Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Tribal Education Departments National Assembly Elects First Board of Directors:

On October 5, 2005, the membership of the Tribal Education Departments National Assembly (TEDNA) held its first-ever membership meeting in Denver, Colorado. The main order of business was the election of the organization's Board of Directors. As shown in the photograph, the first elected Board is:

Back row, left to right: Nora Parker, Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas (elected to two-year term); Joyce Silverthorne, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (elected to one-year term, also elected President); Renee New Holy, Nebraska Indian Education Association (elected to two-year term); Quinton Roman Nose, Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribe (elected to one-year term, also elected Vice-President); Lawrence Wheeler, Seneca Nation (elected to three-year term);

Front row, left to right: Elviria Aquino, Pueblo of San Juan (elected to three-year term, also elected Secretary); Alberta Lawrence, Suquamish Tribe (elected to two-year term); Leland Leonard, Dine' (Navajo) Nation, (elected to three-year term, and also elected Treasurer); Jerome Jainga, Tsimshian.

Following the Membership Meeting, the Board proceeded to elect its officers who, according to the TEDNA Bylaws, will serve for one year terms.

The Native American Rights Fund (NARF) helped found TEDNA, a national non-profit organization for Tribal Education Departments (TEDs), in 2003. In recognition of NARF's over fifteen years of directly representing tribes in developing their TEDs and advocating for them at the national level, NARF has received a series of contracts from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Indian Education to help establish TEDNA..

With NARF's assistance, TEDNA adopted its organizational Bylaws in October 2004. In its first year, fourteen TEDs joined TEDNA. As it starts its second year, ten new TEDs have joined Current TEDNA President Joyce Silverthorne says, "Over 100 of the 568 federally recognized tribes in the United States have TEDs. We are an inclusive organization and with NARF's continued guidance we hope to grow."

Although TEDNA is a relatively new organization, NARF already has instigated partnerships between TEDNA and the National Indian Education Association; the National Congress of American Indians; the Council of Chief State School Officers; and, the Educational Testing Service. For more information about TEDNA, visit www.tedna.org, or write TEDNA, P.O. Box 18000, Boulder, CO 80308.

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