Indian Education Roundtables Announced

Native News Network Staff in Native Briefs. Discussion »

Begin January 20

Native Brief: WASHINGTON - On the day tribal leaders met in Washington for the Third Annual White House Tribal Nation's Conference, President Barack Obama issued Executive Order 13592 establishing the White House Initiative on American Indian and Alaska Native Education.

The mission of the Initiative is to help expand educational opportunities and improve educational outcomes for all American Indian and Alaska Native students, including opportunities to learn their Native languages, cultures, and histories and receive complete and competitive educations that prepare them for college, careers, and productive and satisfying lives.

Among other mandates, the Executive Order directs that "To facilitate a new partnership between the Department of Education and the Department of the Interior, to improve AI/AN education, the Executive Director shall work with the BIE Director and develop a Memorandum of Understanding between the two Departments that will take advantage of both Departments' expertise, resources, and facilities. The Memorandum of Understanding shall be completed within 120 days of the date of this order. Among other things, the Memorandum of Understanding shall address how the Departments will collaborate in carrying out the policy set out in section 1 of this order.

Accordingly, Secretary of Education Duncan and Secretary of Interior Salazar have organized these Tribal Leader Education Roundtables regarding the Initiative's strategic efforts to engage tribal and community leaders, Indian education stakeholders, and the public on the development of the Memorandum of Understanding and Tribal Leaders' Education Task Force. Additional roundtables may be scheduled and held at a later date.

Here is the list of roundtables that was released by the two Departments:

January 20

Rapid City, South Dakota

Best Western Ramkota Hotel
2111 North Lacrosse Street

January 23

Norman, Oklahoma

Embassy Suite Hotel
2501 Conference Drive

January 25

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Sheraton Uptown
2600 Louisiana Boulevard, Northeast

February 16

Seattle/Tacoma, Washington

To Be Announced

To register, please go to www.cvent.com

posted January 12, 2011 7:00 am est