(NAME-MCE) NIEA Founder, Dr. William G. Demmert, Jr. (1934-2010)

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NIEA Founder, Dr. William G. Demmert, Jr. (1934-2010)


On January 19, 2010, Dr. William Demmert, Tlingit/Oglala Lakota passed onto 
 the spirit world. NIEA is deeply saddened by the loss of one of our  
organization’s founders and the nation’s leading researcher on Native language  
immersion and cultural based education. 

William G. Demmert, Jr., (Ed.D.,  Harvard Graduate School of Education, 
1973) currently serves as a professor of  education at Western Washington 
University. Professor Demmert is one of the  original founders of the National 
Indian Education Association (the idea was  conceived at the First Convocation 
of American Indian Scholars, Princeton  University, in March 1970). As a 
member of the first Board of Directors he  designed the current NIEA logo and 
pin on his way from a meeting in DC to Boston  while attending Harvard 
University. 

Dr. Demmert worked on the original  Indian Education Act (P.L. 92-318) 
while a student at Harvard; worked on the  legislation reorganizing the Bureau 
of Indian Affairs Office of Indian Education  (including direct funding of 
schools, local hiring of faculty, and the formula  that is still used for 
allocating funds); and was instrumental adding a Native  language priority to 
Title III (during the time it was known as the Bilingual  Education Act), 
commonly known as the Puerto Rican Provision (he worked closely  with Pila 
Wilson and Bob Arnold). 

Bill was the first U.S. Deputy  Commissioner of Education for the U.S. 
Office of Indian Education, in the  Department of Health, Education, and 
Welfare; Served as the Director of  Education for the Bureau of Indian Affairs; 
held the position of Commissioner of  Education for the State of Alaska; served 
President Clinton’s education  transition team helping set the tone for 
Indian education during the Clinton  administration; and worked closely with 
David Beaulieu the Director of the  Office of Indian Education and Jim Kolmous 
Deputy Assistant Secretary in the  Department of Education on the original 
Presidential Executive Order. Professor  Demmert served as a member of the 
Independent Review Panel created by the U.S.  Congress to undertake a 
national assessment of Title I, of the Elementary and  Secondary Education 
Amendments (ESEA), and other federal programs in the U.S.  Department of Education, 
1995-2001. He was appointed by the U.S. Department of  Education (along with 
former Secretary of Education Terrel H. Bell) as co-chair  of the Indian 
Nations At Risk Task Force and served as the primary writer for  the Indian 
Nations At Risk Task Force Report published in October, 1991, by the  U.S. 
Department of Education. 

He worked with the RAND Corporation on a  review of the research literature 
on the education of Native America, an  analysis of the National Assessment 
of Educational Progress (NAEP) data  targeting Native American students and 
the Longitudinal Study of Early Childhood  education. In addition, he has 
worked with the Northwest Regional Educational  Laboratory as a partner on a 
proposed National Study of Indian Education which  includes a review and 
assessment of the quantitative research available on the  influences of 
language and cultural programs on the education of Native American  students; a 
feasibility study on whether such a study is possible to carry out;  and the 
design of such a study. The study design was created along with  
representatives of NWREL David Beaulieu and Roland Tharp. Implementing the  design has 
included a unique partnership of five Native Language immersion  schools as 
well as a number of other culturally based education school programs  along 
with institutional research partners. He was actively working on this  effort 
when he passed away. 

Dr. Demmert’s international activity was  extensive and included serving as 
a co-chair of a coalition of the Ministers of  Education in northern 
nations and has helped plan and implement a series of  education seminars in 
Norway, Sweden, Finland, Greenland, Russian Federation,  Alaska, Nunavut 
Territory, Northern Quebec, and the Yukon Territory in Canada.  These seminars focus 
on ways to improve educational opportunities for indigenous  students in 
the far north. Professor Demmert also works with a number of Native  American 
schools, organizations, and tribes on ways to improve schools and  schooling 
for Native American students. Most recently Dr. Demmert has worked  with 
the Ministry of Education in Greenland as an advisor and overseer of their  
school reform effort in elementary and secondary education, as well as in  
restructuring their university system. 

NIEA is extremely grateful for  the research, dedication, and commitment of 
Dr. Demmert to advancing the  education of Native students and thanks his 
family for sharing him with us for  so long. Thank you Dr. Demmert- we will 
miss you