Helen Maynor Scheirbeck facts for kids
Helen Maynor Scheirbeck (born August 21, 1935 – died December 19, 2010) was an important Native American leader. She was an educator and an activist who worked hard to help her community. Helen was born in Lumberton, North Carolina. She became the Assistant Director for Public Programs at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian.
Helen was especially known for helping young Native Americans. She taught them how to work with the United States Congress and other government groups. Her goal was to create rules and programs that would help Native American communities across the country.
Before working at the Smithsonian, Helen was in charge of Head Start programs for American Indian and Alaskan Native children. Head Start helps young children from low-income families get ready for school. She also worked for the United States Department of Education and in the United States Senate. In the Senate, she helped create the important American Indian Civil Rights Act.
Helen Scheirbeck's Career
Early Life and Schooling
Helen Maynor was born into the Lumbee Tribe. She went to Berea College in Kentucky and earned a degree in education in 1957. Later, in 1980, she earned a special degree called a Doctorate in Educational Administration from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. This showed her deep knowledge in how to manage educational programs.
Making a Difference
Helen Scheirbeck started her career helping the National Congress of American Indians. She played a part in starting the American Indian Higher Education Consortium. This group works to get support for tribal colleges and universities from the government.
She then worked for Senator Sam Ervin. There, she helped organize a big meeting in 1962 called the Capitol Conference on Poverty. This was a key moment where Native American leaders first spoke up. They asked for Native Americans to be included in the "War on Poverty," a government effort to fight poverty.
In 1972, Helen helped create the Coalition of Indian Controlled School Boards. This group supported schools run by Native American communities. President Jimmy Carter chose her to lead the Indian Education Task Force. This group helped define what "Indian-controlled schools" meant.
Helen also became the director of the Office of Indian Education. In 1973, she developed a plan to help tribal colleges get money to start up. This was done through a part of the Higher Education Act.
In 1978, Helen helped write a law called the Tribally Controlled Community College Assistance Act. She guided this law through Congress, making sure it passed. This law was very important because it created the foundation for tribal colleges in the United States. These colleges are special because they are run by Native American tribes.
In 1991, Helen was put in charge of the Indian Head Start Program. She managed the Head Start programs for American Indian and Alaskan Native children all over the country. She made these programs work better and more efficiently.
From 1987 to 1995, Helen was on the Board of Trustees for the National Museum of the American Indian. She was very important in helping to create this museum. After her time as a trustee, she became the director of the museum's public programs. This meant she helped plan what the museum showed to visitors.
