Superintendent’s Chat

Richard McClements, Shonto Preparatory School

It is important that all of us understand the history of the development of Navajo education. That chronology is as follows*:

• 1868 – Treaty of 1868. The Treaty included a provision for the education of Navajo children, 6-16 years old. The Government promised to provide a teacher and a school house for every 30 children.
• 1869 – The Government sent the first teacher to Fort Defiance, AZ.
• 1880 – The construction of a boarding school began in Fort Defiance.
• 1880-82 – The Presbyterian Church operated a boarding school, with a teacher in Fort Defiance.
• 1883 – The Fort Defiance Boarding School facility is completed.
• 1887 – Compulsory Indian Education Law passed by Congress, and thereafter, the Navajo educational system developed the aspects of a penal system.
• 1890 – Another boarding school was established at Grand Junction, CO to serve all Southwestern tribes. Some Navajo children were sent to the school.
• 1900-1910 – Boarding schools opened up on the Navajo Reservation; the first five boarding schools were built in Tuba City, Leupp, Tohatchi, Shiprock, and Chinle.
• 1910-1920 – Additional boarding schools built at Crownpoint, Tonalea, and Fort Wingate. During this time, several Navajo youngsters were sent to off reservation schools, including the Carlisle Industrial School in PA and the Sherman Institute in OK.
• 1924 – President Coolidge signed the Indian Citizenship Act which granted citizenship status to American Indians.
• 1933 – John Collier became the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. He sought to improve the existing schools, reduce and eliminate boarding schools, and develop day schools that would become community centers.
• 1934 – The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 – This Act signaled the advent of the Day School movement. It also provided for bilingual-bi-cultural education, adult and higher education, and Navajo teacher training. 50 new Day Schools opened on the Navajo Reservation.
• 1941-1945 – World War II devastated the BIA personnel serving our schools. 19 schools were closed. It convinced the Navajo people that formal education is necessary.
• 1946 – A special Navajo Tribal Council delegation traveled to Washington, DC to declare formal education to be a primary need of the Tribe and asked the Government for assistance.
• 1947 – The Navajo Tribal Council passed a resolution declaring compulsory education for children ages 6-16 years.
• 1953 – The Navajo Tribal Council established a college scholarship fund.
• 1954 – The Navajo Tribal Council passed a resolution to establish the Navajo Tribal Clothing Program, through which needy children would receive free clothes while in school.
• 1955 – The BIA began formal adult education programs for the Indian tribes.

Source: The Navajo Nation