National Indian Education Association

Student Associations

Washington, D.C., Washington, D.C., United States

About National Indian Education Association

Established On : 1969

Greetings NIEA Members and Advocates. On behalf of the National Indian Education Association, I welcome you to the NIEA website. Whether you are a student, parent, educator or elder,once you view these first few pages, you will come to know and recognize the essence of who we are and why our unique organization has been in existence since 1970.

From advocating on key policy issues to being on the verge of groundbreaking research on Native education, NIEA continues to lead the way in championing Native education. We believe that by building strong partnerships with Tribal and Native Communities, as well as creating alliances with partners who share a common vision, such as the Campaign for High School Equity, we can effectively impact and improve the opportunities provided to our students and families.Check out NIEA.org, keep connected to us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, and join NIEA today. Thank you for all you do for our American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian children. March 1969: National Conference of Indian Teachers, Warm Springs Indian Reservation, OR

Sparlin Norwood, Cherokee, a teacher at Central Junior High School in Bartlesville, OK, organized a National Conference of Indian teachers at the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in Oregon, as part of his NEA position.
1969: National Conference on Indian Education, Minneapolis, MN.Rosemary Christensen organized the National Conference on Indian Education as part of her work at the Midwest Regional Educational Laboratory (UMREL) in Minneapolis, MN. Many educators and administrators from the greater Minneapolis area assisted with the planning committee.March 1970: Convocation of American Scholars, Princeton University, NJJeannette Henry Costo and Rupert Costo organized the first Convocation of American Indian Scholars with funding from the Ford Foundation . The purpose: to bring together Indian teachers and administrators who were actively involved in the education of Native students in elementary, secondary schools, and university programs. The Costos invited Sparlin Norwood, William Demmert and Rosemary Christensen to speak at this conference. The leading organizers of this convocation decided to create a group that served the interests and needs of Native students and educators: The National Indian Education Association (NIEA). NIEA’s founding board members were Sparlin Norwood, Hershal (Ace) Shamant, Marigold Linton, Rosemary Christensen, John Winchester, Liz Whiteman, Dillon Platero, and William Demmert and Ned Hatathli. There were other participants that participated as observers and discussants including George Scott, Carl Downing, Sam Billison, Lee Antell and several others.August 21, 1970: Incorporation of NIEA, Minneapolis, MN .The National Indian Education Association (NIEA) was incorporated on August 21, 1970 (File number 1646) in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The original signatures of the incorporation papers were of Rosemary Christensen, Elgie Raymond and Will Antell. Rosemary Christensen and Gordon J. Amundson filed papers for incorporation.