Volume 1 Number 3
May 1962

Nelson Lose

Governor, Gila River Pima-Maricopa Tribes

(An address delivered before the Second Annual Indian Education

Conference at Arizona State University, Tempe, March 24, 1961)

We hear and read much discussion about our schools throughout the country, which indicates we are interested in making them better. People do not make improvement in a situation unless they become dissatisfied with it. So, if you were to ask Indian people if they were satisfied with the education their tribe is receiving, you would perhaps get many different answers.

I doubt that any of our Indian people could say they are satisfied with the education their tribe is now receiving when information from the 1950 census showed that Indians 25 years of age and older, living on Indian reservations, had on an average of between five and six years of schooling, while the average number of years of schooling for the same age group in the general population was in excess of ten years. The average for Pimas of the same age group was a little above seven years. We might say that was in 1950, but studies made a year or two ago indicate we are not closing this gap. Probably less than 40% of Indian youth who enter high school today stay to graduate, while nearly 60% of all American youth now graduate from high school.

It is usually acknowledged that the primary responsibility for keeping youth in school belongs to their parents. Studies and reports show that a higher proportion of students drop out of school in rural communities than in cities, and in communities of a low social and economic level than in more prosperous areas. Also, the rate of drop-outs is related directly to family income, education of parents, and the standing of the family in the community Since most Indian youth are from rural and often isolated areas, and their families often have inadequate income, and parents are undereducated, the problem becomes much greater for Indians. I know Indian people have an awakening interest in education, and conferences of this type are helping to develop and expand this interest. What can be done to improve these conditions and whose responsibility is it? I believe it is a responsibility involving many; namely, The State, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, tribal governments, community and parents, the school, the church and the students themselves.

We place the State first because in this country education has been thought of as a State responsibility. We find in our own Arizona State Constitution this wording, "Provision shall be made by law for the establishment and maintenance of a system of public schools which shall be open to all children of the State." We are aware that the State of Arizona has not yet fully accepted this responsibility. The establishment of a policy by our State Government whereby this responsibility will be recognized and discharged will do much to strengthen and stabilize educational opportunity for Indians, and will enable us to do better planning at the local level. We find school districts willing to accept Federal funds to build classrooms for Indian students, but unwilling to take into their districts reservation areas where these students live, without which Indians have no guarantee of continued use of such classrooms. On the Pima reservation we cannot go much further toward public schools for our children until some of these questions are settled. Approximately 40% of the Indian students under the Pima jurisdiction are now in public schools.

We also look to the Bureau of Indian Affairs to see that our people have adequate educational opportunity and we do not want them to leave us until this opportunity is provided. We shall continue to look to them for help in solution of the foregoing problems and the operation of schools to meet our needs until such time as our people and the public schools are ready for a complete withdrawal of the Bureau. To force people into situations they are not ready for, and in which they are not wanted, will only intensify problems.

Tribal governments must take the lead in informing tribal members of the importance of education, and when possible and necessary give financial assistance. They must also work to raise the economic level of the Indian people, because our social, economic, and educational problems are too inter-related to be solved one at a time. We must advance on all fronts at the same time.

The community must develop a tradition of school attendance and achievement and foster it through parent-teacher groups, community clubs, organizations, churches, etc. Everyone must feel that education is important. Parents must be made to realize the importance of starting children to school at the proper age and seeing that they attend regularly. They must also realize that their responsibility does not end with placing and keeping a child in school. There is much for parents to do in order that their children may get the most from their school experience. Perhaps this is a good field for adult education projects.

Schools also have a great responsibility for keeping students in school. Much can be done in this area by providing programs that are interesting and profitable to children with all levels of abilities. Many of our Indian students, as well as other groups, do not perform at the level of high achievement in programs that are geared mainly for non-Indians and preparation for college; but they do have ability and interest that would enable them to acquire vocational skills. Not having this opportunity, they drop out of school. So we have another individual moving into society without a saleable skill, who helps to increase this over-crowded category of unskilled workers in which job opportunities continue to decrease.

Students themselves must overcome discouragement and prepare themselves for the long years ahead. All of this requires better counseling and guidance. We think we see much improvement in this respect in those schools that have full time counselors for Indian students. This service should be expanded and improved.

These questions often arise:

There is no one answer to these questions for all groups of children, even among our own tribe. We must consider to which schools are you referring and which children you include. We do not think that a school is necessarily good or bad just because it is Bureau or public. We think its value depends on how well it meets the needs of students. On this basis public schools have more to offer some students, while on the other hand Bureau schools are better prepared to meet the needs of other students. This is the reason we insist that all changes in school situations come gradually and with close cooperation with the Indian people involved.

The ideal situation would be for each child to have a good home and a school near it where he could remain at home; however, there are many conditions that make it necessary for boarding schools to be maintained, and this will be true for many years to come. We have no boarding schools on the Pima reservation, but we make use of off-reservation boarding schools for students with special social and educational needs that cannot be met locally.

Local control of schools is desirable. Indians must take an active part in the support and control of schools. It is heartening to see them serve on school boards. I am sure where Indians show a willingness to serve and demonstrate the ability to make a contribution they will find themselves in places of leadership. It is on this basis that school board members should be selected. No one should be selected to school board membership or any other position just because he is a member of a particular race. One does not have to be a board member to make worthwhile contributions to our education programs.

Perhaps one of the greatest needs of Indian people is a feeling of pride in the many contributions Indians have made to our American society. The need is just as great for non-Indians. There should be a place in our school programs for the teaching of such understandings. Too often exposure to a new culture his left the Indian with a feeling that all the old is bad. It has also left him unconvinced that the new is good; therefore, he operates without a strong value system. Native Indian Culture had much that was good and certainly that part should be retained.

We must recognize, accept and defend the principle that man is a human being entitled to the respect he earns. If we can understand this fact in the sense that it is a common denominator, then the challenge is to develop the means of a deeper understanding among all groups. When this is reached, we can, out of the richness of all our different cultures, develop other common denominators in other fields.

How we handle ourselves in the dynamic situation of today will test the validity and permanence of our position in world leadership as the greatest nation on earth. It will profit us little to have peace with other nations when we do not have pence among ourselves. This peace from within grows out of real friendship among all groups of people.

The new dynamics of thought and feeling can enable us to undertake a more peaceful life. We must turn our back on all prejudices. Education, knowledge, wisdom and the hand of friendship can bridge the chasm and we can find a common ground of understanding in all those activities which make up our daily lives.

I would like to say to our Indian youth today that you are human beings, each with an individual personality. You are citizens of the United States and you are the descendants of a distinguished heritage of which you can be proud.

If you think of yourselves in a different light, then you will have difficulty in carrying out your main affairs in life.

You have all the factors and elements out of which a creative personality can be made. You have heredity, for which you are not responsible. You have environment, which you cannot control. You have personal response, for which you alone are responsible.

It is not alone what happens to you, but the way you take it that will determine your mastery of difficulties which in turn is life itself. In distressing situations you must look inward to your own attitudes and resources. How you handle yourselves, not the situation, will make the difference.

Religion is the basis of hope and a source of power in trying to make the most of what nature gave you and become what you ought to be. You who are undertaking the task are on the right road to creation's meaning. You are accepting the central trust of life. If nothing else, please remember:

"The Lord will not ask thy race

Nor will He ask thy birth,

Alone, He will ask of you

What have you done on earth?"