Niea President Cindy La Marr On the State of Indian Education

Native Voice, The › August 03, 2009

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Summary

I had requested a hearing on "No Child Left Behind" for NIEA, and Senator Campbell said, "What are your recommendations? Come up with some tribal provisions." And that's good. You can't just sit back and complain. Programs sometimes waste money but other programs are highly successful and have good students who will graduate and go on to college or go on to successful lives as an Indian person. What we hope to do this coming year is come up with some tribal provisions to "No Child Left Behind."

My family has been involved in tribal government since I was a little kid and I know they talk the rhetoric of education being a priority, but once the election happens it disappears. It goes to the bottom of the list. So we have to make sure, individually, that we speak up. That we educate our tribal leaders...that we educate our district representatives, school board and even our teachers at the local level. My grandson - he's in fourth grade - he's going through California Indian history and his teacher knows he has got to watch his Indian "p's and q's" and make sure that what he's teaching in school is accurate, otherwise, Grandma's gonna be there!

So it starts at that local level, asking your children and grandchildren, "What did you learn in school today?...Did you learn about Indians?" We even had, right before the convention, a session on advocating on behalf of the Indian child. We brought parents in who asked what they should do. And that's where it starts. It starts at the local level and goes on up to the national level, because we can't make change without those people behind us. We have to represent our membership in the correct way. We have to make sure that we know their concerns. It can't just be complaints; it has to be..."What can we do to make a positive change?" Just like Chairman (of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs) Campbell said, "What do you recommend? Where are your tribal leaders? What level is adequate and show me why? How do you arrive at that figure?"

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Extract

Niea President Cindy La Marr On the State of Indian Education

Native Voice: Tell me about your history as an educator and your presidency of NIEA.

Cindy La Marr: Well, I actually went to school to become a social worker. I moved from a small rural town in northern California to Sacramento, and I didn't know anyone...I was a single parent but I just knew that I didn't want to stay on the reservation, that there really wasn't much-hope for people at that time. I know things have improved since then, but at that point," I knew that I wanted to go on to get a graduate degree. I'm the yo...

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