After the US Supreme Court ruled in "Brown vs. The Board of Education" (1954) that segregation of public schools was unconstitutional, the state undertook resistance by what was called the Pearsall Plan, which allowed municipalities to make funds available to create private neighborhood schools. The Haliwa-Saponi took advantage of this provision to build and operate the private Haliwa Indian School, which was attended only by Indian children. It was the only tribally supported Indian school that was not on a reservation. They operated it from 1957-1969. After a few years of its operation, the State Department of Public Instruction (DPI) provided funding for teacher salaries. Tribal citizens paid for supplies and materials, the building, and maintenance, much as parents do at parochial schools.