Indigenous Education Now Coalition
Indigenous Education Now Coalition calls for the strengthening of Native American and Indigenous education in Los Angeles County.
Los Angeles County is home to the largest population of urban Indigenous peoples in the entire country. Thousands of American Indian/Alaska Native children and youth – including Tongva, Tataviam and Chumash youth, North American Tribal youth, and Indigenous youth from Mexico and Central America – are students within all of Los Angeles County school districts.
The stark failure of the educational system points to a systemic need for drastic reforms. Indigenous Education Now has launched a campaign to hold the Los Angeles Unified School District, the largest school district in the county, accountable to the greater Native and Indigenous community.
The Indigenous Education Now Coalition (IEN) calls on LAUSD to make vital reformations beginning with the proper Tribal Consultation in fulfillment of Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requirements.
We are also in a critical moment to advocate for LAUSD to begin investing in its next budget. We are advocating for them to allocate $10 million to launch the Indigenous Student Achievement Initiative.
This money would be used to address the crisis Native and Indigenous students are disproportionately facing amidst the COVID-19 pandemic as a part of the District’s larger COVID response and recovery strategy.
Currently, members of the Indigenous Education Now (IEN) Coalition have been holding the LA Unified School Superintendent accountable to implementing the Indigenous Student Achievement Initiative. The Superintendent agreed to quarterly meetings and committed to Tribal Consultation in the implementation of the $10 million from the Indigenous Student Achievement Initiative. IEN advanced the work and established the American Indian/Indigenous Student Achievement Plan in August of 2023 and hopes to have it approved by the end of December 2023. The distribution of funds will be earmarked starting early 2024.
If you have any questions about the coalition, please contact Shannon Rivers at srivers@canativevote.org
Native American & Indigenous Education Coalition (NAEIC)
Through the Native Native American & Indigenous Education Coalition (NAEIC) , Tribal leaders, students, and parents came together to launch a campaign to urge the Riverside Unified School District to address ongoing racism and harm towards Native peoples in the classroom and education system. More than 500 community members called school district officials, and 15 leaders and organizers showed up to district meetings to share testimonials about the impacts of racism in the classroom. In response to our organizing efforts, the district fired Candice Reed and issued an apology video for the harm done towards Native students and families. The Coalition continues to meet each month.
If you have any questions about the coalition, please contact Angelina Diaz at adiaz@canativevote.org