Helen Maynor Scheirbeck (August 21, 1935 – December 19, 2010) was a Native American

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

and

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

. Born in

Lumberton, North Carolina Lumberton is a city in Robeson County, North Carolina, United States. As of 2020, its population was 19,025. It is the seat of Robeson County's government. Located in southern North Carolina's Inner Banks region, Lumberton is located on the Lum ...

, she was Assistant Director for Public Programs at the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

National Museum of the American Indian The National Museum of the American Indian is a museum in the United States devoted to the culture of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. It is part of the Smithsonian Institution group of museums and research centers. The museum has three ...

. Scheirbeck was best known for her work with young Native Americans, training them to work with the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

and other federal agencies in the United States to promote policies that help Indian communities. Before her work with the Smithsonian Institution, Scheirbeck was the national director for Head Start programs serving American Indian and

Alaskan Native Alaska Natives (also known as Alaskan Natives, Native Alaskans, Indigenous Alaskans, Aboriginal Alaskans or First Alaskans) are the indigenous peoples of Alaska and include Iñupiat, Yupik, Aleut, Eyak, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, and a number ...

s. She has served as a

human resources Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms include m ...

administrator for

Save the Children Federation Save the Children Federation, Inc., commonly known as Save the Children USA, is a non-profit organization working to improve the lives of children in the United States and around the world. Their headquarters is located in Fairfield, Connectic ...

, chairwoman of the

U.S. Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...

Indian Education Task Force, and as a staffer in the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

where she helped develop the American Indian Civil Rights Act.

Professional history

Early life and education

Helen Maynor was born into the

Lumbee Tribe The Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina is a state-recognized tribe in North Carolina. The tribe represents Lumbee people. They are not federally recognized as a Native American tribe. With an estimated 55,000 members, the Lumbee Tribe of North Caroli ...

. Scheirbeck earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1957 in education from

Berea College Berea College is a private liberal arts work college in Berea, Kentucky. Founded in 1855, Berea College was the first college in the Southern United States to be coeducational and racially integrated. Berea College charges no tuition; every adm ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

. In 1980, she earned a Doctorate in Educational Administration from

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six regi ...

Career

Scheirbeck began her professional career as an

intern An internship is a period of work experience offered by an organization for a limited period of time. Once confined to medical graduates, internship is used practice for a wide range of placements in businesses, non-profit organizations and gover ...

for the

National Congress of American Indians The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) is an American Indian and Alaska Native rights organization. It was founded in 1944 to represent the tribes and resist federal government pressure for termination of tribal rights and assimilati ...

, assisting in the founding of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium, which lobbies for tribal colleges and universities on the federal level. She then worked as a staff member for

Sam Ervin Samuel James Ervin Jr. (September 27, 1896April 23, 1985) was an American politician. A Southern Democrats, Democrat, he served as a United States Senate, U.S. Senator from North Carolina from 1954 to 1974. A native of Morganton, North Carolina, ...

for the Senate Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights. There she organized the Capitol Conference on Poverty in 1962, where Native American leaders first advocated for Indian participation in the

War on Poverty The war on poverty is the unofficial name for legislation first introduced by United States President Lyndon B. Johnson during his State of the Union address on January 8, 1964. This legislation was proposed by Johnson in response to a national p ...

. She helped establish the Coalition of Indian Controlled School Boards in 1972. She was appointed by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

to chair the Indian Education Task Force. This body helped define the Indian-controlled schools movement. Scheirbeck was appointed director of the

United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the U.S. federal government created to protect the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...

Office of Indian Education. Here, she developed strategy in 1973 to enable tribal colleges and universities to obtain start-up funds as developing institutions through Title III of the Higher Education Act. In 1978, Scheirbeck assisted in the development of the Tribally Controlled Community College Assistance Act, and guided it to passage in Congress. This legislation formed the foundation of the tribal college movement in the United States. Scheirbeck was appointed head of the Indian Head Start Program in 1991, where she managed the American Indian and Alaskan Native Head Start Bureau and improved its efficiency nationwide. From 1987 to 1995, she served on the

Board of Trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

of the National Museum of the American Indian, key to its founding. After her term as a trustee ended, she became director of the museum's public programs.

References

* Davis, Thomas. ''Tribal College Journal'' (article, year?)
Stilling, Glenn Ellen Starr, "Helen Maynor Schneirbeck"
Online Lumbee bibliography {{DEFAULTSORT:Scheirbeck, Helen Maynor 1935 births 2010 deaths 20th-century Native Americans Berea College alumni Female Native American leaders Lumbee people Virginia State University alumni Virginia Tech alumni 20th-century Native American women 21st-century Native American women 21st-century Native Americans Native American people from North Carolina People from Lumberton, North Carolina