The Need for a Comprehensive Native American Children's Agenda- Not a New Idea

Robert Cooks letter the other day which I posted on this blog caused me to remember the the need to focus on children and youth as a center point of all our policy--When I was president of the National Indian Education Association (NIEA) I conceived and advocated for the development of a Comprehensive Native American Children's Agenda. The idea of responding to the human needs of American Indians as an aspect of improving educational status and performance goes back at least as far as the Senate Sub-Committee on Indian Education in 1969 calling for the establishment of a Select Committee on the Human Needs of American Indians noting the significant testimony the Subcommittee had received regarding the high rates of suicide and alcoholism among Indian youth. At the time that I was working as director of the Office of Indian Education and working on drafting a possible Executive Order on American Indian Alaska Native Education (1997-1998) for consideration by President Clinton Dr. Michael H. Trujillo, Director of the Indian Health Service promoted an Executive Order and broad based imitative for American Indian children and youth. It was decided to focus on the Indian education Executive Order at the time.
When I promoted the idea of a comprehensive Native Children's agenda outside of recognizing the need to focus on the well being of Native American children as important because of it significance as a central focus in all we do, it was remembering that we were to always get back to Dr. Jurjillo's idea.

Since I left the NIEA board a broad partnership of NCAI NIEA and other Indian organizations have been formed. Below is the original concept of the Native American Children's Agenda as I developed it in 2005


Concept: Comprehensive Native American Children’s Agenda

Goal: Develop a National Comprehensive Agenda focused on meeting the needs of Native American Children

Purpose: Significantly improve the social, emotional, mental and physical health of Native American children and improve the learning capability and potential of Native American Children by significantly reducing the negative impact and influence of violence, alcohol and drug abuse, emotional mental health and physical health issues as experienced by Native American Children. Issues impacting the welfare of Native American children which are inextricably linked to one another include: Education, Healthcare, Housing, Transportation, Substance Abuse Prevention, Public Safety and the Environment (Clean Air, Clean Water).

Themes:

1. Improving the over well being of Native American children and youth with regard to their social emotional mental and physical health should be an important national priority in it own right given the current status and situation of Native children in the United States. It is also critical to improving the overall educational capacity and achievement of Native American children and youth in schools.

2. Everyone involved with Native American children must be collaboratively involved with each other to develop strategies and implement sound cultural appropriate approaches related to the development of Native children.

3. Educators and school communities are uniquely situated given their responsibility to provide educational services but also because of their daily contact with Native American students and relationships with parents and families to play a pivotal role working within tribal and Indian communities to assist in the development of local partnerships.

4. The well being of Native American children is a significant and central tribal sovereignty issue. Tribal governments have a primary concern for the well being of Native American children and youth in representing the needs of parents and families and have a central role in creating collaborations and culturally appropriate approaches that can insure the future for the tribe through the education and well being of its children.


Objectives:

Significantly improve the level of support for programs focused on the comprehensive needs of Native American children.

Provide opportunities for tribal governments and Indian communities to develop comprehensive intergovernmental strategies involving tribal, state and federal governmental to meet the needs of Native American children and youth.

Develop strong linkages between social services and health programs with schools serving Native American children.

Improve knowledge and understanding of the relationship of social, emotional, physical, health and well being with improved capacity to learn for Native American children.

Improve knowledge and understanding among all providers of services to Native American children of delivery approaches that involve Native American families and communities in culturally appropriate ways.

Improve Native American children’s understanding and involvement in living healthy lifestyles.

Create a partnership agreement with national organizations focused on meeting the needs of Native American children.

Seek the development of a White House Conference on Native American Children


Who should be involved to initiate planning and to form partnerships?

National Health and Welfare Organizations
National organizations focused on meeting the needs of Native American children. Examples include: the National Indian Child Welfare Association, National Indian Health Boards Association, National Indian Education Association, National Indian Justice Center, National Congress of American Indians, National Indian Woman’s Health Resource, National American Indian Housing, Boys and Girls Clubs, and Native Hawaiian organizations.

Educators
The National Indian Education Association would provide a central leadership role in pulling together other organizational involvement by articulating the strong relationship between health and well being with learning and capacity to learn, including National Indian School Boards Association, the American Indian Higher Education Consortium and other organizations representing the schools where Native students are enrolled.

Researchers
Research organizations focused on social and physical impact on learning. For example, The Center for Indian Education Arizona State University

Tribal Governments and Tribal Organizations
Specific tribal government representatives, The National Congress of American Indians, Alaska Native Organizations and Native Hawaiian Organizations

Government Agencies
The US Department of Education and Department of Interior and other agencies involved with Children and youth issues need to be involved to focus resources and collaboration with regard to providing comprehensive support to meeting the needs of Native American children within their communities.

Other
Foundations with agendas related to children
National Trust for excellence in American Indian Alaska native Education