From Melissa Candelaria, Yazzie counsel and NMCLP Education Director
Thank you to everyone who supported House Bill 134, the Tribal Education Trust Fund. This proposal provided the State an opportunity to make a financial investment in tribal education sovereignty – the first in the nation! After receiving unanimous approval in the New Mexico House of Representatives and the Senate Finance Committee, Rep. Derrick Lente (D – Sandia Pueblo) made the difficult decision to remove the tribal education legislation from consideration by the Senate on the final day of the session.
Indigenous students deserve the highest quality education where they can remain connected to their culture, languages, and traditions. However, since the boarding school era, the education system has been used as a tool for forced assimilation against Native communities. A Tribal Education Trust Fund would have been a historic step toward equity and justice for all Native children and tribal communities in New Mexico. This kind of long-term investment would have meant the State could finally begin to address the lasting trauma perpetuated by public education policies on Indigenous communities for the past 150 years. Distributions from the Trust Fund would support community-based educational programming and services to meet the needs of our Native children.
The sponsor and tribal leaders met extensively to negotiate provisions to ensure House Bill 134 that was presented to the Senate reflected the sovereignty of tribal communities and addressed questions to the satisfaction of all parties involved.
The proposal was developed collaboratively with tribal leadership, which contributed to the bill’s unanimous support: from the Navajo Nation President and Council, the Pueblo Governors, the Jicarilla and Mescalero Apache Tribes, to school districts such as Central Consolidated, the New Mexico State Land Commissioner, the Yazzie plaintiff families, the Santa Fe New Mexican, the Catholic Bishops of New Mexico, and Transform Education NM, along with numerous other organizations. Indigenous students and educators spoke enthusiastically at committee hearings about the deep impact a Trust Education Trust Fund would have on their academic and personal lives.
Despite the overwhelming support and growing momentum, the sponsor’s decision to pull the bill came after learning about further changes slated to be proposed in the Senate that would have compromised the agreements made during the most recent negotiations. The last-minute changes would have provided no opportunity for tribal leadership to respond and would have shut them out of the decision-making process.
Since well before the 2018 Yazzie/Martinez court ruling, education advocates have regularly engaged with Tribal communities to understand their lived educational experiences and solicit solutions and incorporate their ideas and input into legislative proposals. At a 2018 Convocation, all the sovereign Indian Nations, Tribes, and Pueblos stood united in their response to the court case. This collective tribal response later became known as the Tribal Remedy Framework (TRF), endorsed by all Nations, Tribes, and Pueblos. Tribes have always been in strong support of the Yazzie/Martinez lawsuit and ruling and vehemently opposed Governor Lujan Grisham’s motion to dismiss the Yazzie/Martinez case.
Since the ruling, annual tribal education convenings have brought together tribal leaders, educators, and education administrators to refine and update the TRF proposals, most recently in September 2023. House Bill 134 was the most bold, forward thinking idea that came out of the convenings. These ongoing convenings led to an impressive alliance, continuing well into the 2024 legislative session, and in the coming weeks, months, and years –the work is not over and the movement is only growing stronger!
While we are disappointed and heartbroken at this year’s unexpected outcome, we are also fiercely inspired by the outpouring of support, the deep partnerships we are forging through this work and everything we’ve learned from our communities. Stay connected and join this movement for educational equity and justice by subscribing to the Tribal Education Alliance email list. You will receive regular updates about the advocacy and periodic invites to opportunities to engage in the work. Please encourage others who support tribal education sovereignty to subscribe as well!
We sincerely appreciate your support and look forward to continuing our work together to achieve a shared vision where our Native students feel confident in who they are and feel belonging in classrooms and their communities.
