Navajo Nation Report Alleges Systemic Discrimination and Fear in New Mexico School District

A new report from the Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission reveals pervasive discrimination and a climate of fear for Navajo students within one of New Mexico's largest school districts. The 25-page document, released last week, incorporates testimony from parents and community members gathered during four public hearings. It urges the New Mexico Attorney General's office to release findings from its own two-and-a-half-year investigation into the district's disciplinary practices concerning Indigenous students.

The commission's findings align with a December 2022 investigation by New Mexico In Depth and ProPublica, which highlighted that Indigenous students faced harsher punishments than other students across New Mexico during the four years leading up to 2020. The Gallup-McKinley district, serving the nation's largest Indigenous student body, significantly contributed to this disparity. Attorney General Raúl Torrez initiated an investigation into the district's practices in 2023, and his office now confirms its completion, identifying "troubling disciplinary practices."

Despite these findings, the Attorney General's office faces legal limitations in pursuing formal action against the district under current state law, prompting calls for comprehensive civil rights legislation. The report recommends a formal agreement between the Navajo Nation and the district to implement restorative justice discipline policies and calls for a state financial audit of the district's spending on Native education. Wendy Greyeyes, chair of the commission, emphasizes that "entrenched racism" is causing suffering among students, highlighting the need for better data auditing by the Public Education Department.