The Native American Programs Act of 1974 (NAPA) created ANA for the purpose of promoting the economic and social self-sufficiency of all Native Americans. This classification includes federally and state recognized tribes, Alaska Natives, Native American organizations, Native Hawaiian organizations, and native populations throughout the Pacific Basin (including American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands). ANA provides funding for community-based projects that improve the lives of Native American children and families as well as reduce long-term dependence on public assistance.
Partnership Opportunities
The ANA programs below provide opportunities for prioritizing early childhood development:
Native Language Preservation and Maintenance and Esther Martinez Immersion Programs (P&M and EMI). The Native American Languages Act (NALA) of 1990 promotes the use of Native American languages. In 2006, Congress passed the Esther Martinez Native American Languages Preservation Act, which amended NALA to provide for the revitalization of Native American languages through Native language immersion and restoration programs. ANA provides grant awards under its language Preservation and Maintenance (P&M) to support Native American grantees in assessing, planning, developing, and implementing projects that ensure the survival and continuing vitality of Native American languages.
- Esther Martinez Immersion (EMI) funding provides assistance to community-driven projects designed to preserve Native American languages through Native American language nests and Native American language survival schools. In December 2019, EMI was reauthorized through FY 2024 and expanded eligibility for smaller-sized tribal nations by reducing classroom size requirements. In addition, the Act expanded financial assistance from 36 months up to 5 years for both the Native American language nests and Native American language survival school programs. The Native American Language Nests project consists of site-based educational programs that provide child care and instruction in a Native American language for children under the age of 7 for an average of at least 500 hours per year per child, and provides classes in the same languages for parents or legal guardians of enrolled children.
- The Native American Language Survival Schools project consists of site-based educational programs for school-age students and provides at least 500 hours of immersion instructions in Native language per year and per student. It also requires the development of instructional courses and materials, provision of teacher training, and progress towards achieving Native American language fluency and academic proficiency in mathematics, reading, and the sciences. In addition, it requires applicants for language survival school funding to be located in areas that have a high number or percentage of Native American students.
- Social and Economic Development Strategies (SEDS). These competitive financial assistance grants support locally determined projects designed to provide high-quality early education and child development services to tribal populations or eliminate community problems that affect early childhood educational goals.