{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=c9d52e54-6083-4d14-baa5-557c1c2750b2", "Heitkamp Announces Innovative Federal Investments for Standing Rock Students", "2014-10-27", "2014", "2014-10", "Democrat", "House", "ND", "Heidi Heitkamp", "H001069", "www.heitkamp.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Heitkamp Emphasized to President Obama the Dire Need for Resources at Cannon Ball Elementary School Just Four Months Ago \n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\tBISMARCK, N.D.  U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today announced the selection of Cannon Ball Elementary School to receive significant in-class, technological resources as part of the White Houses ConnectEd initiative, a federal program partnered with private sector companies that aims to increase broadband access and educational technology in classrooms across America.\r\nSpecifically, Cannon Ball Elementary has been selected by Apple  a private-sector ConnectEd partner  as one of 114 schools which will receive Apple technology in every classroom. This means that every Cannon Ball Elementary School student will receive an iPad, every teacher or administrator will receive an iPad and a Mac, and every classroom will become equipped Apple TV, as well as Apple Care for every product.\r\nJust over four months ago, after President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obamas visit to Standing Rock, Heitkamp wrote a letter to President Obama specifically requesting additional funding for Cannon Ball Elementary School.\r\nCreating partnerships for our future requires investments in the education of our young people, especially our most vulnerable, said Heitkamp. When President Obama came to Standing Rock this spring, I spoke to him specifically about the dire need of our Native students at Cannon Ball Elementary. He understood how vital federal resources are for tribal students there whose future success is inextricably tied to both maintaining cultural traditions, and obtaining an education that will lead to opportunity. Todays announcement that Apple, through its partnership with the ConnectED initiative, has chosen to equip Cannon Ball Elementary with resources that will innovate and empower students, is a positive step forward in helping our Native children create, compete, and grow on a national level. Ill continue fighting for programs like these that work from the ground up to help our tribal students succeed.\r\nIn June, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama visited Standing Rock Indian Reservation with Heitkamp. Heitkamp called the visit a milestone that helped turn the nations attention to Indian Country, and followed up on her conversation with President Obama during his visit with a letter to him in July, again emphasizing the immense scarcity of resources for students at Cannon Ball Elementary School.\r\nHeitkamp stressed the need to continue efforts to improve and expand high-speed internet access to North Dakota and across all rural America during her meeting with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Utilities Service (RUS) Administrator John Padalino in April. According to a recent Federal Communications Commission report, 16 percent of North Dakotans lack access to high-speed internet, and 34 percent of North Dakotans in rural areas do not have access.\r\nWhile rarely discussed, some conditions in Indian Country are staggering, including: 37 percent of Native children live in poverty; suicide rates are 2.5 times the national average for ages 15-34; high school graduation rate for Native students is around 50 percent, compared to 75 percent for white students.\r\nSince her time as North Dakotas Attorney General in the 1990s, Heitkamp has been a strong and vocal advocate for North Dakotas tribes. Heitkamp has continued these efforts in the Senate. In fact, the first bill she introduced as a Senator would create a Commission on Native Children to conduct an intensive study into issues facing Native children  such as high rates of poverty, staggering unemployment, child abuse, domestic violence, crime, substance abuse, and few economic opportunities  and make recommendations on how to make sure Native children are better taken care of and given the opportunities to thrive.The bill passed unanimously in the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in May  the final step before it goes to the Senate for a vote. The bill has 34 bipartisan cosponsors, and the strong support of all five North Dakota tribes and many national Native American organizations.\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=c9d52e54-6083-4d14-baa5-557c1c2750b2"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8804360404610634, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}