Montana
Project:
American Indians
in Education

HISTORY

American Indians are the largest minority group in the state of Montana. Nationally, as well as in Montana, American Indians experience under-representation and under-achievement throughout the education system. The American Indians in the state of Montana represent 5 percent of the total population; they are very young with a median age of 17.4 to 21.1 years reported in 1980 on Indian Reservations in Montana! It is estimated that at least one-third of all of the schools in Montana have American Indian children enrolled. Furthermore, it is estimated that American Indians make up nearly 8 percent of the K-12 student body and yet, in 1986-87, only 1.6 percent of all baccalaureate degrees were awarded to American Indians in Montana!

Where do these students leave the education pipeline? The state of Montana does not know. Our information is piecemeal and sporadic, if it exists at all. We do not have a comprehensive data base nor reporting system which would tell us the number and achievement levels of K-12 American Indian students and we have only limited data at the postsecondary level. This lack of information makes it impossible to document the extent, characteristics, or causes of the educational disparities American Indian students experience.

The Montana "Tracks" Project: American Indians in Education was initiated by the Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education of the Montana University System and strongly supported by the Superintendent of the Office of Public Instruction. The Montana "Tracks" Project is responsible for:

The goal of the project is to increase the number of American Indian students who graduate with baccalaureate degrees.

What does this mean to the schools of Montana?

Schools will be asked to provide data about the ethnic make-up of the student body. The state of Montana has developed a definition of American Indian for data collection purposes. Schools will also be asked to provide graduation data, dropout data, participation data and achievement data about students. Local follow-up committees will be coordinating with the schools in their efforts to locate students who have transferred or dropped out of the system.

The definition of American Indian for data collection purposes is: American Indian or Alaskan Native - Indian means any individual who

  1. is a member of a tribe, band or other organized group of Indians (as defined by the Indian tribe, band, or other organized group), including those tribes, bands or groups terminated since 1940, and those recognized by the state in which they reside, or who is a descendent, in the first or second degree, * of such member, or

  2. is considered by the Secretary of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, or Indian Health Service to be an Indian for any purpose, or

  3. is an Eskimo or Aleut or other Alaskan Native.

Again, essential information is critical in order to know what happens to American Indian students in the education pipeline so that their needs can be addressed. It will take everyone's concern, cooperation and effort in order for the project goal to be achieved.

Report to the Montana Legislature, April 1993