Indian Education for All



Indian Education for AllCase Study: Arlee Public SchoolsJennifer Jilot12/8/2012This paper is an analysis of an educational issue and in partial fulfillment of C & I 508: Sociology in Education.Introduction of IssueEvery educational agency and all educational personnel will work cooperatively with Montana tribes or those tribes that are in close proximity, when providing instruction or when implementing an educational goal or adopting a rule related to the education of each Montana citizen, to include information specific to the cultural heritage and contemporary contributions of American Indians, with particular emphasis on Montana Indian tribal groups and governments (MCA 20-1-501, 1999).Indian Education for All (IEFA) is a Montana constitutional mandate first established in 1972 to recognize the importance of American Indian people, especially Montana tribes, and their histories and cultures to all Montana citizens. At the 1972 Montana Constitutional Convention, two young people from the Fort Peck Reservation asked delegates what they were going to do to ensure they would be able to learn about their cultural heritage and languages in schools, prompting a discussion amongst the delegates of the relevance and importance of all people of Montana knowing and understanding the historical, cultural and contemporary contributions of Montana tribes. Delegate Eck proposed an amendment of Indian Education clause that was adamantly supported by Delegates Champoux and Blaylock. The Montana legislature did little, if anything, to enforce the clause, however. In 1999 it became law (MCA 20-1-501), and the 2005 Montana Supreme court forced the state to fund programs to implement it.Montana schools are charged with integrating seven essential understandings into curriculum and instruction for all students. In summary, they acknowledge the diversity of American Indian individuals and tribal groups,that their cultures and world views persist today, their oral stories are as relevant as western written histories, have reserved lands for themselves through treaties, there has been a profound impact of federal policies on tribal people, and tribes are sovereign nations. Each of these understandings, by law, must be fused with school curriculums at all levels to validate Montana’s rich history, cultures and current issues. American Indians gain recognition of their ancestors, culture and community life through literature, non-fiction, government, and history, providing a more holistic schooling that bridges the gap between American Indian and non-Indian cultures helping to increase American Indian student achievement and eliminate stereotypes and oppression to heal communities. Great intro/overviewInterest and ImportanceAs a Chippewa-Cree tribal member, I know what it is like to be disappointed and discredited by a lack of representation of American Indian people, histories and cultures in text books and grade school curriculum. As a child, I struggled with identity. I wondered why American Indian people seemed to disappear after Columbus landed in the Americas. I thought, “Well my family and I are here so I know we survived, but what happened to my people between 1492 and the current times?” In my freshmen college history courses, professors shed light on the subject and I became angry. I felt deceived, and I do not want other American Indian children to feel the same way. What’s more, I grew up in a diverse area and witnessed firsthand prejudices that built walls between people from different cultures. They continue to divide our communities, preventing social growth. I want to help my community learn to communicate and accept one another. I adamantly agree that schooling can be a powerful healing agent for our society, and teachers have a responsibility to future generations. It swells my heart to think of the positive influence I can have on social change, albeit at a small level. Changing one child’s life is a step in the right direction since it has the potential of impacting his/her family and friends. Wow!Significant QuestionHow has Indian Education for All affected Arlee students, educators, families and community? GoodCurrent State of the IssueIEFA has persisted and grown since 1972. More and more American Indian people have been looking around their communities, attending colleges and universities, and saying enough is enough. Many American Indian communities are desolate areas suffering from drug and alcohol abuse, and domestic violence. Sociologists recognize the causes of these disparities as depression from a lack of resources and hope for jobs or a way out from an adverse situation. American Indians have fought for change, for a better future. IEFA is one result of that fight, a law that has persisted over time, and offers hope for a better life. Conditions and opportunities are gradually changing for American Indian people. Obstacles remain, of course. Authentic, tribally supported resources are being created and located, staff members have been hired to operate departments and prepare educators to teach using new curriculum and instructional techniques. Teachers continuously grapple with learning about American Indian history and culture, knowing what literature and texts are accurate, and how to integrate the content into an already full school day. Real change in the case of IEFA is slow, tedious and complicated. yesArlee public schools are an example of consistent trial and growth in IEFA. The Arlee community sits in Jocko Valley on the Flathead Indian Reservation home of the Salish and Kootenai tribes. During the 2009-2010 school year, 401 students attended grades kindergarten through twelfth grade. Roughly half of the students are American Indian. On November 7, 2011, Arlee Public Schools was honored by the National Johnson O'Malley Association Board of Directors for having an exceptional Indian education program. IEFA grants and staff, family, and student collaboration have aided in school growth. Using the Indian Education Ready-to-go grant, teachers have created literature units to meet the seven essential understandings of the law. Title VII Indian Education grants and Johnson O’Malley funds are also utilized to ensure that educators are trained in a best practices approach to teaching IEFA through literacy development. The Indian student drum group drums and sings for school and community events, and staff and students plan an annual powwow and Native American Day that brings together other schools and communities on the reservation. Staff and teachers attend the yearly Native American week events held at the Salish and Kootenai People’s Center in Pablo, Montana, as well. The school has been a leader in the state’s move toward IEFA, serving as a model for transformative curriculum that values American Indian people.In an effort to comply with IEFA, Arlee schools conducted a teacher survey in spring 2010. According to the survey, 15% of educators in grades kindergarten through eighth grade do not fully understand the intent of IEFA, but at least 50% of them feel comfortable integrating the essential understandings into their teaching. interesting The tribes they are most knowledgeable about are the Salish and Kootenai, which enables them to connect to the reservation wide community in regard to literature, government issues, history, cultural knowledge, and social structure. The area most difficult for integrating IEFA is mathematics. Widely used resources come from the school and personal libraries, professional literature, Office of Public Instruction, colleagues, tribal websites, historical sites, and museums. The number one resource for Arlee educators were guest speakers from the American Indian community this is promising. 71% of teachers felt encouraged by administrators to embrace IEFA because of the considerable amount of training and time available to develop resources. As with most schools in Montana, locating authentic and appropriate content and lack of background knowledge were, and continue to be, amongst the greatest challenges. Grants, research, curriculum development, teacher training, and student and community support continue to move Arlee schools toward full implementation of IEFA. Interesting!Applying Sociological TheoryIEFA can be analyzed through critical race theory (CRT) focusing on the civil rights of American Indian people. According to Nicola Rollock (2012), “It [CRT] is based on the understanding that race and racism are the product of social thought and power relations” (p. 1). Racism is such an entrenched characteristic of western thought that Americans have come to identify it as “normal,” a structure that functionalists are proud of since transmission of these norms means “individuals accept their roles within the social structure of society” (DeMarrais & LeCompte, 1995, p. 5) an organization they tenaciously cling to. Social thought and power relations are taught and reinforced through the institution of education in American society. Education is what Anglo American upper middle class individuals use to perpetuate hegemony. Gloria Ladson-Billings (1998) acknowledges, “School achievement, middle classness, maleness, beauty, intelligence, science become normative categories of whiteness, whereas gangs, welfare recipients, basketball players, the underclass become the marginalized and delegitimated categories of blackness” (p. 9) I am pleased that you drew on Ladson-Billings here. As they analyze the legal victories and education reform over time, CRT theorists are furthered concerned with the slow progress of racial social reform, if any has truly been made. An essential question is, how do individuals, groups and institutions come to identify, acknowledge and expose racism in American society to achieve social justice?Indispensable to CRT, IEFA acknowledges the extreme bias and inequity that lies in the assumption that American Indians issues are somehow inferior to Anglo American ideology. Since the establishment of missionary and boarding schools, the primary goal of Indian education has been to assimilate tribal people into western culture and society. The core purpose of IEFA is to expose and eliminate institutional racism in education and eradicate prejudice in communities by humanizing and validating American Indians. Goals of IEFA include raising American Indian student achievement to that of non-Indians and to develop a deep understanding and appreciation of tribal cultures for all Montanans in an effort to eliminate a foundation of oppression that goes unnoticed or disregarded by non-Indians. An essential component of CRT is storytelling. Ladson-Billings states, “Critical race theorists are attempting to interject minority cultural viewpoints, derived from a common history of oppression, with their effort to reconstruct a society crumbling under the burden of racial hegemony” (1998, p. 15). Since, “much of reality is socially constructed” (Ladson-, Billings, 1998, p. 15), sharing stories about histories, knowledge, cultures, and experiences help people to see the world in multiple ways and shape society. “Stories provide the necessary context for understanding, feeling, and interpreting” (Ladson-Billings, 1998, p. 14) and people of color have long been silenced in American schooling. IEFA is a result of American Indian people needing to know and share their stories. Excellent pointTeacher and classroom resources and literature are being developed from the stories of specific tribes in Montana, and elders and other tribal members go to classrooms to share firsthand knowledge. In essence, IEFA has initiated the process of validating American Indian stories as relevant, authentic perspectives that surpass any as yet presented in the curriculum in the American schooling system. Telling many of these stories requires rewriting “watered down” and reshaped stories, as well as changing the manner in which content is presented. Current history textbooks, for example, paint Christopher Columbus as a great man who further “enlightened” Spain and the rest of Europe to a whole new place with unheard of animals, plants and people, not to mention untold wealth. They talk of his bravery as he attempted to find an all water route to Asia, accidently “finding” a new land. In fact, some historians believe he knew where he was going, and most agree that he was not very “nice” to the Indigenous people. But, these other perspectives are not included in our Texas written history books, along with the fact that plants of the western hemisphere drastically changed the manner in which the world treats illness and the way food tastes. Columbus is just one of many, many falsities of the curriculum widely accepted in schools. IEFA acknowledges these stories must be changed to not only be factual, but to present multiple perspectives, a difficult task to be sure. exactlyCRT theorists recognize long time established teaching strategies tend to clump all students into a specific learning style that benefits Anglo America and labels American Indian students as poor learners. In a small way, IEFA has caused teaching strategies to change. An important characteristic of American Indian culture is the connection of community, including humans and non-humans. Traditionally, the entire community cooperates for the wellbeing of society. Deloria and Wildcat, authors of Power and Place (year), suggest increased community wide presentations of student knowledge and skills. Having students demonstrate what they have learned in school in places outside of the school creates a connection between the institution and community. Changing the structure of assessment in this manner puts education back into the hands of the community rather than a handful of individuals (school staff) who may or may not actually live in that community. Some Arlee teachers have developed presentations such as imaginary news stations, science fairs, talent shows, poetry readings, and concerts. Though I am not entirely convinced that these changes have been made in response to an American Indian world view as described by Deloria and Wildcat, but rather from new findings in education research that links community involvement to student achievement, bringing student learning outside of the classroom and school building is important to the success of American Indian students. Another teaching strategy that benefits American Indian students is connecting subject matter because nothing in our world is truly separate. Interdisciplinary units bring connection back to the classroom along with a holistic, more in depth, thought provoking, meaningful education. Modifying teaching and assessment strategies that embrace the community makes schooling more meaningful for American Indian students (and non-Indian students, too). Yes!The healing process has begun as American Indians learn and share cultural and historical knowledge with non-Indians in Arlee. First, Salish, Kootenai and other tribal students begin to see themselves as legitimate, equal participants in the community. CRT theorists recognize, “The story of one’s condition leads to the realization of how one came to be oppressed and subjugated, thus allowing one to stop inflicting mental violence on oneself” (Ladson-Billings, 1998, p. 16). Looking through this lens, socialistssociologists? can perceive where IEFA can help reconcile dysfunction in tribal communities. They can further be healed by the connection American Indian stories can create between tribes and non-Indians, developing an acceptance and understanding that eliminates an assumption of “white supremacy.” Practice in TheorizingIEFA has had a positive effect on Arlee students, educators, families, and community. Curriculum development has been a significant part of teacher training over the past five years through the Ready-to-go grant and others where the primary focus is on IEFA through the development of literacy and assessment best practices and units. Many of these units have been approved by the CSKT education department as well as Montana OPI where many of them are available for other teachers and districts to use. An Indian Education parent committee meets once a month to voice ideas and concerns. A student Indian club helps teachers plan the powwow and provide ideas to improve their education, and the student drum group sings for school and community wide events, including sporting events and graduation ceremonies. Some educators are working to bring parents and community members into the school with student presentations of the skills and knowledge they have gained, as well as to share stories of American Indian experiences and values. Though standardized test scores remain stagnant and unreliable sources of information on student achievement, American Indian parents and students are becoming more active in the school, showing a willingness and desire to take control of the education of their young people. However, there are some areas that need to be further developed to make IEFA a complete reality in Arlee schools. The Indian Education department of Montana OPI has developed a way to analyze the level of inclusion and integration of the seven essential understandings of American Indians into curriculum and instruction. The “Banks O’meter” has four levels; contributions, additive, transformative, and social action. Arlee schools do a wonderful job of meeting the contributions level, the most basic level of inclusion. An example is celebrating Native American day with arts and crafts and basic instruction in powwow music and dancing. This stage is equivalent to skimming the surface of a lake, the tiniest bubbles at the top, and does not require in depth instruction into the meaning of cultures, values or ideas. The next stage, additive, which many teachers in Arlee accomplish, brings literature and references to a few aspects of the curriculum but they do not seem to connect to or flow with the original unit. An example from one Arlee kindergarten teacher would be a unit on animals where students are taught the Salish names for the animals but not the significance of the animals to the worldview of the tribe. The transformative stage is where American Indian education in curriculum and instruction begins to have more meaning. Schools, like Arlee, develop Indian studies and language programs in addition to other academic studies. Ultimately, the essence of IEFA, requires a social action stage where curriculum and instruction is fused with critical literacy. Tammy Elser, an Indian Education Implementation Specialist in 2007, and now a CEO for Insight Educational Services, Inc., once told a group of teachers at an IEFA training in Missoula, Montana, “Proponents of critical literacy recognize that language is a tool for social action. Classrooms that employ critical literacy engage students and teachers as agents of social change…Critical literacy will be our tool for looking at the good, the bad and the ugly in relation to common portrayals of American Indian people in textbooks, literature and other media… Focus will be on stereotypes, misinformation, and omission in classroom materials” (2007). At the social action stage of IEFA students and teachers alike can identify and analyze critical literacy together. This act alone will teach children to think for themselves while understanding that many “truths” exist in the world. Beautifully articulatedImplementing social action takes a total transformation of not only curriculum and instruction, but a look inward to our most basic assumptions of one another YES, a process few non-Indians understand how to do. Ultimately, American Indian perspectives and stories must permeate every subject, and the cultural worldview penetrate the structure of instructional techniques and assessment. Arlee schools tends to pride themselves on their annual Native American Day, powwow and drum group, all of which are at the “contributions” level. The educators have developed wonderful American Indian cultural units centered on specific pieces of literature, but these units are separate from other units. Why not create a unit encompassing “family” and use a wide array of literature from various tribal groups and people from other countries, or when studying the revolutionary war connect it to reactions of the tribes in the area as well as enslaved Africans? American Indians should not be taught as separate units. Bigger values and ideas should be taught that include American Indians in a yearlong curriculum, not just during certain days, weeks or months out of the year, restricting the true meaning behind tribal cultures and histories. The fact that Native American Day exists is a testament to the lack of progress we have made. When IEFA becomes a true reality, these days will not be needed. Every day is Native American day, because without American Indians Lewis and Clark would not have made it to the west coast, the pilgrims would not have survived the winter, food may not taste as good, and antibiotics may not exist. Ecology is a fundamental area where fusion of tribal cultural beliefs and extension of sociology would be natural because of the connectedness of all living creatures. American Indian worldview can expand them, uniting ancestral, familial and community ties since everything is dependent on one another. Connectedness is evident in the amount of time the community spends together viewing presentations of student learning, in the elders who share stories in the classroom, and in the hands-on exploration of local environmental issues. Interdisciplinary instruction reinforces relationships between concepts, ideas and values, bringing about a broader definition of ecology. These ideas join in a broader more holistic idea of “ecology” that connects humans to their environment.As an educator and a parent, I have personal knowledge of the policies, challenges, and successes of IEFA in Arlee schools. They, in general, have gone from purely contribution to transformative in the seven years of experience I have with them. A select few teachers like Anna Baldwin and Rhonda Howlet have clearly reached the social action phase, but many continue to lag behind at the additive stage. Some continue to be resistant and the community must occasionally discuss the irrational, ignorant ramblings of a teacher who simply cannot put themselves outside of their own skin. With the progress that has been made, however, and if growth persists, Arlee schools will continue to be a role model for IEFA. Consistent staff training, development of authentic resources, and more and more teachers willing to open up their classrooms to the community will keep them progressing in the right direction. Teachers like Baldwin and Howlet will be the voices of progress leading Arlee Public Schools to completely and entirely understand and accept the social action aspect of IEFA. Though sociologists and educators value evaluation of race relations in American institutions, Ladson-Billings (1998) warns analysts that CRT is still in its infancy. According to her, “It is very tempting to appropriate it [CRT] as a more powerful explanatory narrative for the persistent problems of race, racism, and social injustice. If we are serious about solving these problems in schools and classrooms, we have to be serious about intense study and careful rethinking of race education” (p. 27). She concedes that more research and evaluation of educational law and the foundation of racism in America is very much needed. Still, looking at CRT as it stands now, adds to the examination of IEFA and its effects on Arlee public schools and the community it supports with its analysis of the impact of “white supremacy” on race relations in society. Through storytelling of first hand truths of people of color, education and schooling can be powerful change agents initiating the decline in oppression and discrimination. CRT acknowledges the effects American institutions have on individual and group relationships and the snail’s pace of change in the United States. They would appreciate the ideals of IEFA, evaluating the depth and breadth of change in curriculum and instruction. IEFA, I believe, could live up to their appeals of true racial equity. As Ladson-Billings says, “It is because of the meaning and value imputed to whiteness that CRT becomes an important intellectual and social tool for deconstruction, reconstruction, and construction - deconstruction of oppressive structures and discourses, reconstruction of human agency, and construction of equitable and socially just relations of power” (p. 10). IEFA is responding to Anglo American egocentric mentality with a reality that will change the way individuals view one another and the world they live in. Resources: Excellent job researching and drawing on theseArlee public schools honored for Indian education program. (2001, November 8). Misoulian. Retrieved from , M.S. & Munson, M. (2011, April 19). Indian Education in Montana –Closing the Achievement Gap &Implementing Indian Education For All. Montana Office of Public Instruction. Retrieved from , V. & Wildcat, D.R. (2001). Power and Place: Indian Education in America. Golden, CO: Fulcrum Publishing. Indian Education. (2012). Essential Understanding Regarding Montana Indians. Montana Office of Public Instruction. Retrieved from Education Activities in Arlee Elementary School by Classroom. (2009). Retrieved from Education for All – Arlee K-8 – Teacher Survey. (2008). Arlee Schools. Retrieved from Education for All: MCA 20-1-501. (1999). 1(527). Retrieved from , S. (2001). A History and Foundation of American Indian Education Policy. Montana Office of Public Instruction. Retrieved from , G. (1998). Just what is critical race and what’s it doing in a nice field like education? Qualitative Studies in Education, 11(1), 7-24. Retrieved from of Public Instruction. (2008). Indian Education for All: Arlee Public Schools K-12 Literature Units. Retrieved from , N. and Gillborn, D. (2011). Critical Race Theory (CRT). British Educational Research Association. Retrieved from Studies Model Lesson, Montana State Constitution Article X and Indian Education for All. Montana Office of Public Instruction. Retrieved from instrument-Issue Analysis PaperCRITERIAPossible Points (50 total)Introduction of IssueClearly identifies issue and explains why it is of concern for particular stakeholders.Frames the issue using a sociological perspective; outlines historical/social development, and draws on relevant sources to do so.7/7Interest and ImportanceDiscusses how knowledge of this issue will prove useful in personal research or interest.3/3Significant QuestionArticulates a central question that captures and frames the social issue of interest.Question is clear and relevant.5/5Current State of the IssueBrief description of current debates/arguments is clear and well supported with references to sources.Overview of policies designed to address issue is clearly presented and draws on appropriate sources.Offers analysis about why issue persists.10/10interesting info—especially appreciated the survey findingsApplying Sociological TheoryAccurately represents the selected sociological theory(ies).Selected theoretical perspective(s) is/are suitable for explaining the social phenomenon/ issue. Briefly addresses why other theories would not be as good of a fit.10/10 excellent job with CRTPractice in TheorizingThe attempt to answer the significant question aligns well with analysis found in previous sections. Answer does not “overclaim” (it is okay to find that the question cannot be fully or definitively answered; don’t be afraid to theorize, but use measured language).Writer outlines what he/she would do to engage/fix/manage the issue; plan is thoughtful and logical.Prediction about the future of the issue is clearly explained, and writer shares why he/she holds the prediction.Writer gives a concise and thoughtful explanation of the extent to which and the ways in which sociological perspectives serves to examine and understand issue.10/10Very interesting, Jenn!Written PresentationWriting is clear; ideas are effectively presented. There are no mechanical, spelling, grammatical errors.Uses suggested subheadings.APA format is used for in-text citations and on reference page.4/5AJenn, Excellent job on this! Arlee makes a very interesting case study. I’m especially impressed that you took on an additional theoretical perspective in your analysis. You’ve utilized it very well here—an astute analysis of this issue! ................
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