Native American Students

Native American students are a unique subgroup of students within the United States education system. Because of the trust relationship between the federal government and Native American communities established by treaties in the 18th and 19th centuries, the U.S. government is required to provide formal schooling for Native American students. Currently, Native American students are served by Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) schools, a division of the Bureau of Indian Affairs; by tribally controlled schools on tribal reservation lands; and by state public schools systems. Despite the initial federal promise of formal schooling, this responsibility has been largely transferred to state public school systems, which currently serve 90 percent of Native American students. State systems vary in terms of the academic success of Native American ...