NM delegation pushes to improve tribal education

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) – New Mexico’s congressional delegation has introduced a bill aimed at improving tribal education and preserving Native American language in schools.

The state’s two senators and three representatives all signed on to the proposal, which they say would remove barriers that tribal leaders often encounter in teaching Native languages at school, improve on existing programs and partnerships and create new incentives and scholarship programs to encourage educational success throughout Indian Country.

Graduation rates for American Indians and Alaska Natives are less than 50 percent - lower than the graduation rates for all other ethnic groups in the United States.