In order for the narrative in this brief to honor the complexities and lived experiences of Native people surviving genocide today, a cultural, economic, historical, and epistemic overview of the relationship between Native communities and the US education system, research practices in our communities, and technological development is needed. To paraphrase Amanda R. Tachine, there is an investment in the ongoing erasure of Native people and our sovereignty from education. In illuminating this context, we hope to make explicit the connection between the deficit nature of the figures presented and the systems which create and profit from these disparities so that the conclusions drawn do not reinforce the damaging narratives about Native communities that maintain colonial saviorism and superiority.