Harvard Center Proposes Indian Funding Guidelines

The Harvard Center for Law and Education, along with other groups, has proposed guidelines for federal funding of Indian education.

Last January, the Center, with the NAACP Legal Defense League, charged that funds allocated for Indians are being diverted to while and middle class schoolchildren.

The new guidelines would amend the Johnson-O'Malley Act, an aid program for the 200,000 American Indian children. During the past month, the Center has served with other private organizations as a "technical assistant" to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).

"It became evident, after we issued our charges in January, that we had neither an ally nor an adversary at the BIA," Mark Yudof, staff attorney with the Harvard Center for Law and Education, said yesterday.

"The BIA was not sufficiently prepared to deal with the problem," Yudof continued. "It could not draw up new guidelines because it had neither the technical capabilities nor the experience in education. We will supply both."

The Center, established in 1968 by Harvard and the Office of Economic Opportunity, investigates the legal implications of educational policies.

The new guidelines would prevent non-Indians from obtaining funds through Johnson-O'Malley. It would also provide channels through which community grievances could be heard.

Yudof wants the Indian community to have an opportunity to review, and, if necessary, change the suggested guidelines. "As technical assistants to the BIA we do not represent all Indian tribes," Yudof said. "We really have no right to tell Indians what they want."

Before the guidelines take effect, they must be approved by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs and the Department of the Interior. Yudof doubted whether the guidelines would receive prompt attention.

"We're not sure what's going on," he said. "There are three main problems: First, it is not clear that Indians are a real priority in the government. Second, the Commissioner has his own Solicitor's Office. We have a low opinion of its counsel, and are fairly certain it will, unjustifiably, rule that some of our proposals are illegal. Third, I'm not at all sure of the intentions and sincerity of the Nixon Administration."