Tribal Affiliation: WISEdata

The Tribal Affiliation data element allows school districts to collect and report tribal affiliations for American Indian or Alaska Native students who identify (e.g., enrolled, a descendant of, affiliated with) with a Tribal Nation recognized by the federal government. This data collection can help to develop, test, and demonstrate the effectiveness of services and programs to improve the educational achievements of American Indian or Alaska Native students.
This data element can be collected for students whose race is reported as American Indian or Alaska Native. The tribal affiliation data element, however, is not the same as race and ethnicity data. For more information on race and ethnicity data, refer to the Race and Ethnicity data element page.
This data element is not required for public or Choice schools but is highly recommended.
Tribal Affiliations | Description |
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Bad River | Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians |
Forest County | Forest County Potawatomi Community |
Ho-Chunk | Ho-Chunk Nation |
Lac Courte Oreilles | Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians |
Lac du Flambeau | Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians |
Menominee | Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin |
Oneida Nation (Wisconsin) | Oneida Nation |
Red Cliff | Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians |
Sokaogon | Sokaogon Chippewa Community |
St. Croix | St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin |
Stockbridge-Munsee | Stockbridge-Munsee Community |
Other Tribal Nations (US) | Please select a value from the Tribal Affiliation List. |
USES: Tribal affiliation data can be used by school districts and DPI to develop, test, and demonstrate the effectiveness of services and programs to improve education achievements of American Indian or Alaska Native students.
FAQs, Details, and Points to Note
Not required for public or Choice schools but is highly recommended.
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Is tribal affiliation required?
No, this is a voluntary data collection. A student can still report their race as American Indian or Alaska Native and not be required to report their tribal affiliation.
- Parents Refuse to Identify: If the family or student does not identify a tribal affiliation, it should not be reported.
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Why is only one tribal affiliation allowed to be reported?
Although a student may identify as being more than one, DPI only wants to collect and report the tribal affiliation they are enrolled as, a descendant of, or affiliated with.
A family may have heritage or identify as a descendant of multiple tribal nations, however, they can only “officially” be affiliated with one tribal community in this data collection.
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Why is DPI collecting student tribal affiliation data from school districts and Local Educational Agencies (LEAs)?
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To allow the state to better understand the American Indian or Alaska Native student population in Wisconsin schools.
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To respond to requests made by several Tribal Nations of Wisconsin with whom DPI has several memoranda of understanding (MOU) that include a commitment to sharing where Tribal Nation’s students are being educated, how they are performing academically and behaviorally, and in turn allowing the Tribal Nation to potentially provide that student with additional assistance or support.
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To help Wisconsin school districts and LEAs better understand the American Indian or Alaska Native student population in their schools.
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To assist Tribal Nations and school districts or LEAs located within a certain geographic area to better develop useful, pertinent, and supportive partnerships, such as formal agreements like MOUs.
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To ensure school districts or LEAs develop plans and implement educational programs that are inclusive of student needs identified by the Tribal Nation as required by some federal programs (i.e., Elementary and Secondary Education Act).
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- How does an individual or family "enroll" in a tribal community? This depends on each Tribal Nation’s enrollment policies, traditions, and/or practices. Please have the family contact their Tribal Nation directly for more information.
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What type of proof can a district be shown/look up to verify?
School districts or LEAs cannot require parents to provide “proof".
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Are grants or funds connected to reporting this data in WISEdata?
No, this tribal affiliation data element is not currently reported by DPI to the US Department of Education. Currently there are no grants or funds connected to this data element. Although not connected to WISEgrants, Title VI Indian Education Formula Grant and Johnson-O’Malley (JOM) Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) programs may find this data useful.
See also:
Ancestry/Ethnic origin data element page
Race & Ethnicity Identification Collection
WISEdash for Districts, How-To: Student Cohorts for Tribal Affiliation
Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Race/Ethnicity Crosswalk
Individual level collections with automated file upload/download processes will use the individual race key for submitting data to DPI. Aggregate level collections and public reporting will use the Aggregate Reporting Category.
View the crosswalk document for race/ethnicity reporting help.
If you need further assistance, please submit a Help Ticket.
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