U.S. Education Department Official to Hold Tribal Consultation in Troy, N.Y., Gather Feedback on Education Reform Matters Affecting American Indians

William Mendoza, executive director of the White House Initiative on American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/AN), will consult with tribal leaders Friday in Troy, N.Y., to get feedback on education reform matters affecting American Indians.

The consultation is an outgrowth of President Obama’s Nov. 5, 2009, Presidential Memorandum and Executive Order 13175, which directs agencies to develop a plan of action to regularly consult with Indian tribes on government-to-government relations and strengthen support for tribal communities.

Mendoza will listen to tribal leaders and provide comments on the Memorandum of Understanding between the U.S. Departments of Education and Interior, which aims to expand educational opportunities and improve academic achievement for AI/ANs. He will consult tribal leaders on the strategic implementation of both the initiative and the Bureau of Indian Education’s (BIE) proposal to adopt a unitary accountability system for BIE-funded schools.