The name "Nah Tah Wahsh" means "soaring eagles".[4]
History
Two mothers, Sally Eichhorn and Gloria McCollough, began a campaign to create a tribal school in August 1975 to address the shortcomings of the education of tribal children at Bark River-Harris School.[2] In 1976, the school opened,[5] with four teachers. Initially, the school was a K-8 school that occupied two previously unused rooms. The school went from K-8 to K-12 in 1984.[2]
Before and in 1989, the school sought funding from the State of Michigan three times, with the third time being a request for $80,000. Frank Kelley, Attorney General of Michigan, denied these requests. In 1989, he stated that since Hannahville Indian was not under the control of the state itself, it was not considered a public school in Michigan and could not get state funding as per a 1976 amendment made to the Michigan Constitution, which prohibited the state government from funding schools not considered to be public. Additionally, Kelley stated that the school did not admit non-Native Americans while Ken Pond, the principal of Hannahville Indian, stated that it did.[3]
The Nah Tah Wahsh Public School Academy, which could legally enroll non-Native Americans, opened in 1995.[5]
Curriculum
The school includes tribal culture and customs in addition to academic subjects.[2]
The school intends to continue the tribal language; such language instruction began after 1996.[6]
