The American government has consistently put Native Americans on the back burner, especially when it comes to education. When a school's graduation rate is low, it can severely impact adolescents and their future economic and social opportunities. Education plays an important role in everyone's life, especially in determining people's future. America has failed the Native American education system through institutionalized boarding schools, along with the ongoing need for representation of Native American educators and the inadequate education provided by reservations. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The only time Native Americans were a priority was when the American government forced Native children to attend boarding schools. The purpose of boarding schools was to force children to forget their “Indianness” or “savagery” so they could become whiter. If Native American parents ever refused to send their children to boarding school, Interior Department agents would be able to arrest them and even deny their families food. Those boarding schools caused extreme harm to the children who were forced to attend them, for example, the children rarely got to see their families, speak their native language, or even practice their culture. Boarding schools did not fare well for Native American communities. Not everyone's experiences were the same with boarding schools. Susan LaFlesche Picotte had attended boarding school: Hampton Normal and Agriculture Institute from 1884 to 1886. Susan was already fluent in English, so she had a better time there than the others. He had a more standard academic experience while other students who were not fluent had a less conventional education. After attending Hampton Institute, he attended medical school and became a doctor, then returned to Omaha to educate the tribe about alcoholism and hygiene. He eventually became Omaha's tribal doctor. This shows that everyone was treated differently even when they attended the same school. Another example of children who have had different experiences is the fact that there have been children who have been physically and sexually assaulted by teachers or dorm supervisors. Every single child who attended those boarding schools was affected in one way or another. Only Arizona, Washington, Oklahoma, and Kansas teach college in their public schools. It's just another example of how America ignores the problems it creates by not teaching Native Americans about the future what they did in the past. Schools located on reservations are considered public schools but there is a slight difference from the typical public school. Typical public schools are administered and funded by the Department of Education, but reservation schools are administered and funded by the Department of the Interior in a subgroup called the Bureau of Indian Education also known as BIE. So ten percent of Native students who do not attend public school attend a school run by the BIE. There are a total of 183 schools in 23 states on 64 reservations. BIE-run schools have some of the lowest test scores along with low graduation rates across the nation. BIE is not the department that should be managing any form of education when it is clear that it negatively affects students simply by failing test scores or not being able to graduate. Often teachers who teach in reservation classrooms are unqualified to teach what they are teaching. Have a teacher teach a class.