A recent letter from the U.S. Department of Education affirms that American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian history is not considered diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) or critical race theory (CRT), according to reporting by Inside Higher Ed. In the letter, Hayley B. Sanon, principal deputy assistant secretary and acting assistant secretary for the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, acknowledged the “unique political and legal relationship with federally recognized Indian Tribes.”
The letter was sent in April in response to concerns from the National Indian Education Association, which sought assurance that teaching Native history would not violate a Trump executive order aimed at eliminating “discriminatory equity ideology.” Twyla Baker, president of Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College, said she was hopeful but cautious. Tribal college leaders said they want to see policy and funding reflect the department’s message.
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