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Comment by protomyth | Hacker News Reader

I'm just amazed that the whole of America is not offended by the Department of the Interior's ineptitude. Our internet got cut for two weeks because they were required to be removed from the internet because of how sloppy their IT security was. Made for some problems with our distance learning classes. Even the colleges who paid for their internet from a private provider were affected. Hell, BIE still thinks a T1 is good enough for a community college.

North Dakota has open enrollment, so there are a lot of buses from other schools on the rez each morning (which I find good for the students). The tribes runs the local school not the BIE, and I think that is much more common these days. We don't have any of the old BIA schools, and the most common boarding school in our area is a world of difference from the old government crap (it is now run by Native Americans and does wonders for troubled children).

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I Grew up near a rez in ND, my dad worked at the tribal college for as long as I can remember. Open enrollment does help. A sizable chunk of the local public school population lived on the rez. The tribal highschool looks more like a prison (not a single window on the outside) and teachers rarely last more than a couple years.

On the note of the sad state of diversity initiatives, I recall a particular quote from a local restaurant owner: "If their last name has a verb or an animal in it I throw it in the trash"

I think I know which one you mean (opened in 1985, it does have a sky light, one window behind the concrete towerish thing, and a door on the 3rd floor boiler room). Amazingly, its a "celebrated" design from Texas. The "how do we vent a gas leak" was hilarious, not to mention how fast strep throat traveled.

Oh yeah, that place was a horrible place since it was half public (high school), half BIA (elementary). I am told they have improved, but it was not great when I went there. They finally got rid of the BIA.

Yeah, some of the "border" towns have some really, flat out racist people. The "safety inspections" on the first of the month positioned to stop all cars coming off the rez were some serious BS. Talk about hitting people when they are already down.

Though the tribes often do have more control over the schools now, the SD reservations are the poorest areas in the nation, so they still rely on the BIE for funding. My hunch is that this is another of the differences between the Dakotas caused by the oil boom.

As for the boarding schools, SD still has the definite residential schools. My hometown has one, and it's depressing. Over the past decade they've; drawn national criticism for for fraudulent fund raising, forbid a Lakota ceremony from being performed at HS graduation while allowing a Christian prayer, moved away a priest after decades of hushed up rape accusations, and passed a state law making them unable to be sued by any past victims of abuse.

Pine Ridge and Rosebud just have no luck. In ND the only tribe that really gets oil money is Three Affiliated. A tribe can take over the school and retain the BIE funding with an agreement. I know they have a boarding school in Pierre and have heard good things. The corruption in the old system was, well, I really cannot express it in polite society but it sadly makes me hope for the existence of hell.

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