2025 Feature (Education-Only Outlets) Winner

About the Winner:

Reporter Neal Morton spoke to nearly 100 educators, students, government officials and members of Indigenous communities and dug into data for this story. He grew curious about the Havasupai Tribe after learning that several tribal families had sued the federal Bureau of Indian Education, alleging the government had denied their children an adequate education in violation of the law. 

In early 2022, he began connecting with parents, former Tribal Council members and former teachers. After numerous requests to visit the tribe’s village over two years, in May 2024, the Tribal Council finally approved his visit to the remote reservation at the bottom of the Grand Canyon — and after nearly as much wrangling, the BIE granted him access to the school as well. That trip became the cornerstone of Morton’s investigation into the BIE and its failures to provide quality education to students. 

Comments From the Judges:

“This piece was thoroughly reported. For example, about 75 people were interviewed for the article. The beginning of the article is painful; Siyuja was a stellar student in her tribal village, yet didn’t know basic math formulas. I loved how the writer provided the history of Indian education and the lawsuit in a way that avoided legal jargon.”

“A thoughtful and informative investigative piece exposing the Bureau of Indian Education’s failures in educating Native students, and humanized in a way made possible only by Morton’s perseverance and dedication to documenting to the Havasupai Tribe. His tenacity to spend three years pursuing this story is incredible.”

Photo credits: Matt Stensland