Education by Tracey Weitzel

As frustrating as it is, Minnesota has one of the worst graduation rates of Native Americans, which was most recently reported at only 42.8 percent. Native American students show below grade level performance and a high absentee rate throughout the entire state. Native American education has always had many negative parts, ever since the 1800’s when Europeans tried to “civilize” Native Americans through education.
In the 19th century, Christian missionaries who tried to convert Native Americans also offered education. Boarding schools were seen as the most effective way to “civilize the savages.” Young children were taken from their homes and put into these boarding schools which ran by strict rules. The goal was to eliminate the Native American culture within them and replace it with a white one. These boarding schools were replaced by day schools in the 1920’s after the Meriam Report of 1928 stated that the boarding schools lacked funding and were neglectful. As early as 1899, the federal government started paying for Native American students to attend Minnesota’s public schools. A contract between the state and the BIA in 1934 made Native education a full state responsibility.
Today the majority of Native students attend public school in Minnesota. In schools grades K-12, Native Americans make up about two percent of enrollment. 65 percent of Native students qualify for free or reduced lunches and 20 percent are in special education. Four of the sates tribes however, operate their own K-12 schools on their reservations, and they receive funding from the BIA. Many Native Americans believe that the reason their students do so poorly in public school is because it is still geared towards educating white students. Many parents fear that the public school system will take the heritage out of the students.
Native American education has come a long way since the 19th century, but there are still many problems. Native students are not performing as well as their white peers and there are many factors that contribute to that fact. There are however things that are being done to help Native American students, such as tribal schools and colleges. Although the graduation rate of Native American students is terribly low, it is rising and hopefully it will continue to do so.