A group of tribes and students of indigenous American and students sued Trump’s administration to reverse the recent firing of federal workers in indigenous schools that have stated that they have severely reduced the quality of education.
The fires, part of the layoffs led by the Department of Government Efficiency that have reduced thousands of January federal jobs, included almost a quarter of staff at Albuquerque.
The trainers, a basketball coach and security and maintenance workers were among those who were fired or forced to resign in February. Although the total number of layoffs were not clear on Sunday, the reductions also included employees at the Central and Regional Offices of the Indian Education Office, federal service. Some staff members, but not all, have been repeated, according to a statement by the Native American Rights Fund, which filed the lawsuit on Friday at the Federal Court in Washington. About 45,000 children are enrolled in schools funded by the office in 23 states.
As a result of the cuts, dozens of lessons in the two colleges lost trainers, according to the treatment. And because of the loss of staff support and maintenance workers, school dorms were quickly overcome with the garbage, students reported that no brown water fell, dining rooms failed to adequately supply students and the widespread power outages.
“Unfortunately, these fires were made without preparation and regardless of the health and safety of the students, and this is a continuation of a story of neglect and lack of respect,” said Jacqueline de León, a lawyer for tribes and students. “We’re here to fight to make sure it doesn’t go on.”
Lawyers with the Native American Rights Fund filed the lawsuit against the head of the Ministry of the Interior, the Office of Indian Affairs and the Office of Indian Education Programs.
The plaintiffs included Isleta’s racial nations. The Prairie Potawatomi Nation band. and the tribes Cheyenne and Arapaho. Five students from the two colleges are also among the plaintiff.
A representative of the Department of Interior, which houses the offices of Indian Education and Indian affairs, said the department does not comment pending disputes.
The federal government has a legal obligation, known as the federal responsibility of confidence in India, to protect and maintain its special relationship with federally recognized races.
In this obligation, which was backed by the federal courts as early as 1831, they are demands for the maintenance of racial sovereignty, working with tribes in projects and policies that influence and respect the right of tribes to make decisions in their interests. With non -firing tribal counseling, the lawsuit said, the government violated the claim of confidence.
“Although the obligation to provide educational opportunities for racial students, the federal government has long failed to provide sufficient services,” Hershel Gorham, Lieutenant of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes, said in a statement. “As soon as the Office of Indian Education has taken steps to correct the situation, these cuts undermined all these efforts. These institutions are valuable to our communities. We will not sit down and watch them fail.”
The US government has a full story with indigenous schools. Over more than 150 years, hundreds of thousands of indigenous children have been sent to boarding houses, often after being removed from their homes, to be assimilated with non -natural culture. Abuse and neglect were common in the original assimilation schools and mass graves are close to such institutions throughout the country. More than 100 people are buried in such a cemetery in Haskell.
Federal funding of racial schools has also been steadily decreased since 2010, along with the registration of native American and Alaska students.
According to the National Policy Institute of National Policy, a non -profit research organization, native Americans and native Alaska students represent the smallest ethnic group in the country, making it less than 1 % of the students available in the 20th year.
Alan They contributed reports.
