Re: Fw: Study Touts Benefits of Universal PreschoolMark;

The school you refer to is not operated by the Federal Government, it is a 638 school, which is funded under a contract, similar to contract prisons.

As for unemployment, that is a different issue. In the west the society structure was nomadic, following the buffalo because it provided for their daily needs. Today the buffalo is Wal-Mart, McDonalds, etc... just as before, if you failed to move when the herd moved you starved. Today if the jobs are not on the reservation, you go to where the jobs are. Nothing has changed, other than the description of what a buffalo looks like.

Charles

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Re: Fw: Study Touts Benefits of Universal PreschoolMark;

Leaving a culture or anything else is not based on location, it is a personal decision.  Most Indians do not live on reservations, and this has been true for over a century.  This is not insignificant because the number of Indians who do not enroll their children, or who disenroll has also increased and this is attributed to problems with reservations and reservation based IRA governments (Indian Reorganization Act).  Last year we processed one case for enrollment, and the paperwork for 17 disenrollments, and there are a couple of good reasons to not enroll, the leading reason is the Major Crimes Act and the ICWA. 

In my own family, on my father's side, all of my cousins are eligible to enroll in a Federally recognized tribe because we have several ancestors on the Dawes Roll (only one is needed).  However less than 1/4 of my cousins aunts and uncles have enrolled or will enroll.  Of my children, one will enroll and two will not.  I know my culture, traditions and our stories, and my children know the same, that is all that is important to me.  We go home a couple of times a year for ceremonies, and the place we go is not on a reservation, it is from where we once lived (which is not in Oklahoma). 

Western Indians hunted buffalo and gathered other foods as a way of providing for their needs, Eastern Indians hunted smaller game and farmed, Indians by the coasts fished, it is all hunting and gathering.  Today, the herds are gone, we now have and own specifically identified pieces of land, open land is gone, and this is true, even on reservations. 

Hunting and gathering was nothing more than a job, it is no different from working for a company, or going into business in any field or venture.  If you look at many of the old names you will find names which include food or business related activities (i.e. Corntassle, Pumpkinseed, Squashgather, etc...).  A job is a way to live, nothing more or less.

Charles

Re: Federal funding of schoolsBob;

Less than 1/5 of all schools on reservations are operated by the Federal Government (BIA).  Most schools on reservations are 638 contract schools, which are operated on the same principals as contract prisons, contract public safety, etc...

Charles

Sharon;

As you noted people have to make a choice, it is the old dilemma between security and taking risks to better ones self. I have issues with people who blame their state in life on others if they are not willing to take chances to make a better life for their family and themselves. 

I am not sure when things changed, but when I was a kid (I am 48) I do not recall a single school bond issue failing, now they fail with regularity causing funding on the local level to not keep up with inflation, this is also a risk. The risk is either we fund education properly or we risk falling behind.  I am reviewing the core data of our most recent study, the goal is to identify common factors among offenders of Native American descent, so far the leading link is education, and the overall majority attended BIA school which are completely funded and operated by the Federal Government.  I am not sure what the answer is., or if there is an answer. 

Charles

Re: Fw: Study Touts Benefits of Universal PreschoolMark;

I was recently asked to write an article about Head Start and the Administration for Children and Families starting with the initial studies in 1964.  Several things bother me, first of which is the popular notion Head Start was meant to educate targeted groups of children.  The general public understood the goal was to increase the capabilities of children to learn, thereby benefiting society by eliminating the cycle of poverty/public assistance dependency and reducing crime which often victimizes minority communities.

In the past almost 40 years, Head Start has served as a government funded baby sitter and has proven a highly successful vehicle for contract and grant fraud to the degree that the Office of the Inspector General and various US Attorneys rarely refer cases in which the fraud involves more than $500,000.00 per participant (in the crime). I was told the reason is "because the fraud is so rampant we do not have the ability to prosecute minor violations or violations in which the chance of recovery is minimal or non existent."  This quote was in reference to $5,100,000.00 missing from one of the Head Start programs, the end result, no prosecution.

From this I am not only disappointed with Head Start, but I now strongly question the concept of the Federal Government being in charge of K-12 education.  My opinion is also based on the dismal failure of the approximately 1200 Federally controlled K-12 schools, and the approximately 4,000 Federal 638 contract schools.

Charles Yow

Re: Fw: Study Touts Benefits of Universal PreschoolMark;

The Federal Government currently operates approximately 1200 K-12 schools on Indian reservations, the schools are among the worst in test scores, and the worst in drop out rates.  When I think about Federal control of education, I am concerned because if the Feds can not successfully operate a small number of schools, imagine the disaster if K-12 schools were Federalized.