The U.S. Department of Education said Native Hawaiian, American Indian and Alaska Native history will not be categorized as “diversity, equity and inclusion” or “critical race theory” under the federal government’s new directive for the nation’s schools.
“The Department is committed to all education decision-making being local by returning education to States and Tribes,” Hayley B. Sanon, acting assistant secretary of the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, wrote in the letter dated April 25. “It is the position of the Department that American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian history is not classified as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) or critical race theory (CRT), and the Department will not treat Native history as DEI or CRT.”
The letter was addressed to the National Indian Education Association, which was told that Native history holds a distinct political and legal status, and will be treated separately from the administration’s broader restrictions on “discriminatory equity ideology.”
The letter was a response to a Jan. 29 NIEA appeal urging the Trump administration to ensure that new federal efforts — triggered by a Jan. 28 executive order titled “Ending Radical Indoctrination in K-12 Schooling” — do not interfere with local and tribal authority over curriculum. The executive order prohibits the use of federal education funds to support content President Donald Trump deems “discriminatory equity ideology,” sparking concern among educators about its potential impact on culturally grounded instruction.
In the letter, NIEA emphasized the need for tribal consultation in developing the administration’s “Ending Indoctrination Strategy,” and highlighted bipartisan support for teaching Native history across the country.
“Including tribal representatives in task forces authorized to craft recommendations for the President ensures a well-rounded approach which uplifts local autonomy while honoring the federal trust responsibility to Indian Education,” NIEA Executive Director Jason Dropik wrote.
Dropik said it’s vital for tribal nations to have a seat at the table, noting that nearly 650,000 American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian students are enrolled in public schools nationwide.
Thirteen states currently require the teaching of tribal nations’ histories in public schools, including laws passed with broad bipartisan support. Advocates say these efforts reflect the belief that Native history is not a partisan issue, but a constitutional and cultural one.
While the federal response reassures tribal education leaders that Native-focused curriculum won’t be caught in political crossfire, some Native Hawaiian educators remain cautious. The DOE letter affirms continued support for grant programs and a reduction in bureaucratic hurdles, but it also emphasizes parental rights and local control — language often used in recent efforts to scale back DEI and culturally responsive education.
“We continue to deliver on all statutory grant programs that support American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian students and are identifying ways to deliver support while reducing bureaucratic red tape and ensuring parental rights remain a national priority,” Sanon wrote.
NIEA expressed optimism about future collaboration and stressed the importance of allowing tribal nations to lead their own educational approaches.
U.S. Rep. Ed Case, D-Hawaii, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that the U.S. DOE’s stance is the outcome of continued advocacy from Native-serving organizations and lawmakers representing Indigenous communities.
He explained that the department’s April 25 letter to the National Indian Education Association outlines its position, clarifying that Native Hawaiian, American Indian and Alaska Native history, along with federally funded education programs for these communities, are not categorized under DEI- or CRT-related initiatives. He also emphasized that the department remains committed to fulfilling its legal obligations to Native communities.
Case noted that other federal departments are taking similar actions. He pointed to the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Secretary’s Order No. 3416, which affirms that the department’s obligations to Native communities remain intact despite changes in DEI-related directives.
The order, signed Jan. 30, officially ended the department’s DEIA programs, implementing two Trump administration executive orders that terminated equity-related initiatives, calling them “illegal and immoral discrimination.”
It specifies that all offices and positions related to DEI, Diversity, Equity, Justice and Accessibility and Environmental Justice, including governing bodies like the “Equity Action Team,” as well as equity action plans, policies, initiatives, grants, contracts and performance requirements related to equity for employees, contractors or grantees, will be eliminated “to the fullest extent permitted by law.”
Despite this the Department of the Interior acknowledged its ongoing legal responsibilities to Native peoples, stating, “Nothing in this Order shall be construed to eliminate … the statutory authorities, treaty, and/or trust obligations of the Department … to Tribal Nations and the Native Hawaiian Community.”
Case said the order underscores the importance of protecting Native-serving programs from the political debates surrounding DEI and CRT. The ongoing effort, led by Native-serving organizations and lawmakers, is focused on ensuring that Native history and programs are kept separate from these controversial categories, thereby ensuring continued support and the upholding of federal obligations to Native communities.
U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, has also actively been involved in advocating for Native Hawaiian communities amid policy shifts by the Trump administration.
As vice chair of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, he has co-led efforts to ensure that Native Hawaiian history and federally funded education programs are not classified under DEI or CRT initiatives, and criticized the proposed closure of the U.S. DOE, warning that such actions would severely affect Native students and schools across the country by slashing funding for essential resources.
In a statement to the Star-Advertiser, Schatz said Native Hawaiian education programs and similar programs for native students across the country “have broad bipartisan support and are helping meet the unique educational needs of Native students in Hawaii and across the country.”
“We are pleased that the administration is acknowledging that the federal law is binding and cannot be waived away by an executive order.”
Still, Case warned, these safeguards are not guaranteed.
“There are several cautions,” he said. “First, each federal agency usually has some flexibility to interpret and implement executive orders for its own purposes, and so the result in another federal agency on whether Native Hawaiian programs are subject to DEI/CRT could be different. Second, the USDOE position could change. Third, aside from DEI/CRT, all of these programs are under the budget microscope.
“All of which is to say that we must continue to work very hard to protect critical Native Hawaiian efforts on multiple fronts in both the administration and Congress.”
Correction: U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz said Native Hawaiian education programs and similar programs for native students across the country “have broad bipartisan support and are helping meet the unique educational needs of Native students in Hawaii and across the country.” An earlier version of this story reported that he was referring to diversity, equity and inclusion and critical race theory education programs.
