NCAI Stands Up for Boarding School Alumni

The National Congress of American Indians
Resolution #PDX-11-016

TITLE: Support the Return of Former Attendance Documented “Non-federal” Boarding School Tribes to Admission at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas

WHEREAS, we, the members of the National Congress of American Indians of the United States, invoking the divine blessing of the Creator upon our efforts and purposes, in order to preserve for ourselves and our descendants the inherent sovereign rights of our Indian nations, rights secured under Indian treaties and agreements with the United States, and all other rights and benefits to which we are entitled under the laws and Constitution of the United States, to enlighten the public toward a better understanding of the Indian people, to preserve Indian cultural values, and otherwise promote the health, safety and welfare of the Indian people, do hereby establish and submit the following resolution; and

WHEREAS, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) was established in 1944 and is the oldest and largest national organization of American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments; and

WHEREAS, there currently exist twenty “non-federally recognized” tribes in the United States which had their citizens, over several generations, attended Indian boarding schools such as Haskell, Chilocco, Bacone, Carlisle, Choctaw Central, Cherokee, and Hampton; and

WHEREAS, citizens of these same tribes, even alumni seeking to enroll in additional classes, are no longer allowed admittance to Haskell Indian Nations University; and

WHEREAS, their removal from their own Alma-mater is an issue of historical and cultural revisionism on the part of the Bureau of Indian Affairs; and

WHEREAS, the facts clearly demonstrate attendance of these “non-federally recognized” tribes for over one hundred yeas at boarding schools administered and funded by the OIA/BIA; and

WHEREAS, the NCAI is tasked with protecting the rights and legacies of all historic tribal communities; and

WHEREAS, the NCAI realizes that the attempt to undermine the histories of over 700 former “non-federally recognized” tribal citizens through disallowing access to Haskell for themselves and their descendants is unethical. 

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the NCAI supports the return of these twenty “non-federally recognized” attendance documented boarding school tribes to their rightful place within the Haskell admissions process on equal standing with members of federally recognized tribes, contingent upon space available after federally recognized students have been served; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this resolution shall be the policy of NCAI until it is withdrawn or modified by subsequent resolution. 

CERTIFICATION

The foregoing resolution was adopted by the General Assembly at the 2011 Annual Session of the National Congress of American Indians, held at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon on October 30-November 4, 2011, with a quorum present.

Signed: Jefferson Keel  NCAI President
Attest: Edward K. Thomas  Recording Secretary



This same organization which represents hundreds of federally recognized tribes and only a small number of “non-federal” tribes unanimously approved the resolution, which was drafted and submitted by Pastor John Norwood (Nanticoke/Lenape; Co-Chairman NCAI Federal Recognition Committee).


This was a significant step towards acknowledging the legacies of these communities in Indian Country in an ethical manner.  This was a decision reached by the “federal” majority in assistance to the “non-federal” minority.  Rarely in this day and age do such things occur.  The importance of NCAI and the significance of decisions reached within this organization are well expressed in a resolution printed in the November 2011 edition of the Chickasaw Times, which is the tribal newspaper of arguably one of the nation’s most economically and politically powerful American Indian tribes.

General Resolution Number 29-008

Application for Membership, National Congress of American Indians

Explanation: This resolution approves the Chickasaw Nation’s application for membership in the National Congress of American Indians… The NCAI has been instrumental in supporting issues of importance to Native Americans.  As an independent group, NCAI is representative of the largest concentration of Native Americans and is often called upon by Congress to provide information and testimony on important Indian subjects. The Chickasaw Nation has been a member in good standing in NCAI since the early 1980s…  (unanimous vote of approval from all Chickasaw Legislators)

The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma passed a similar resolution prior to the Annual Convention in order to continue their association with NCAI.  In an article concerning NCAI written by the staff of the Cherokee Phoenix on November 15, 2011, CNO Vice Chief Joe Crittenden remarked, “The National Congress of American Indians has worked tirelessly over the past fifty years to protect tribal treaty and sovereign rights.”  Staff writers went on to remark the following in the same article.  “Founded in 1944 in response to federal termination legislation, the NCAI is the country’s largest Native American government organization. It monitors public Indian policy and works to preserve tribal treaty rights.”

This NCAI resolution followed the course begun by former Bureau of Indian Education Deputy Director and Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma citizen Stephanie Birdwell who made mention in a January 6, 2009 official BIE letter of “the rich history that the respective “non-federally” recognized tribal communities have played in the Haskell legacy.”

It is now time for new Haskell President and Chickasaw Nation citizen Chris Redman to work in concert with the BIE and their previous statement, by respecting the stance of Haskell and other Indian boarding school alumni, the NCAI, its hundreds of federal tribal partners, and the signer of the resolution NCAI President and Chickasaw Nation Lieutenant Governor Jefferson Keel.  It is time to acknowledge the entire history of the boarding school experience and those who experienced it. It is time to bring everyone home.