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New York State Education Dept. Native American Education Unit Research Files for Regents Paper on Native American Education

Some content may contain outdated and offensive terminology. See: New York State Archives Statement on Language in Descriptive Resources

Overview of the Records

Arrangement

Alphabetically by subject

Scope and Content Note

This series consists of records that document the development of a Regents position paper on Native American Indian Education. The records include correspondence, memoranda, press releases, reports, position paper drafts, transcripts of hearings, data on the history of Indian Education in New York State, statements and transcripts from the Conference on Indian Education, and 300 survey forms that solicited Indian parents' views and attitudes toward education. Also present is correspondence showing the interaction between state and federal governments regarding the formulation of education policy.

The final report was published in 1975 as, Native American education: a statement of policy and proposed action by the Regents of the University of the State of New York.

The following is a non-exhaustive list of record creators, correspondents and prominently featured individuals who are central to the understanding of the scope and content of this series. Indications of title, position, and organization are based on the information contained in this series and, as such, do not reflect the full range of achievement or influence for any of these individuals. In the few instances where a geographic, educational or ethnic indicator is present, it is because the records contained in this series made specific mention of this information indicating that it was seen to have particular value to the record creator in that situation and during that period of time.

NAME TITLE POSITION ORGANIZATION

Abrams, Stanley Mr. Supervising Principal Center Moriches Public Schools

Agnew, Ann Office of American Indian Affairs US Office of Education

Allen, Edward Supervising Principal Akron Central

Allen, James E. Dr. Commissioner of Education NYSED

Ambach, Gordon Dr. Executive Deputy Commissioner of Education(1970-1977); Commissioner of Education (1977-1987) NYSED

Bardin, John J. Supervisor of Elementary Education, Bureau of Elementary School Supervision (as of Jan. 15, 1972) NYSED

Baruchin, Fred Dr. Supervisor of Elementary Education, Bureau of Elementary School Supervision (thru Jan. 14, 1972) NYSED

Benedict, Donald O. Mr. Director of School Supervision NYSED

Birdseye, Ruth A. Miss Secretary, Committee on Student Aid to Indian Students NYSED

Bove, Richard Bureau of Migrant Education NYSED

Brind, Charles A. Counsel NYSED

Broughton, John G. Dr. Associate Commissioner for Cultural Education NYSED

Bruce, Louis R. Commissioner, Bureau of Indian Affairs (1969-1973) US Dept. of Interior

Bundy, B. Franklin Regional Director (Buffalo), Division of Human Rights Executive Department, NYS

Casella, Rosanne Secretary, Native American Education Unit NYSED

Cavanaugh, Thomas Supervising Principal Salmon River Central

Cheney, Lloyd L. Administrator, Personnel and Business Management NYSED

Clark, Charles Supervising Principal Niagara-Wheatfield Central

Clark, John R. Mr. Acting Assistant Commissioner for Administrative Services NYSED

Coleman, Joseph G. Dr. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Education US-DHEW

Cooke, Dorothy E. Supervisor of Elementary Education & Committee on Student Aid to Indian Students NYSED

Correnti, James Principal St. Regis Indian School

Crewson, Walter Dr. Associate Commissioner for Elementary, Secondary and Adult Education NYSED

Daly, Ronald P. Assoc. Education Supervisor, Bureau of Instruction Supervision; Chief, Bureau of Elementary School Supervision NYSED

Demmert, William G. Dr. Director, Office of Indian Education Programs BIA

Duran, Elizabeth C. Dr. Assistant Professor of History Niagara University

Duran, James A. Dr. Assistant Professor of History Canisius College

Falling, LeRoy Branch of Public School Relations BIA, US-DOI

Fenton, William N. Dr. Chair, AD HOC Committee on Indian Education NYSED

Fish, David Supervising Principal Akron Central

Fretwell Dr. AD HOC Committee on Indian Education NYSED

Friedman, Esther I. Director, Youth Programs Task Force US Department of Labor

Gilson, Harry V. Assoc. Commissioner of Education

Green, Edward T. Dr. Superintendent of Schools Oneida City Schools

Gregory, Don H. Supervising Principal Silver Creek Central

Griffin, Francis E. Dr. Asst. Commissioner for Elementary, Secondary and Adult Education NYSED

Grimshaw, C. Grant District Principal La Fayette Central

Groat, Charles V. Dr. Chairman, Social Science Department Auburn C. C.

Haake, Bernard F. Dr. Assistant Commissioner for Instructional Services NYSED

Hammer, J.E. Colonel, Corps of Engineers, Pittsburgh US Army

Hathorn, John R. Director of Indian Services; Chairman, Interdepartmental Commission on Indian Affairs NYSDSS; NYS

Hawkins, James Mr. Director of Education Programs

Heller, Robert F. Supervising Principal Stockbridge Valley Central

Heron, George D. Administrator Seneca Nation of Indians

Jones, J. Wilbert Mr. Superintendent of Schools Southampton Public Schools

Kirsch, Paul E. Dr. Superintendent of Schools Salamanca Public Schools

Knussman, Barry J. Associate Program Budget Coordinator, Bureau of Budget Coordination NYSED

Langhorn, Junius Mr. Poospatuck official Poospatuck Resv

Lansdale, Robert T. Commissioner of Social Welfare NYSDSW

Larsen, Betty Mrs. Associate in Educational Integration, Division of Intercultural Relations NYSED

LeBaron, Walter A. Chief, Elementary Instruction Supervision & Committee on Student Aid to Indian Students NYSED

Lewis, Anna M. Miss Associate in Education of Indians, Bureau of Elementary School Supervision/Native American Education Unit (Mohawk) NYSED

Marland, Sidney P. Jr. U.S. Commissioner of Education US Dept. of H.E.W.

Matteson, Norman Principal, Tuscarora Indian School Niagara-Wheatfield District

McQuade, Edwin C. Conference Coordinator, NYS Indian Workshop

Moffitt, Frederick J. Dr. Chief, Bureau of Instructional Supervision (elementary) NYSED

Muirhead, Peter P. Bureau of Examinations and Testing NYSED

Murphy, H. George Committee on Student Aid to Indian Students NYSED

Myers, Edward M. Rev. Pastor Shinnecock Presbyterian Church

Nords, Wilbur R. Special Assistant to the Commissioner NYSED

Nyquist, Ewald B. Dr. Deputy Commissioner of Education;

Commissioner of Education (1969-1976) NYSED

Parker, Rodrick Student, Gowanda (suspended, etc)

Parker, Trudy Chairman, NYS Iroquois Conference, Inc.

Parmeter, Adrian L. Mr. Staff Director, Special Subcommittee on Indian Education US Senate

Patterson, Elma Chairman of NYS Iroquois Indian Conference; Supervisor, Native American Services NYSDSS, Buffalo

Patterson, Ronald Counselor (Cattaraugus Reservation) Seneca Nation of Indians

Perkins, W. H. Principal, St. Regis Mohawk School

Powell, Cathy A. Secretary, Committee on Student Aid to Indians; Secretary, Harold Segerstrom NYSED

Printup, Maribel Miss New York field Office BIA

Privett, Zollie W. Mr. Supervising Principal Center Moriches Public Schools

Ratchick, Irving Dr. Coordinator, Title I Office NYSED

Ruef, Werner H. Chair, Committee on Student Aid to Indian Students NYSED

Scott, Harley Superintendent of Schools Massena Central

Scura, Lawrence Supervising Principal Gowanda Central

Segerstrom, Harold G. Chairman, Committee on Student Aid to Indians; Supervisor, Elementary Education NYSED

Shea, Robert Supervising Principal LaFayette Central

Sheldon, Thomas D. Dr. Deputy Commissioner of Elementary, Secondary and Continuing Education NYSED

Sherwood, Jesse Principal Salmon River High

Silverman, Judy Sen. Senate Subcommittee on Indian Education NYS Senate

Snyder, Harold Dr. Superintendent of Schools Niagara-Wheatfield

Spaulding, Francis T. Commissioner of Education (1946-1950) NYSED

Stoddard, George D. Commissioner of Education (1942-1945) NYSED

Stone, Robert D. Counsel and Deputy Commissioner for Legal Affairs NYSED

Tarbel, Philip Specialist in Indian Culture, Office of Cultural Education NYSED

Tepper, Chester E. Superintendent Gowanda Central

Terino Dr. Director, Division of Supervision NYSED

Tinkelman, Sherman N. Dr. AD HOC Committee on Indian Education NYSED

Toia, Philip Commissioner NYS DSS

Tortorete, Charles Principal Tuscarora Indian School

VanHooft, Gordon Dr. Acting Director, Division of School Supervision NYSED

Welch, Lewis Law Division NYSED

White, Lincoln C. Dr. Supervisor, Indian (Native American) Education Unit (Mohawk) NYSED

White, Minerva Mrs. Chairwoman, Mohawk Education Committee

Whitman, Robert District Superintendent Franklin-Essex-Hamilton County Schools

Williams, Harry K. Mr. Shinnecock official Shinnecock Resv.

Williams, Phyllis E. Teacher of Seneca language, Adult Ed. Center Gowanda Central School District

Woessner, William Superintendent of Schools Southampton

These materials show the interaction among various offices of the Education Department and other departments of the State of New York in the implementation and development of programs for the education of Native Americans living on reservations in New York State. Additionally, the interaction between the NYSED and the US Department of Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs, The US Department of Health, Education and Welfare, and the United States Senate is documented through correspondence, participation in conferences and programs, and testimony before committees.

In addition to the work done on the Regents Report, there are several annual reports; numerous procedural reports and proposals on specific policy and practice; background and history reports; papers written outside of the State Education Department, but maintained as reference aids; and minutes, transcripts and speeches delivered to statewide conferences focusing on Native American Indian education. Also contained in this series are numerous publications (pamphlets and brochures) from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the NYS Education Department and Native American Indian groups.

Background and history reports:

• Survey of Indian Schools, State of New York, by Philip A. Cowen, 1940 (Box 7, Folder 3)

• A Survey of Provision for Indian Education in the State of New York, 1940 (Box 6, Folder 10)

• Report of Joint Legislative Committee on Indian Affairs, 1949 (Box 12, Folder 8)

• Action taken by Committee on Student Aid to Indian Students to Date, 1954 (Box 1, Folder 1)

• Significant Dates in the Education of Indians, 1958 (Box 7, Folder 6)

• Indian Education in New York State, 1846-1968, October, 1968, (Box 6, Folder 6)

• Indian Education in New York State – an overview of history, by R.P. Daly, 1968 (Box 3, Folder 6)

• Chronology of the Department's Role in the Education of St. Regis Indian Children, 1971 (Box 9, Folder 1)

• The Education of Indians, remarks of Gordon Ambach at Third Annual Conference on Indian Education, 1971 (Box 2, Folder 17; Box 11, Folder 2)

• Indian Education: A Special Report, by National Advisory Council on Vocational Education, 1973 (Box 9, Folder 6)

• Indian Education in New York State, by Ruth Birdseye, undated (Box 3, Folder 7)

• Indian Education in New York State, (with statistics for 1906 – 1969), undated, (Box 16, Folder 2)

• Recent Growth of the Department's Indian Education Programs, by Harold Segerstrom, 1968

Policy and practice reports:

• Administrative Handbook for New York State Indian Schools, 1951 (Box 3, Folder 21)

• Bureau of School Supervision document to "redefine the basic policies governing the awarding of student aid to Indian youth", June 1954 (Box 1, Folder1)

• Urban Education: a statement of policy and proposed action by the Regents of the University of the State of New York, 1967 (Box 16, Folder 2)

• State Education Department Personnel and Their Indian Responsibilities, 1968

• Report on Indian Education – Parts I and II, by NYS Bureau of Departmental Programs Evaluation, 1970 (Box 5, Folder 6)

• Interim Report – Indian Education, 1971 (Box 16, Folder 3)

• Progress Report on Indian Education, by Fred Baruchin, 1971 (Box 16, Folder 3)

• Title I Funds and Indian Education, 1971 (Box 9, Folder 1)

• We Shall Live Again: A Positive Approach for Survival of a People, by Anna Lewis and Lillian Samuelson, 1971 (Box 10, Folder 8)

• Futurism in Native American Indian Education in New York State – immediate and long-range, by Lincoln C. White, 1972 (Box 14, Folder 7)

• Minority Report on the Indian Education Position Paper, by the Education Committee, Tonawanda Band of Seneca, 1972 (Box 14, Folder 7)

• Bilingual Education Plan for the NYSED, 6th Draft, November 1973 (Box 13, Folder 9)

• Educational Regionalism for Elementary, Secondary and Continuing Education in New York State, draft discussion paper, December 1974 (Box 15, Folder 7)

• Improving State/Federal Services for Native Americans Residing in New York State, by NYS Office of Planning Services, 1974 (Box 9, Folder 5)

• Position Paper ("based on lengthier Regents Paper"), 1975 (Box 13, Folders 1-3)

• Beliefs and Policies, by Phoenix Area Inter-Tribal School Board, 1976 (Box 11, Folder 11)

• Bicentennial Reflections on American Indian Policy: What We Would Like to Forget and the Indian Needs to Remember, remarks by Robert N. Wells, Jr. at Conference on American Studies for Canadian Teachers, St. Lawrence University, 1976 (Box 10, Folder 9)

• The Need for Cultural Sensitivity for Teachers of Native Americans, by Larry Lazere (St. Regis Mohawk), undated (Box 10, Folder 9)

Reference aids:

• Educational Attainment of Indian Pupils in Integrated and Segregated Elementary Schools in New York State, 1969-1970, by Sylvio Hilaire Albert, 1971 (Box 5, Folder 8; Box 15, Folder 5)

• Taylor & Pierce Report, 1971 (Box 7, Folder 10)

• Post-revolutionary Acculturation of the Indians of the United States (introduction and outline for what could be a textbook proposal) (Box 2, Folder 6)

• A Selected Bibliography of American Ethnic Writing, by Nancy Prichard, 1969 (Box 5, Folder 3)

Conference documentation:

• Conference in Syracuse, December 1968 (Box 4, Folder 4)

• February 27-28 Indian Conference (1969?) (Box 4, Folder 5)

• Conference on Indian Education, 1970 (Box 1, Folder 11; Box 4, Folder 11)

• Third Annual Conference on Indian Education, 1971 (Box 2, Folder 17)

• Conference on Indian Education, SUNY Cortland, March 1972 (Box 13, Folder 5; Box 15, Folder 9)

• Conference on Indian Education, SUNY Cortland, October 1972 (Box 13, Folder 6; Box 16, Folder 1)

• Division of Intercultural Relations: 1973 Conference, 1973 (Box 10, Folder 6)

• BIA Conference on Public Law 93-638, March 1975 (Box 11, Folder 6)

• Education Professions Development Act Teacher Training Conference, May 1975 (Box 11, Folder 4)

• Post-Secondary Conference, 1975 (Box 11, Folder 7)

• Bilingual Clearinghouse Conference, 1976 (Box 11, Folder 5)

• Consortium of States for Indian Education, Albuquerque, January 1976 (Box 5, Folder 4; Box 12, Folder 1)

• Consortium of States for Indian Education, Phoenix, December 1976 (Box 11, Folder 10)

• Consortium of States for Indian Education, Denver, March 1977 (Box 12, Folder 7)

Publications of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, US Department of the Interior:

• Governing Bodies of Indian Groups Under Federal Supervision, 1965 (Box 2, Folder 1)

• Indian Affairs – 1964: A Progress Report from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, 1965 (Box 2, Folder 1)

• Indians: Languages, 1963 (Box 2, Folder 1)

• Indians: Origin, 1964 (Box 2, Folder 1)

• Indians: Religions and Ceremonies, 1964 (Box 2, Folder 1)

• Indians: Surviving Groups in Eastern and Southern States, 1963 (Box 6, Folder 9)

• Indians: Wars and Local Disturbances, 1963 (Box 2, Folder 1)

• Indians As Your Hosts, 1963 (Box 2, Folder 1)

• Indians of California, 1966 (Box 2, Folder 1)

• The Najavo, 1963 (Box 2, Folder 1)

• U.S. Indian Population (1962) and Land (1963), 1963 (Box 2, Folder 1)

• The War Against Poverty – The American Indian, 1964 (Box 2, Folder 1)

Publications of the NYS Education Department:

• Indian History of New York State: Part I – Pre-Iroquoian Cultures, 1953 (Box 2, Folder 3)

• Indian History of New York State: Part II – The Iroquoian Tribes, 1953 (Box 2, Folder 3)

• Indian History of New York State: Part III – The Algonkian Tribes, undated (Box 2, Folder 3)

• The Indian Today in New York State, 1959 (Box 2, Folder 3)

• The People of the Longhouse: A Guide to the Iroquois Indian Groups in the New York State Museum, undated (Box 2, Folder 3)

• Selected Reading List of Books and Articles on Indians of North America in the New York State Library, 1958 (Box 2, Folder 3)

Publications of Native American Indian Groups:

• Ganienkeh Manifesto, complied by Louis Hall, 1974 (Box 12, Folder 6)

• O He Yoh Noh (Seneca Nation Newsletter), August 5, 1971

Publications from other sources: (alphabetically)

• The Indian Education Act of 1972: Answers to Your Questions, US Department of HEW, 1974 (Box 11, Folder 6)

• What Education is of Most Worth, by Will Durant in The Saturday Evening Post, April 11, 1936 (Box 12, Folder 5)

The State Services Rendered Reports by the New York State Interdepartmental Commission on Indian Affairs (1964-1974) typically include the year's expenditures for tuition payments to contract schools (in lieu of school tax revenues for elementary and high school students); cost of operating reservation schools; transportation; repairs to reservation schools; and Student Aid to Indian Youth (payments for post-secondary tuition grants). The Interdepartmental Commission included representatives from several offices of the New York State Department of Education, and from the New York State Department of Social Services. Also included are the number of Indian students in reservation schools; number of Indian students in public schools; number receiving student aid; and sections for special considerations and comments for that year. Box-folder locations are as follows: 1963-1964, 1966, and 1968-1973 in Box 6-Folder 10; 1973-1974 in Box 12, Folder 8. Reports from 1965 and 1967 are not present.

The Annual Reports of Committee on Student Aid to Indian Youth by the New York State Education Department (1956-1972) include the student's name, reservation of residence, name of school attending, and major course of study for post-secondary aid recipients. The information is sub-divided by new applicants, continuing applicants, and those whose aid has been completed. Box-folder locations are as follows: 1952, 1956-1964 in Box 1- Folder 2; 1962 in Box 1-Folder 1; 1964 in Box 6-Folder 8; 1965-1966 in Box 6-Folder 10; 1968 in Box 1-Folder 2; 1969 in Box 6-Folder 10; 1971-1972 in Box 6-Folder 6. Reports for 1967 and 1970 were not located.

As part of the research for the Regents position paper, early-submitted drafts were used to create a survey instrument, Indian Education Survey (1971), which was administered by Native American Indian college students to residents of their home reservations. These students were all participants in the Student Aid to Indian Youth program who had applied (via index card forms) to participate in the survey process. The 300 surveys were administered during college breaks so as to not interrupt the students' studies. Permission had been obtained from the leadership of each Tribal Nation to conduct the survey and to request the assistance of the students. The survey data questions consist of name (optional), reservation of residence, sex, age, tribe, occupation (self and spouse), education level, number of children and their ages and school district information. Opinion questions center on the school district, school board voting practices, availability of information (such as budgets) in advance of school district elections, Native American language and culture classes, and student-school and school-community relations.

In 1972, a survey entitled, Questionnaire to Contracting Schools – Indian Education data (Box 7, Folder 1) was sent out to those school districts that were under contract with the NYSED to provide education services to the Native American population residing on reservations. The state made payment to the school district for the education of those students in lieu of monies collected from local property taxes which can not be levied on reservation lands. The school districts which replied were: Akron Central School District, Gowanda Central School District, La Fayette Central School District, Massena Central District #1, Niagara-Wheatfield Central School District, Oneida School District, Salamanca City Central Schools, Salmon River, Silver Creek, Southampton Public Schools, and Stockbridge Valley Central Schools. The survey asked for information on Native American students only and included sections on Transportation, BOCES, potential Post-Secondary applicants (college-bound graduates), Title Programs, New Program proposals, Age-Grade enrollment statistics, and Summer School programs. The completed survey questionnaires are in Box 16, Folder 5 through Box 18, Folder 4.

A wide range of subjects, events and issues affected the development and implementation of NYSED policies and programs during the period covered by this series. In some cases a certain topic, person or event was considered by the creators of the series to be sufficiently important to warrant its own folder. In other cases, an incident or topic (such as departmental administration or interaction with an external organization) carries over and appears in multiple folders. Some, but not all, of those major recurring subjects and the location of materials related to them are as follows:

Bureau of Indian Affairs activities in NYS

• Federal Indian Bureau withdrawal of active services from NYS, June 30, 1949 (Box 6, Folder 10)

• Eligibility of NYS reservation residents to participate in federal programs, 1970 (Box 4, Folder 13)

• Eligibility of Iroquois for BIA Boarding schools, 1971 (Box 10, Folder 6)

Capital Construction Funding

La Fayette Central, 1967 - Box 3, Folder 11 and 1969 (Box 6, Folder 2)

Salmon River, 1969 - Box 6, Folder 1 and 1971 (Box 8, Folder 2)

Misuse of funds charge (New York Times article), January 2, 1971 (Box 6, Folder 6)

St. Regis Mohawk Indian School (blueprints and specifications), 1971 (Box 8, Folder 2)

Southampton, 1971 (Box 5, Folder 10)

Tuscarora Indian School (blueprints and specifications), 1971 (Box 9, Folder 1)

Collection of Sales Taxes on Indian Reservations

• Onondaga Indian School adult lunch and bookstore, 1971 (Box 2, Folder 19 and Box 7, Folders 8& 9)

Education Department Administrative matters

• Office of business management role, 1965 (Box 8, Folder 4)

• Bureau of Finance and Division of Education Management, 1967 (Box 8, Folder 1)

• Education department personnel and their Indian responsibilities, 1968 (Box 3, Folder 6)

• Creation of 'Indian Education Unit', 1968 (Box 3, Folder 6)

• Cooperation among units in Education Department, 1969 (Box 3, Folder 5)

• Proposal to create 'Bureau of Indian Education', 1969 (Box 3, Folder 18)

• Organization of Native American Education Unit, 1974 (Box 9, Folder 3)

Incidents in Schools

• Boycott of Hogansburg School, 1968 (Box 9, Folders 1&2)

• Carl Gross affair at Salmon River High School 1968 (Box 4, Folder 4 and Box 8, Folder 1)

• Salmon River Central, 1971 (Box 9, Folder 2); press clippings (Box 8, Folder 2)

• Sit-in at Salmon River high school, December 1971 (Box 9, Folder 1)

Kinzua Dam Project

• Allegany River Reservoir (correspondence with Army Engineers), 1963 (Box 8, Folder 7)

• Purchase of land on Allegany Indian Reservation, 1964 (Box 6, Folder 9)

• State Services Rendered Report, 1964 (Box 6, Folder 10)

Native American Tribal Nation Organization

• Cayuga leadership roster, 1970 (Box 10, Folder 10)

• Tribal Chiefs invited to Regents meeting, 1971 (Box 7, Folder 8)

• Onondaga Tribal Chiefs, 1974 (Box 10, Folder 1)

Reservation Residents Voting in School District Elections

• Initial letter and Legislation sponsored by Southampton Public Schools, 1968 (Box 2, Folder 20)

• Determination of which district to vote in, 1969 (Box 3, Folder 5)

• La Fayette Central School's letter to parents, 1969 (Box 3, Folder 11 – 1969)

The terms Indian, Native American and Native American Indian are all used in this series. During the time period covered by this series and within some of the records themselves, discussions of proper descriptive and respectful terminology can be found.

Alternate Formats Available

There is no microform or digital version of this series.

Related Material

A0728 contains materials on the Johnson-O'Malley Act (1971-1982)

B1352 is comprised of Indian (Native American) student tuition aid files (1962-1988)

16414 has materials related to Indian education tuition and transportation files (1982-1984)

13143 consists of subject and correspondence files of the Native American Education Unit (1954-1983).

Access Restrictions

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the material, with the exception of Box 19 which contains pre-redaction original documents containing restricted personal information (see Processing Statement below). Redacted photocopies have been substituted in place of the restricted originals (and annotated as such).

Access Terms

Detailed Description