(Photo by Carrie Jung - KJZZ)

The federal Bureau of Indian Education funds 66 schools on the Navajo Nation.

(Photo by Carrie Jung - KJZZ)

Many parents choose to send their kids to a BIE school rather than a public school because of the attention paid to tribal culture.

(Photo courtesy of Arizona Historical Foundation)

When the federal government first began administering Native American Education the focus was assimilation. This is what a group of Apache children looked like after being processed.

Nearly 50,000 Native American children across the country, or about 10 percent, attend schools run by the Bureau of Indian Education. It’s a federal system that has been around in some form for more than 150 years. The school system is now facing some fundamental change.

It’s just after lunch at the Crystal Boarding School and teacher Rose Gambler has the undivided attention of about 20 first graders. Gambler is the school’s Navajo culture and language teacher and today her students are learning the traditional story of how the tribe’s Bitter Water clan was created.

"And they tasted the water and it was so bitter they couldn’t drink it," she explained to the kids.   

Crystal Boarding School is one of 66 schools on the Navajo Nation funded by the Bureau of Indian Education. Cultural lessons are now commonplace among BIE schools on the reservation. But that wasn’t always the case. When the federal government first began administering Native American education in the mid 19th century, the focus was assimilation.

Passages from letters written by a BIA boarding school students read for the exhibit “The Boarding School Experience” for the Heard Museum provide some insight into what kids experienced at the time. 

"When you first started school, they looked at you, guessed how old you were, set your birthday and gave you an age. Then they assigned you a Christian name. Mine turned out to be Fred," said one student.

Another described this: "The fact is that we were to be transformed and short hair being the mark of gentility of with the white man. He put upon us the mark."

Memories of boarding school are mixed among former students. Some left with good memories of making life long friends, others say conditions were abusive.

"To kill the Indian but save the man within each child," said Donald Fixico a historian with Arizona State University. "It was really save the Indian child but forego all the tribal culture and old ways and languages spoken by the kids."

Fixico said this system evolved over the years, but the biggest change came in the 1970s when President Gerald Ford signed the Indian Self Determination Act.

"And what that meant was that now tribes would have more control over their governments and also the schools on their reservations," he said. "And so as a result of this, the new curriculum was to fit the needs of the tribal communities."

Fixico said it was the beginning of a new era. And while that shift did lead to some improvement, the system today is struggling. BIE fourth graders currently score an average of 22 points lower in reading and 14 points lower in math than Native American students in public schools. 

"BIE has been a big failure," said Dr. Charles Monty Roessel, the director of the Bureau of Indian Education. "I don’t think you can find success in BIE in anything," 

Roessel said funding is a challenge. Tribes across the country are currently waiting on at least $1.3 billion in school infrastructure repairs and replacements. Access to broadband internet is spotty at best, and many struggle with teacher and principal retention. In an effort to turn things around, federal officials are trying a new strategy.

"I think history has shown us that the best way to improve the quality of service in Indian Country is to have the people closest to those actually operate and be held accountable for them," said Roessel.  

One-third of the BIE’s 183 schools are run out of the agency’s headquarters in Washington D.C.  Two-thirds are run by individual tribes. Roessel explained part of the agency's plan for improving student performance involves streamlining the BIE's administrative structure to reflect the idea that the agency now plays more of a supportive role in school functions. Officials hope if more BIE schools can shift to tribal control, they can focus more effort on school improvement operations. 

"It’s an opportunity for the federal government to right the wrongs of the past," said Roessel. "To try to correct it and improve the outcomes of students."

Back at Crystal Boarding School, a group of fifth graders are settling down for a math lesson.

Crystal is one of the schools that would be making the shift to tribal control. Assistant Principal Kimberly Dominguez said she’s excited about the idea.

"It's a step in the right direction," said Dominguez. "But then you know the tribe and everybody has to come together to do the work to make it happen."

Taking control of a BIE school is no easy feat, and not everyone thinks it’s a good idea. Several tribes are exploring the option, but many will tell you the move comes with its own set of challenges. We've checked in with one of them in part two of this series.

EDITOR’S NOTE (12/3/2015): The position of Dr. Charles Monty Roessel has been corrected.

Read The Complete Series

PART 1: BIE Officials Hope School Reform Will Lead To Better Student Outcomes

PART 2: For BIE Schools Transitioning To Tribal Control, The Shift Isn't Easy

PART 3: BIE Officials Face Push Back When Implementing Agency Reforms

PART 4: Many BIE Schools In Need Of Replacement Face Yearslong Wait