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Executive Order 14049 of October 11, 2021

White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Native Americans and Strengthening Tribal Colleges and Universities

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Section 1. Policy. The United States has a unique political and legal relationship with federally recognized Tribal Nations, as set forth in the Constitution of the United States, statutes, treaties, Executive Orders, and court decisions. The Federal Government is committed to protecting the rights and ensuring the well-being of Tribal Nations while respecting Tribal sovereignty and inherent rights of self-determination. In recognition of that commitment and to fulfill the solemn obligations it entails, executive departments and agencies (agencies) must help advance educational equity, excellence, and economic opportunity for Native American students, whether they attend public schools in urban, suburban, or rural communities; are homeschooled; attend primary and secondary schools operated or funded by the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) of the Department of the Interior; or attend postsecondary educational institutions, including Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs).

For more than a century, the United States imposed educational policies designed to assimilate Native peoples into predominant United States culture that devastated Native American students and their families. Beginning with the Indian Civilization Act of 1819, the United States enacted laws and implemented policies establishing and supporting Indian boarding schools across the Nation. From 1871 onward, federally run Indian boarding schools were used to culturally assimilate Native American children who were forcibly removed from their families and communities and relocated to distant residential facilities where their Native identities, languages, traditions, and beliefs were forcibly suppressed. The conditions in these schools were usually harsh, and sometimes abusive and deadly. Although these policies have ended, their effects and resulting trauma reverberate in Native American communities even today, creating specific challenges that merit Federal attention and response.

During the global COVID–19 pandemic, Tribal Nations raced to protect Tribal members and their way of life. Tribal elders are often the keepers of Tribal culture and are critical for the preservation of Native languages, as the vitality of Native culture is inseparably tied to Native languages. Accordingly, my Administration is committed to supporting preservation and revitalization of Native languages. This includes honoring the vibrancy, importance, and strength of Native languages and the traditions, values, and cultural practices that accompany them.

In addition, the COVID–19 pandemic has amplified long-standing educational inequities that disproportionally affect Native American communities and burden Native American students. In particular, Native American children face significant learning disruption as the digital divide and lack of educational resources put remote learning out of reach for too many. Native American students experienced the greatest decline in undergraduate enrollment in higher education from 2020 to 2021 compared to other student groups. These inequities compound the effects of other disparities faced by Native American women and girls in particular. The spike in