U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell will travel to Wyoming tomorrow for a series of events to highlight the importance of education, including a roundtable discussion with local tribal leaders and two school visits. Throughout the trip, the secretaries will engage with state and tribal representatives, education providers and tribal youth from the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes.
At 1 p.m., Secretary Duncan and Secretary Jewell will participate in a roundtable discussion on Indian education at the fourth annual Wyoming Native American Education Conference at Central Wyoming College in Riverton. State, tribal, and school officials will be on hand to discuss issues facing American Indian students on and near the Wind River Indian Reservation. Secretaries Duncan and Jewell will then participate in a press availability at 2 p.m.
Later, at 2:25 p.m., the two secretaries will deliver remarks and participate in a youth basketball event at St. Stephens Indian School in nearby St. Stephens. They will visit with camp participants and bring attention to the importance and benefits of physical activity, as well as the value of education.
Afterward at 3:15 p.m., they will visit to the Arapahoe School in Arapahoe for the Honoring Our Children ceremony and cultural performance. The ceremony will recognize area students who have been nominated for their excellence in academics, leadership, knowledge of Native culture and good citizenship. The secretaries will listen and watch as Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribal members explain and demonstrate their culture through oral histories, songs and dances.