American Indian Education KnowledgeBase

Element 1: Foundations and Current Status of American Indian Education

Purpose: To ensure educators working with American Indian students are aware of past efforts at improving the academic achievement of these students, the limited success of these efforts, and current federally funded Indian education programs

Educators will:

1. Understand past efforts to assimilate Indians through English-only assimilationist schooling and the opposition Indians may show to efforts at forced assimilation.
2. Know the lasting effects of the Indian New Deal of the 1930s on American Indian education.
3. Understand the effects of the Indian Self-Determination and Civil Rights movements on American Indian education.
4. Understand the relationship between Indian tribes, states, and the federal government's Bureau of Indian Education.
   

Activity 1: Understand the History of American Indian Education

• Task 1: Understand the Assimilationist History of American Indian Education
• Task 2: Learn about the Indian New Deal of the 1930s
• Task 3: Understand the Impact of the Indian Self-Determination and Civil Rights Movements on Indian Education

Activity 2: Understand the Current Status of American Indian Education

• Task 1: Understand the Concept of Tribal Sovereignty
• Task 2: Understand the Bureau of Indian Education Funded Schools
• Task 3: Understand Federal Funding Available to Educate American Indian Students in Public Schools

Element 2: American Indian Cultures

Purpose: Educators will understand the great cultural diversity among American Indians, as well as some of their commonalities. Educators will understand:

1. What makes someone an American Indian, and what is a tribe today?
2. What is an extended family?
3. What is the significance of traditional American Indian values, such as humility, interconnectedness, and reciprocity?
4. What should all Americans know about American Indians?
   

Activity 1: Be Aware of Tribal and Family Structures

• Task 1: Understand Federal and State Tribal Recognition
• Task 2: Understand Eligibility for Tribal Membership
• Task 3: Be Familiar with the Structure of Tribes, Clans, Bands, and Extended Families

Activity 2: Understand American Indian Traditional Tribal Values

• Task 1: Understand Traditional Tribal Values
• Task 2: Be Aware of the Need for Cultural Group Identity

Element 3: Understanding Your School and Community

Purpose: Assessing American Indian students' academic performance and working with local tribes and other Indian organizations are necessary to develop culturally responsive teaching methods. Educators should:

• Examine current American Indian student test scores, attendance rates, and dropout rates;
• Work with tribes and community organizations; and
• Work with national American Indian organizations and the National Indian Education Association.
  

Activity 1: Take a Snapshot of Your School and Community

• Task 1: Get Organized for Data Collection
• Task 2: Examine Student Performance Data
• Task 3: Gather Information About the Local American Indian Tribes
• Task 4: Summarize Snapshot Findings

Activity 2: Work With and Involve Community and Parents

• Task 1: Working with Tribal, Community, and National Organizations
• Task 2: Communicate With and Involve Parents

Element 4: Use Culturally Responsive Teaching Methodologies

Purpose: Some research suggests one reason for the achievement gap faced by American Indian students is cultural conflicts between American Indian homes and schools. Accordingly, culturally responsive teaching methodologies should address:

• American Indian learning styles;
• Indianizing curriculum;
• Ethnomathematics and ethnoscience;
• American Indian charter and magnet schools; and
• Language revitalization.
  

Activity 1: Helping American Indian Children to Learn

• Task 1: Be Aware of American Indian Learning Styles
• Task 2: Avoid Biased Teaching and Stereotypes
• Task 3: Understand the American Indian Perspective on Gifted and Talented Education
• Task 4: Identify and Serve Exceptional American Indian Children
• Task 5: Prepare Educators to Teach American Indian Students

Activity 2: Integrate American Indian History and Culture into School Curriculum

• Task 1: Develop a Curriculum for American Indian Students
• Sub-Task 1: NIEA Resource Repository (K-12) Curriculum
• Task 2: Integrate Social Studies
• Task 3: Incorporate Ethnomathematics and Ethnoscience
• Task 4: Apply to Reading and Children's Literature
• Task 5: Instill Through Writing

Activity 3: The Role of American Indian Charter and Magnet Schools

• Task 1: Learn About Charter Schools
• Task 2: Be Familiar with American Indian Charter Schools

Activity 4: Teaching Indigenous Languages

• Task 1: Be Aware of U.S. American Indian Language Policy
• Task 2: Discover How American Indian and Indigenous Languages Around the World Are Endangered
• Task 3: Know About Efforts to Revitalize and Teach American Indian and Other Indigenous Languages
• Task 4: Learn About Tribal Language Immersion Schools