adult and vocational education needs. There was a definite preference expressed to keep Indian vocational education grant programs at Department of Education rather than moving any component part to Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Although a number of the concerns in the higher education and scholarships issues session were directed at BIA, there was a concern that universities which receive Indian fellowship funds are sometimes delinquent in passing on the cash to recipients after tuition has been paid and that OIE should look at the possibility of establishing uniform guidelines for universities to disperse Indian fellowships funds. In addition, there was discussion of the great wisdom of conducting an assessment of the professional needs of Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages and corporations for determining eligible fields of study and matching graduates back to available jobs.

Mr. Chairman, there is one last related issue which I want to address. Part E of title V of Public Law 100-297 authorized the President to call the White House Conference on Indian Education. Since this conference has the broad purpose to develop recommendations for the improvement of educational programs to make the programs more relevant to the needs of Indians, I want to reiterate a portion of our previous testimony before this Committee. Part E needs some technical amendments, and while we do not currently have any recommendation of a vehicle for these amendments, such a vehicle should be found. The needed technical amendments include correction of section 5508 to appropriations for fiscal year 1991 to correspond to the authorization to call the conference to be held as late as September 30,

authorize

1991.

Currently, the section authorizes appropriations for fiscal years 1988, 1989, and 1990, and it is clear that these years were not pushed back when the bill (H.R. 5) introduced very early in the first session was passed in the second session of the 100th Congress. In addition, there has been concern expressed by Council Members and the Indian and Alaska Native education community that the task force to be established under section 5504 to plan and conduct the conference is to consist of "such employees of the Department of the Interior and the Department of Education as the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Education determine to be necessary to enable the Task Force to carry out its duties." The reported fear is that the task force will consist totally of seasoned bureaucrats who may seek reasons to preclude innovations rather than find ways to get things done. It should be noted that there are no provisions in Part E for NACIE involvement in the conference, although the Council does expect to be involved and has already begun soliciting and receiving comments from Indian and Alaska Native organizations and individuals regarding issues that should be addressed by the conference. It has been suggested that the NACIE Executive Director should be specified in the legislation as a member of the task force and that the NACIE Chairman should be an ex officio member of the advisory committee for the conference under section 5506. At its January 1989 meeting, the Council voted unanimously to support such an amendment. language to direct the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Education to appoint an equal number of employees from within the departments who know the current system with its constraints and new employees specifically hired from outside to bring a fresh approach. The Council would

Of equal concern, however, is some

appreciate the Committee's consideration of these recommendations and would hope that the Committee, in its wisdom, would direct staff to find the appropriate vehicle on which to attach these amendments.

Mr. Chairman, as you can see from the length of this document and the breadth of the issues discussed at the Council's issues sessions, the Council and Indian and Alaska Native people are very concerned about education issues. Although we may be critical of government programs and we often lament about Indian and Alaska Native youngsters dropping out of school, we do have some success stories. However, those do not lessen the urgency with which we approach the Department of Education and other government agencies because we do not have to worry about the Indian children and adults who are success stories. I often say that the Department of Education, like many other agencies, does not want advisory councils; but, Mr. Chairman, this Council wants to be on the scene observing, advising, and sometimes tugging on coat sleeves because it is our boys and girls who desperately need educational services to face the 1990's and the 21st century. We sometimes seem impatient to the Department and that is because we are and need to be. With the available statistics showing American Indian and Alaska Native educational status still at the bottom in America, we are the people with something to lose if we do nothing but we have so much to gain if we work together. Mr. Chairman, the National Advisory Council on Indian Education does not have the answers but we are working with the people to find them. The Council wants to work closely with the Congress and the Administration to make Indian and Alaska Native education exemplary in this country.

With the special

relationship between Indian tribes/Alaska Native villages and the federal government and our smaller population, we challenge you to help us to be the model for the rest of the country, for with our diversity, if educational programs will work for us, they will work for the rest of America.

The Council and I greatly appreciate this opportunity to appear before the Committee today to address Indian and Alaska Native education concerns. I will be happy to answer any questions you and the Committee Members may have or to supply any additional requested information for the record.