Jolinston] NAVAHO POPULATION 49 



at all schools had risen to over 500 pupils.** By 1911, the number of 

 schools serving the Navaho had risen to 14, with a reported enroll- 

 ment of 1,086, which exceeded their official capacity by 59 pupils. Dur- 

 ing this period, noteworthy progress was also made in improving the 

 attendance records of the enrolled pupils. Before 1890, official en- 

 rollment figures bore little relation to actual educational progress 

 because of the high rate of absenteeism. However, by 1910, the oppo- 

 sition of Navaho parents to the idea of placing their children in the 

 hands of White teachers had been sufficiently dispelled so that average 

 daily attendance began to approximate the official enrollment. 



Meanwhile, the population of the Navaho was also making rapid 

 progress, adding greatly to the number of school-age children eligible 

 to attend school. By 1911, the number of school-age children had risen 

 to an estimated 9,082, of whom 1,086 were enrolled in school. Thus, 

 despite the impressive increases in school facilities, only about 12 

 percent of the Navaho school-age children could be provided for at 

 this time (Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1911, tables 23-25) . 



The amiual reports of official enrollment for the subsequent years 

 until the Second World War indicate continued gradual improvement 

 in Navaho education, but at no time does enrollment approach the 

 number eligible to attend school. In 1920, with an estimated school- 

 age population of 9,835 (probably a serious underestimate) the of- 

 ficial enrollment had risen to 2,481, or just over 25 percent of those 

 eligible to attend school (Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1920, table 18). 

 By 1930, the school-age population came to 11,363, while the enrolled 

 group numbered 5,260, or about 46 percent.^^ The enrolled population 

 of Navaho children never exceeded half the school-age population 

 until 1950. In 1940, there were 5,756 enrollees out of a school-age popu- 

 lation of 12,421 (which was again a serious underestimate of the 

 actual number) . Thus the proportion enrolled in 1940 remained the 

 same as in 1930 : 46 percent.**' Increases in school facilities were there- 

 fore barely keeping pace with increased population during this period. 



World War II dramatized the seriousness of this educational lag 

 both to the authorities and to the Navaho themselves. As mentioned 



** The Blue Canyon School was opened in Western Hopi country, but its enrollment was 

 entirely Navaho (Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1899-1905). 



^ Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1930, table 3. In addition to the 5,260 enrollees aged 6 to 

 18 inclusive, this report mentioned for the first time the enrollment of 295 persons aged 

 below 6 or over 18, bringing the total school enrollment of Navahos at all ages to 5,555. 

 Cf. Young, 1955, p. 172, where the number of Navahos in school in 1930 is given as 5,712. 



"' Bui'eau of Indian Affairs, 1940, table V. Both the estimated school-age population 

 and the total enrollment appear to have been underestimated in this report. The actual 

 number of Navahos aged 6 to 18 inclusive in 1940 was closer to 16,000, while an addi- 

 tional 1,650 Navahos were enrolled in various non-Navaho service schools. The ad- 

 justed figures would still imply an enrollment of close to 46 percent, however. At this 

 time, average attendance varied between 4,100 and 4,500 per month at all Navaho service 

 schools, so that average attendance approximated 75 percent of total enrollment (Bureau 

 of Indian Affairs, 1941 a, pp. 46-52 ; cf. Young, 1955, p. 172). 



