The Omaha Tribe of Nebraska released a statement on Tuesday expressing their concerns about the changes to the federal Department of Education.
Changes to the Department of Education include the transfer of programs serving Tribal Nations to the Department of Interior. Programs that are impacted include Native Language programs, Title VI, and tribal college-related programs.
The tribe’s statement said the dissolution of the DOE creates immediate risk for tribal students, families, educators, and schools. A loss of funding could also negatively impact student success, and tribal officials worry culturally based curriculum could be eroded.
According to the longstanding Tribal Consultation policy, consultation with tribal nations is required before the government can make changes to programs within the DOE that impact one or more tribal nations. The Omaha Tribe said no such consultation took place in this case, and that undercuts tribal sovereignty.
“Given the 1854 Omaha Treaty, which predates the state of Nebraska and affirms the federal trust responsibility to protect the welfare and education of the Omaha people, this failure to consult is unacceptable; federal actions impacting tribal children must honor binding treaty commitments,” the tribe said in the statement.
