. Despite these gains, the graduation rate for American Indian students is lower than the national rate of 81 percent.

A 2014 White House Native Youth Report cites Bureau of Indian Education schools fare even worse, with a graduation rate of 53 percent in 2011-12. To address the critical educational needs of these students, the Obama Administration’s Blueprint for Reform, an initiative of the White House Council on Native American Affairs chaired by Secretary Jewell, is restructuring Interior’s BIE from a provider of education to a capacity-builder and education service-provider to tribes.

In addition to reforming the Bureau of Indian Education into a service-provider to tribal schools, the Obama Administration is supporting other efforts to improve educational opportunities for Native communities, through initiatives such as:

Generation Indigenous (Gen-I): focuses on improving the lives of Native youth by removing the barriers that stand between Native youth and opportunities to succeed.

Native Youth Community Projects: provides an estimated $4 million in grants from the Department of Education to help prepare Native American youth for success in college, careers and life as part of Gen-I.

National Tribal Youth Network: supports leadership development and provides peer support through an interactive online portal.

Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Completion Initiative Guidance: permits states to share FAFSA completion rates with tribes to help Native American students apply for college financial aid as part of President Obama’s FAFSA Completion Initiative.

Later today, Secretary Jewell will convene the sixth meeting of the White House Council on Native American Affairs (Council), formed by Executive Order of the President, to work more collaboratively and effectively with American Indian and Alaska Native leaders to help build and strengthen their communities. Obama Administration Cabinet Secretaries and other senior officials will continue discussions focused on several core objectives for the Council, such as reforming the Bureau of Indian Education, promoting sustainable tribal economic development, and supporting sustainable management of Native lands, environments and natural resources. The discussion will also include follow-up from additional areas of focus based on consultation with tribal leaders.