Our Mission
Tribal Education Departments National Assembly (TEDNA) is a Native-run Nonprofit organization that seeks to provide technical assistance to Tribal Education Departments that are looking to craft more comprehensive educational systems.
TEDNA accomplishes this by fostering effective relationships with government agencies, education departments, and organizations. TEDNA seeks to provide support for each tribe’s right to define and achieve its own education goals.
TEDNA represents Tribal Nations whose goal is to reclaim sovereignty in education by empowering established Tribal Education Departments. TEDNA helps to ensure that Tribal Education Departments are utilizing available resources, tools and networks to ensure the betterment of Indigenous futures.
The founding of TEDNA has been supported by the Native American Rights Fund and the U.S. Department of Education Office of Indian Education.
Our History
Founded in 2003 with the partnership of the Native American Rights Fund (NARF), the founding Board of Directors for TEDNA included Jerome Jainga, Quinton Roman Nose, and Joyce Silverthorne.
In 2004, TEDNA accepted its first members, and in 2005, its first membership meeting was held in Denver, Colorado.
Over the years, TEDNA’s partners have included such major organizations as National Indian Education Association (NIEA), National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), ACT Inc., and NARF.
In 2025, Academic Development Institute (ADI) helped to publish the TEDNA Strengths and Success Stories booklet, highlighting the organization’s successful implementation of a variety of projects providing direct support to Tribes.
Membership
TEDNA encourages any federally-recognized Tribe to become a member. Whether you have an established Tribal Education Department/Agency (TED/TEA) or are building one from the ground up, our organization is built to support you. Affiliate organizations dedicated to advancing Tribal sovereignty and education are also invited to become members.
