Linda McMahon, President Donald Trump’s nominee for Education Secretary, recently expressed her views on the history of Indian boarding schools in a written response to Senate questions. McMahon, a billionaire and former administrator of the Small Business Administration, suggested that the U.S. government’s 150-year history of forcing Native American children into white assimilation schools is a prime example of why education should be managed locally.
On Tuesday, McMahon provided written answers to questions sent by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions following her confirmation hearing last week. Though her responses are not yet public, HuffPost obtained a copy of her answers, which shed light on her views regarding tribal education.
McMahon’s remarks raise concerns, as they suggest she may not fully understand the federal government’s role in educating Native American children. She also appears unaware that most Native American children currently receive their education through programs run by the U.S. Department of Education, the very agency she is poised to oversee.
When asked about her understanding of the Indian boarding school era, McMahon condemned the government’s actions. From 1819 to 1969, the U.S. government operated hundreds of boarding schools aimed at erasing Native American culture and assimilating children into white society. These schools, run by the Department of the Interior, forcibly removed children from their families and tribal communities. Many suffered physical, psychological, and sexual abuse, and some even died or disappeared.
In her response, McMahon condemned the U.S. government’s forced removal of Native children from their homes. However, she argued that such abuses might not have happened if education had been controlled by local communities rather than by federal authorities. “This is a key example of why local communities should direct education systems, not Washington bureaucrats,” McMahon stated.
While McMahon’s condemnation of the boarding school era is welcomed, her suggestion that local control would have prevented the abuses overlooks the broader factors that drove the policy, including systemic racism and Christian missionary efforts. Several religious denominations supported the assimilation policy, seeing cultural eradication and religious conversion as intertwined goals. Many of the boarding schools were run by these churches.
Additionally, McMahon seems to have misunderstood the current structure of Native American education. She claimed that most Native American children are educated through the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Education, which is not the case. The Bureau of Indian Education serves less than 10% of Native American students, primarily in rural communities on reservations. The remaining 90% attend public schools funded by the Department of Education.
McMahon’s answers to the Senate committee raised further questions about her understanding of federal responsibilities. When asked about the Department of Education’s role in fulfilling the federal trust responsibility, McMahon reiterated her belief that most tribal education work is carried out by the Bureau of Indian Education. She stated that the Department of Education supports tribal education through grant programs, but her assertion about the Bureau’s dominance in Native education is incorrect.
The Senate HELP Committee is scheduled to vote on McMahon’s nomination this Thursday, deciding whether to advance it to the full Senate for a confirmation vote.
