Title: Wisconsin. Division for Instructional Services: Indian Education Consultants' Files
Inclusive Dates: 1937-1977

Creator:

• Wisconsin. Division for Instructional Services

Call Number: Series 2196

Quantity: 9.0 c.f. (17 archives boxes, 1 record center carton, and 8 card boxes)

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

Records, mainly 1947-1977, of two programs--the administration of Johnson-O'Malley funds to local school districts with Indian students (1947-1977) and the distribution of federal-state college scholarships (1956-1971)--that were administered by the office responsible for overseeing Native American education in Wisconsin. Included for the Johnson-O'Malley program are minutes of state advisory and planning committees and local Indian education committees; correspondence of the consultant with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council, and local educators and tribal members; audit reports; proposals and evaluations of basic education and special service programs and activities prepared by local school districts; and miscellaneous records of Indian student attendance. For the scholarship program the files include correspondence with applicants and school officials, worksheets, and detailed applicant information files.

Note:

There is a restriction on access to this material; see the Administrative/Restriction Information portion of this finding aid for details.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-ser02196

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Annual reports of the office are available in the State Historical Society Library.

The origins of the position of Indian education consultant within the Department of Public Instruction are not documented in the records. It is clear, however, that a position with the title of Supervisor of Indian Education existed as early as the mid 1930's and that this position had some responsibility for inspection of schools in Wisconsin attended by American Indians and for recommending solutions for dealing with the educational problems encountered by Indians. During this time the education of Indians was a responsibility of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Indians residing on non-taxable federal lands either attended boarding schools operated by the federal government or local public schools with their tuition paid by the BIA.

The position of Supervisor of Indian education changed dramatically in 1947 when the Department of Public Instruction agreed to assume responsibility for Indian education in Wisconsin, and all Indian lands were regarded as part of their local school districts. Because of the tax exempt status of the federal lands the BIA provided reimbursement to DPI with funds authorized by the Johnson-O'Malley Act of 1934. DPI in turn reimbursed eligible local school districts.

Initially, the DPI only reimbursed local districts for basic educational services, transportation, and student lunches. In order to be eligible for these funds, local school districts had to have ten or more Indian students who were of one quarter or more Indian blood. As other federal aid became available and the BIA no longer claimed financial responsibility for basic educational services, the DPI began to apply JOM funds to special programs for Indian pupils that were developed and implemented by local Indian education committees. Such programs included home-school coordinators, tutors, teachers' aides, study centers, curriculum expansion, remedial education, summer schools, parental cost reimbursement, and transportation to school functions. JOM funds also supported state-level programs such as the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council Education Committee, annual workshops for teachers of Indian education, training programs for home-school coordinators, regional conferences, and the development of curricula incorporating Indian history and culture.

Although the existence of local school district Indian education committees was mentioned as early as the program's 1949-1950 annual report, it was not until 1972 that the JOM Act was amended to require their participation. Instigated by the desire of the local committees for even more Indian involvement in decision making, the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council Education Committee created the JOM Sub-Committee (1972-1975) as an advisory committee whose major function was determining statewide programming and the evaluation of all proposals submitted for funding. In 1973 members of the JOM Sub-Committee also formed part of a planning committee to prepare for the proposed assumption of the administration of the Johnson-O'Malley program by the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council. In 1975 the JOM State Advisory Committee, which consisted of representatives from all contracting school districts and local Indian education committees, assumed the subcommittee's functions.

In 1975 the JOM Act was amended to allow for direct contracts between individual tribes and the BIA. Beginning in the 1977-1978 school year the various tribal councils in Wisconsin elected to administer the program in that way. As a result the head of the planning committee became an assistant Indian education consultant at the DPI in order to facilitate the transfer of administrative responsibilities.

The college scholarship program which began in Wisconsin in 1956 was an outgrowth of the Johnson-O'Malley program. In that year all Indian high school graduates in Wisconsin who continued their education received a federal grant of $300.00 per year. Funding was gradually increased and eventually Wisconsin also contributed money to the program. In 1971 responsibility for this program was transferred to the Higher Education Aids Board. About 1970 the functional responsibility for Indian Education within DPI was reorganized, and the position of supervisor was renamed Indian education consultant in the Indian Education section.

The records are divided into BACKGROUND INFORMATION, JOHNSON-O'MALLEY FILES, and COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP FILES.

The records primarily document the operation of the Johnson-O'Malley program and the College Scholarship program. A few items concerning the function of the Supervisor of Indian Education during the period 1937-1943 were identified in the records and segregated for convenience into a file of BACKGROUND INFORMATION.

Together the records contain relatively good evidential information on the operation and administration of the two programs. Beyond that, they contain useful information both on the increasing desire for self-determination within the American Indian community in Wisconsin as well as providing useful data on some Indian students. Best documented in the JOM records (primarily in the administrative section) is the role of the Department of Public Instruction to aid in the integration of Indian students in off-reservation society. A second well-documented topic which permeates the JOM operations both at the state and local levels during the 1960's and 1970's is the attempt by the Indian community toward greater self-determination and the eventual assumption of JOM administration in 1977-1978 by the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council.

Because the development of such programs called for increased participation of the Indian community the documentation provides good representation of the relationship between the Indian community, participating school districts, and the DPI.

Within the JOM files the information on the program's effect on individual Indian students is documented only in scattered material, and, while useful, it is disappointingly incomplete. However, when combined with information in the annual reports there is some useful aggregate data on K-12 Indian students.

The files on the Indian college students within the COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP FILES contain detailed information on the academic, social and economic background of many applicants and on their post-high school educational experiences.

Published annual reports of the Indian Education Section have been separated to the SHSW Library. These reports vary in the amount of information and analysis, but they are unquestionably the single most important source for examining this office. Many reports contain a surprising amount of detailed data concerning educational programs and conditions at individual schools as well as about individual recipients of college scholarships.

The JOHNSON-O'MALLEY FILES are subdivided into four parts: Administrative Records, Financial Records, Program and Activity Files, and Student Records. The administrative records consist of minutes, correspondence, and reports. The minutes are complete for the JOM Subcommittee and its successor, the JOM State Advisory Committee, the two committees which approved state and local programs and which served as general advisory bodies to DPI for the JOM program. These minutes provide important documentation on the interaction between members of the Indian community and DPI. Also included are by-laws for many state and local committees and fragmentary minutes for the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Education Committee.

The correspondence has been subdivided into general correspondence, which is arranged chronologically, and into separate sections for special correspondents and for specific subjects. Among the special correspondents are the BIA offices in Washington, D.C., and the regional office in Minneapolis, various national legislators, and the Great Lakes Indian Agency. The correspondence files cover the entire period that DPI operated the JOM program, although it is generally routine and less important than the committee minutes or the published annual reports. Report material here consists of miscellaneous information collected in the process of preparing the annual reports.

The financial records for the JOM program consist of audits of school districts carried out for the period 1971-1977. When combined with the final budgets recorded in the annual reports the series provides accurate documentation of district expenditures. In addition, there are special audits of the JOM Planning Committee, the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council Education Committee and the Neopit school district.

The Program and Activities files have been subdivided into school district program proposals and budget requests, state programs and activities, and reports. The school district proposals and budget requests are quite complete for the years 1970-1977, generally providing the best source concerning local programs, both those accepted and those that were rejected. The program proposals developed by the local school officials and the local Indian education committees include statements of need, program objectives, plans, activities, personnel, methods of evaluation, intended involvement of the Indian community, cooperating agencies, and budgets. Because approval of the local Indian education committee was required, these records provide a helpful indication of the interests and concerns of the Indian community. The program reports are informative, narrative evaluations written by local school officials.

There was no formal mechanism for the funding and evaluation of state level activities and programs. As a result, this documentation (primarily proposals, evaluations, correspondence and minutes) is far less complete that which exists for the local programs, but it does clarify topics of concern to the DPI, educational leaders, and the Indian community across the state. These records consist primarily of proposals, evaluations, correspondence, and minutes.

The student records were collected in part to establish the extent and legality of district needs for Indian education programs. Included are school censuses, attendance record cards, miscellaneous records of absenteeism, and withdrawals. Although not complete, these files contain some interesting information such as the reasons why students left school.

While the COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP FILES contain good information on the operation of this program its value lies in the detailed information it contains about individual students who applied for grants: their educational, social, and economic background and their experiences in higher education. There is also some information on the lives of individual students after they completed their post high school education. Included are correspondence, data and statistics, and indexes. The correspondence consists primarily of inquiries from applicants which are filed with other application data and forms. For the period 1956-1966 the committee worksheets contain similarly useful information and evaluations about individual students. Further supplementing this data are the application summary sheets for the period 1956-1970 of which only those containing evaluations have been retained.

Access Restrictions

Portions of this series may be restricted by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. Researchers may have access to the material if they certify that they will not release any personally identifiable information.

Processing Information

Processed by Ruth Heggestad, intern, 1990-1991.

Box   1 Folder   1	Series: Background information
	Series: Johnson-O'Malley Files	⇧
	Administrative records
	Minutes, by-laws, etc.
Box   1 Folder   2	Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council. Education Committee, 1971-1974
Box   1 Folder   3	JOM State Advisory Committee, 1974-1977
Box   1 Folder   4	JOM Sub-Committee, 1972-1975
Box   1 Folder   5	JOM Planning Committee, 1973
Box   1 Folder   6	Local Indian Education committees, 1973-1977
Box   1 Folder   7	Native American Curriculum Development Sub-Committee, 1977
	Correspondence
	General
Box   1 Folder   8-10	1948-1962
Box   2 Folder   1-3	1963-1969
Box   3 Folder   1-7	1970-1976
Box   4 Folder   1-2	1976-1977
	Special correspondents
	Bureau of Indian Affairs
Box   4 Folder   3-4	Washington, D.C., 1948-1971
	Minneapolis regional office
Box   4 Folder   5-7	1947-1963
Box   5 Folder   1-2	1964-1977
Box   5 Folder   3-5	Congressmen, 1948-1972
Box   5 Folder   6	Great Lakes Indian Agency, 1949-1973
Box   5 Folder   7	Other state departments of instruction, 1950-1968
	Subjects
Box   6 Folder   1	Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council takeover of Johnson-O'Malley administration, 1974
Box   6 Folder   2	Lac Courtes Oreille social study, 1952
Box   6 Folder   3	Legislation, 1917
Box   6 Folder   4	Outstanding students, 1955-1974
	Reports
Box   6 Folder   5	Reports on school visits, 1948-1968
Box   6 Folder   6	Miscellaneous material for annual reports
Box   6 Folder   7	Eighth grade test results, 1946
Box   6 Folder   8	Kindergarten study, 1967-1969
	Financial Records
Box   7 Folder   1-7	General audits, 1971-1977
	Special audits
Box   7 Folder   8	JOM Planning Committee, 1973
Box   7 Folder   9	GLITC Education Committee, 1973-1974
Box   7 Folder   10	Neopit school district, 1957-1958
	Program and Activity Files
	School district program proposals and budget requests
Box   8	1968/69-1973/74
Box   9	1974/75-1975/76
Box   10 Folder   1	1976/1977
	Statewide programs and activities
Box   10 Folder   2	Administrators' work conference, 1970
Box   10 Folder   3	American Indian music and dance workshop, 1977
Box   10 Folder   4	Cultural preservation and education conference, 1972-1973
Box   10 Folder   5	Great Lakes assessment and dissemination program, 1973
Box   10 Folder   6	Home-school coordinator training, 1973
Box   10 Folder   7	Indian education area agent, 1969
Box   10 Folder   8	Indian education consultant position, 1974-1975
Box   10 Folder   9	National Indian Education Association Conference, 1973
Box   10 Folder   10	Regional conferences, 1972-1975
Box   10 Folder   11-13	Teachers of Indian youth workshops, 1970-1974
	Reports
Box   11 Folder   1-8	Narrative evaluations, 1959, 1970/71-1976-77
Box   11 Folder   9	Lakeland Union High School, 1967/68, 1973
	Student Records
Box   12 Folder   1-2	Attendance reports (Form PI IS 44), 1974-1977
	Attendance record index
	1947/48-1965/66
Box   20	A-D
Box   21	D-L
Box   22	L-S
Box   23	S-Z
	1966/67-1973/74
Box   24	A-S
Box   25	S-Y
	Withdrawals and transfers, 1966/67-1973/74
Box   25	A-L
Box   26	M-Z and Miscellaneous cards
Box   12 Folder   3	Migratory worker absentee reports, 1951
Box   12 Folder   4	Minority student district statistics, 1972-1974
	Student census reports
Box   12 Folder   5	1944-1956
	Individual districts
Box   12 Folder   6	Flambeau (town), 1956/57
Box   12 Folder   7	Neopit, 1956/57-1957/58
Box   12 Folder   8-9	Shawano County, 1956/57
Box   13 Folder   1-2	Withdrawal reports, 1959/60-1970/71, 1974/75
	Series: College Scholarship Files	⇧
	Correspondence
Box   13 Folder   3	General, 1965-1971
	Applicant inquiry correspondence
Box   16	1955-1967
Box   17	1967-1971
Box   18 Folder   1	1971-1972
Box   13 Folder   4	Great Lakes Agency, 1962-1971
Box   13 Folder   5	Minneapolis regional office, BIA, 1959-1962, 1968-1971
Box   13 Folder   6	Menominee Adult Education draft report, 1961
	Data and statistics
Box   13 Folder   7	Miscellaneous summary information
Box   13 Folder   8-14	Committee worksheets, 1956-1966
	Applicant information files
Box   14	A-T
Box   15	W
	Indexes
	1956-1970 Index sheets with remarks
Box   18 Folder   2	Withdrawals
Box   18 Folder   3	Graduates
Box   19	1956-1971 Index cards