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Hannahville Indian SchoolHannahville Indian School is a tribal K-12 school in Hannahville, Harris Township, Michigan. It is affiliated with the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE).[1] Nah Tah Wahsh Public School Academy is a charter school affiliated with the institution. The school serves the Potawotami tribe and the Hannahville Indian Community. In 1990, it was the only school in Michigan that had all of its students as Native Americans.[2] It is in proximity to Wilson.[3] The name "Nah Tah Wahsh" means "soaring eagles".[4] HistoryTwo 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] CurriculumThe 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] AthleticsIn 1990, the school created a basketball team.[4] References
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45°39′37″N 87°20′37″W / 45.6603°N 87.3436°W
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