National Indian Education Association chooses new president

Monday, October 15, 2018  

The National Indian Education Association has a new leader.

Robin Butterfield, a citizen of the Winnebago Tribe, won election as NIEA's president during the organization's annual convention and trade show last week. She has more than 45 years of experience in Indian education, having served as a teacher, a district administrator and in a number of other capacities.

Butterfield, who also has ancestry from the White Earth Nation. She succeeds Jolene Bowman, a citizen of the Stockbridge Munsee Band of Mohican Indians, in the president's position.

Congratulations to our new President Robin Butterfield #NIEA2018 pic.twitter.com/a6ZHkSqUtf

— NIEA (@WereNIEA) October 13, 2018

During the convention, which took place in Hartford, Connecticut, members of NIEA also elected three Brian Jackson (Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe), Sylvia Hussey (Native Hawaiian) and Lori Quigley (Seneca Nation) to the board of directors.

"I want to acknowledge Dr. Bowman's work on the NIEA board and her continued efforts in strengthening educational opportunities for Native students," Jackson said after he was sworn in his post on Friday. "I'm honored to have the opportunity to build upon that body of work."

"I'll continue to work to better Indian education for students back home in Wisconsin, as well as students across the country," added Jackson, who also serves as president of the Wisconsin Indian Education Association. "This gives us the unique opportunity to expand our efforts and provides a much broader platform for our Native education initiatives."

As NIEA approaches its 50th birthday, it is undergoing significant change. It long-serving executive director, Ahniwake Rose, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, will be leaving the organization to serve as the deputy director for the National Congress of American Indians, Indianz.Com first reported last week.

Additionally, NIEA's board of directors recently voted to move its administrative and program staff to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where the organization was founded in 1969. Other options included Albuquerque, New Mexico; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Denver, Colorado, according to minutes from the June 2 meeting.

NIEA is currently housed in the Embassy of Tribal Nations, a building in Washington, D.C., that's owned by NCAI. Board members considered the cost of renting that space and other factors in deciding to relocate, according to the minutes.

Despite the pending move, NIEA's legislative function will remain in D.C.