Restoring Our Place - An Analysis of Native American Resources Used in Minnesota's Classrooms

RESTORING OUR PLACE

AN ANALYSIS OF NATIVE AMERICAN RESOURCES USED IN MINNESOTA’S CLASSROOMS

A research project of Understand Native Minnesota, an initiative of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community

RESTORING OUR PLACE

An analysis of Native American resources used in Minnesota’s classrooms

Wood-Krueger, Odia. June 2022. Restoring Our Place: An analysis of Native American resources used in Minnesota’s classrooms. Prior Lake, Minnesota: Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community.

A NOTE FROM THE SHAKOPEE MDEWAKANTON SIOUX COMMUNITY BUSINESS COUNCIL We are pleased to present this report to the educators, policy makers, tribal leaders, parents, and interested citizens of Minnesota.

The purpose of this report is to make an original contribution to the cause of improving the accuracy and extent of teaching Native American content in Minnesota’s K-12 classrooms. It does this by examining what curricular and professional development resources are used in the state’s schools, which ones should be shared more broadly, what gaps or inadequacies exist among those resources, and what the most pressing needs for new resources are.

We commissioned this report as a research project of Understand Native Minnesota, our tribe’s latest philanthropic campaign. In planning this initiative before its launch in October 2019, Dennis Olson—a long-time leader in Indian education who presently serves as the commissioner of the Minnesota Office of Higher Education—suggested that we conduct a resource scan. We embraced his idea as a way to help ensure that our efforts and those of our strategic partners will prioritize the most important activities for thought leadership, collaboration, and grantmaking to improve what is being taught about the Native American experience—past and present—in our schools. We believe that Commissioner Olson’s idea and our hope have been realized in this report.

We are grateful to the study’s author, Odia WoodKrueger, and her advisory team for the thoughtful and comprehensive work of conducting their largescale survey of Minnesota educators in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, especially after dealing with a major interruption when we were forced to suspend all Understand Native Minnesota activities for much of 2020. We also appreciate the survey’s hundreds of anonymous respondents for their cooperation amidst the challenges which they have faced in their own professional and personal lives during this difficult public health crisis.

The survey findings of this resource scan are sobering in many respects. Clearly, there is an enormous amount of work to be done to ensure that all of the state’s teachers and students, non-Native and Native alike, benefit from good curricula, accurate books and online content, and proper training in presenting Native American material.

But this report gives us great encouragement as well. The passion and commitment of educators across Minnesota to do well by Native topics is apparent from survey respondents’ own words, as you will see in the following pages. This also is in keeping with the results of a statewide public opinion survey of Minnesotans which we conducted recently. You can read more about these findings in this report. Minnesotans of all walks of life overwhelmingly want to be conscious of the history of the state’s often difficult relations with the Dakota and Ojibwe peoples and to understand us Native Minnesotans for who we are today.

We hope you will find this report valuable whatever your own interests may be. Please join us on the journey to improve Minnesota’s future generations’ understanding of the Native experience and contributions to our state by improving the Native narrative in our schools.

Piuŋdapi,

SMSC Business Council Chairman Keith B. Anderson Vice-Chairman Cole W. Miller Secretary/Treasurer Rebecca Crooks-Stratton

Chairman Keith B. Anderson, Vice-Chairman Cole W. Miller, and Secretary/Treasurer Rebecca Crooks-Stratton

We believe that Commissioner Olson’s idea and our hope have been realized in this report.

UNDERSTAND NATIVE MINNESOTA: A CAMPAIGN TO IMPROVE THE NATIVE AMERICAN NARRATIVE IN MINNESOTA SCHOOLS Tribes are modern, thriving governments, and Native Americans make important contributions to our state every day. But most Minnesotans have little or no in-depth understanding of the state’s tribes, their history, governments, and culture. It is beneficial for Minnesotans of all backgrounds to have a better appreciation of Native Americans’ experiences and current circumstances through collaborative efforts to enrich and update the narrative about Native Minnesotans. To support this new narrative change work, the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) launched Understand Native Minnesota in October 2019.

The SMSC has committed $5 million to support Native American narrative change in Minnesota’s schools through Understand Native Minnesota, a multifaceted strategic initiative and philanthropic campaign. This campaign aims to improve public attitudes toward Native Americans by incorporating greater awareness and sensitive treatment of Native Americans, along with

In fall 2021, Understand Native Minnesota hosted Scott County education leaders for a listening and discussion session on Native American narrative change work in local schools.

Get Involved Sign up to receive updates about the campaign at UnderstandNativeMN.org Follow @NativeMNFacts on Instagram and Twitter Watch or listen to our podcast series “Native Minnesota with Rebecca Crooks-Stratton” featuring Native thought leaders and changemakers (available via Apple podcasts, YouTube, and Spotify)

accurate information about their history, culture, and modern tribal governments, into Minnesota’s K-12 education system.

Secretary/Treasurer Crooks-Stratton met with leaders from Education Minnesota in 2019 to discuss the Understand Native Minnesota campaign.

RESTORING OUR PLACE TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION

5

METHODOLOGY

9

SURVEY RESPONDENTS

11

SURVEY FINDINGS

19

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

41

PROJECT TEAM

45

APPENDIX 1: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRES

47

APPENDIX 2: RESOURCES

50

INTRODUCTION

This scan’s principal goals were to (1) learn what kinds of Native-related teaching resources are being relied upon—the good, the bad, and the merely adequate—in the reality of Minnesota classroom settings and (2) recommend some ideas on how to improve the quantity, quality, availability, and deployment of resources in the near future.

The State of Minnesota has established statewide academic standards on a wide variety of subjects, including those which relate to Native Americans.

However, Minnesota’s K-12 educational system is administered on the principal of local control.

As a result, there is enormous variety across the hundreds of public school districts, charter schools, and private schools in what is really taught; what curricula, lesson plans, books, and online and other resources are employed by teachers; and how teachers are trained to use these materials.

To get a true picture of what Native-related resources are in use in classrooms across the state, it was necessary to make a broad-based inquiry. In our research for this report, we asked a wide spectrum of educators about their experiences, opinions, and hopes. We conducted an anonymous and voluntary survey, asking about the type, availability, and quality of resources utilized in each setting; local school leaders’ support; professional self-confidence in using those resources; and more. We invited participation from every school district and autonomous public charter and private school in the state.

We received an overwhelming response to our survey despite it being conducted at a time when educators faced the added difficulties of the coronavirus pandemic. As this report’s section on our methodology describes, we were able to gather information from educators across a wide spectrum of professional roles in the K-12 system and across a very wide geographic swath of the state. Therefore, we are confident that the survey responses and our overall findings give us a good grasp on the teaching resources used today and how they are handled by conscientious teachers.

Even so, responses to our survey tended to be answered by a person who was highly conversant with and enthusiastic about teaching Native content in their own district or individual school. Our findings make no claim to be based on a scientifically random sample of the state’s approximately 65,000 educators. Because our survey respondents were essentially self-selected, our findings about attitudes on professional development and institutional support for teaching Native content may suggest a more optimistic picture than is warranted. Since that picture is frankly concerning to start with, we do not believe we are at risk of overstating the problems identified.

SO, WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO EVALUATE THESE TEACHING RESOURCES? Native American peoples largely have lived in the shadows of American society. Their relative invisibility remains an ongoing, serious problem. Indigenous Americans are usually an afterthought in American society if they are thought about at all, even with some recent progress made in journalism, entertainment, popular culture, the arts, economic life, government, politics, and law. In the field of education, the content which includes Native Americans is primarily created by non-Native authors, content creators, and publishers.

Most mainstream—which is to say nonNative—sources of information still peddle

6

INTRODUCTION

T

his report assesses what pedagogical resources are in actual use by educators in Minnesota’s elementary and secondary schools to teach Native American subject matter.

It is the first resource scan of its kind ever attempted in the state and is humbly presented as a reference point for future discussions about how Indigenous content can be accurately and appropriately taught to its approximately 900,000 students.

7

INTRODUCTION

misinformation, stereotypes, and erasure to dominate students’ and educators’ perceptions about America’s first peoples.

Since 2016, Sarah Park Dahlen and David Huyck have shined a light onto disparities in children’s book publishing. Their infographic series, “Diversity in Children’s Books,” analyzes the racial/ethnic identity of characters portrayed in books. Even with the growing recognition in recent years that Native peoples should be included in public narratives, little progress is being made. Their most recent update showed that books containing Native American characters increased only from 0.9% to 1.0% from 2016 to 2019 and up to 1.1% in 2020—insignificant gains when compared to other populations, some of whose numbers doubled in the same timeframe. More alarmingly, over the past 19 years of collecting this data, books written by non-Native authors about Native American peoples have outpaced those written

by Indigenous authors.

It is no surprise that non-Native Americans continue to have little understanding of their Indigenous neighbors. The Reclaiming Native Truth project’s nationwide poll in September 2017 found that 40% of adult American respondents were unaware that Native Americans still exist.

It also found that 72% of Americans rarely encounter or receive information about Native Americans. While some progress toward greater visibility undoubtedly has been achieved in the intervening four years, there is no reason to think that circumstances have changed much. These facts are not surprising when one considers the quality of information most Americans have been given regarding Native American people—such as living in tipis on reservations and traveling by horse. Thus, when contemporary Natives do not fit the stereotype, it is easier to assume they no longer exist rather than seek out the truth.

Minnesota was inhabited by the Dakota (Sioux) and later the Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) people prior to European-American encroachment and settlement. Eleven sovereign, federally recognized tribal nations—four Dakota and seven Anishinaabe—still call it home. Their enterprises are in most cases the largest employers in their counties, employing more non-Natives than even Natives. Significant urban Native communities reside in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, Duluth, Bemidji, Mankato, and other cities. Many of the state’s placenames originate from Native names. In Minnesota, many efforts have been launched to ameliorate the civil rights, educational opportunities, and economic future of peoples throughout Indian Country. And, of course, Minnesota’s territorial and state history is replete with the tragic relations between its Native and nonNative peoples. For these reasons and more, it is important that the existence, dignity, and worth of Native people be treated accurately and well in Minnesota’s K-12 schools.

By improving the overall quality of resources and curricula, offering culturally authentic professional development, and building greater knowledge among educators about Native American perspectives, we can change the nature of what is being taught for the better.

It will counteract the misinformation and biases which persist and harm all students—Natives and non-Natives alike. And it will counteract the invisibility and lack of representation that plagues Native American communities in Minnesota and the United States.

The project team is grateful to the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community for its leadership, vision, and support in making our research and this report possible.

8

INTRODUCTION

Survey shows 90% of Minnesotans support teaching more Native American content in K-12 schools In a 2021 statewide public opinion survey conducted by the SMSC, nine out of every 10 Minnesotans indicated they support “increasing the teaching of Minnesota’s Native American history, culture, and tribal government in the state’s K-12 public schools.” Ninety percent of respondents agreed with that statement, while 7% were opposed and 3% did not express an opinion.

The survey results show that supermajorities of support exist in all demographic groups, regardless of political affiliation, geography, age, or educational level. Supporters include: ■8 1% of Republicans: 85% of GOP men and 77% of GOP women.

■9 0% of political independents: 87% of men and 93% of women.

■9 7% of Democrats: 92% of DFL men and 100% of DFL women.

■8 0% of self-described conservatives, 95% of moderates and 97% of liberals.

■ 92% of women and 88% of men.

■9 0% of white Minnesotans and 96% of people of color.

■9 0% or more in all self-reported income levels.

■9 2% among college graduates and 87% among those without a college degree.

■9 6% in the Twin Cities metro area, 85% in the Twin Cities collar counties, 95% in southern Minnesota, 87% in northwestern Minnesota, and 85% in northeastern Minnesota.

The survey also asked respondents about their familiarity with the two Native ethnicities in the state. Only 53% said they were very or somewhat familiar with the Dakota/Sioux people, while only 51% said they were very or somewhat familiar with the Ojibwe/Anishinaabe/Chippewa people.

Further, when asked how many tribes are in Minnesota, most respondents were unable to answer. Only 18% of people were close to the correct answer of 11 separate tribal nations in a multiple-choice question.

Nine out of every 10 Minnesotans indicated they support “increasing the teaching of Minnesota’s Native American history, culture, and tribal government in the state’s K-12 public schools.”

METHODOLOGY

A total of 617 surveys were collected, representing teaching professionals in 235 public school districts, charter, and private schools, and 14 educational organizations. Participation was voluntary and all respondents completed the survey using an online form. Submissions were received from respondents in 80 of Minnesota’s 87 counties.

Survey invitations were sent electronically.

Utilizing the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) online contact lists, emails were sent to superintendents, district curriculum leaders, and Indian education staff. The invitation included information about the campaign, links to the three surveys, and a request to share the opportunity to participate with colleagues.

Multiple emails were sent to these key groups at various times during the data collection process.

Relying on educational leaders to share the survey with appropriate colleagues proved challenging.

However, the difficulties the COVID-19 pandemic posed to administrators and classroom teachers alike explain the length of time necessary to solicit responses, follow up on invitations, and collect data. It proved most effective to contact school staff members directly through email, offering the original introductory information and invitation to participate. While time-consuming, this method was more personal, dropping a survey into the inboxes of potential participants who may otherwise have never been encouraged to respond. Personal connections were also leveraged; Facebook educator groups, professional affiliations, and former colleagues were asked to share the survey links within their networks.

It is important to note that the responses do not qualify as a statistically controlled representative sample of Minnesota’s approximately 65,000 K-12 educators. Respondents self-selected to participate in the survey. It can be assumed that most respondents were predisposed to be supportive of teaching Native subject matter and interested in sharing their own views and experiences to advance its teaching. Of course, those same individuals who responded are most likely to be at the forefront of promoting the improved teaching of Native American subject matter among their colleagues.

While not conducted as scientific, randomsample surveys of the state’s educators, the three surveys nevertheless provide significant, broad-based insights into the state of teaching Indigenous content in Minnesota classrooms and, in particular, what resources are being used or are absent in their own school settings.

It was important to collect information from a broad array of school district administrators and specialists, school leaders, classroom teachers, tribal education directors, and others; from nonNative and Native respondents; and across a large geographic swath of the state.

Each of the three surveys is discussed in the following pages.

10

METHODOLOGY

T

o better understand Minnesota educators’ perspectives on the teaching of Native subject matter, information was gathered directly from education professionals around the state. Three surveys were created and disseminated in March 2021 to educators, curriculum leaders, and representatives of professional education organizations in the state of Minnesota. Results were collected at the end of August 2021. Survey data was analyzed in September 2021-January 2022.

SURVEY RESPONDENTS

the status of education in Minnesota. Their participation in this survey is outlined below.

EDUCATORS The overwhelming majority of respondents, 542 out of 617 total (87.8%), completed the general educator survey. These survey-takers were asked several demographic professional questions—school district, job title, number of years in education—and their tribal affiliation (if applicable).

Job Title

Job Title

+196 Unspecified grade level/

+ 30 Administration + 16 Specialist + 13 Coordinator + 12 Paraprofessional + 11 Indian education staff + 7 School counselor + 6 School social worker + 5 Instructional coach + 3 Liaison + 3 Dean + 3 Speech language

subject area

+ 39 Science + 35 Special education + 34 English language arts + 29 Social studies + 19 Art + 16 Music + 14 4th grade + 9 6th grade + 8 2nd grade + 8 5th grade + 7 1st grade + 7 3rd grade + 5 Math + 3 Kindergarten

429

pathologist

+ 2 Advisor + 2 Therapist

113

Other staff respondents

Overall teacher respondents Average years in education:

17 years 32%

of school districts in the 7-county metro area represented

Respondents who self-identified as Native:

34

of

542

12

SURVEY RESPONDENTS

I

n designing the surveys for this resource scan, it was imperative to gather information from three distinct groups of people: educators who are working in classrooms throughout the state; curriculum leaders who may include, but are not limited to, superintendents, content development leaders, and principals who work to align district priorities with relevant curricula; and organizations focused on building stronger educational systems in the state. Each of these groups provides an important perspective on

13

SURVEY RESPONDENTS

Participants were asked to evaluate their overall confidence at incorporating Native American content into their learning environments using a seven-point Likert scale. A score of one equates to little-to-no confidence while a score of seven indicates high confidence.

Interestingly, the aggregate of responses on the Likert scale was quite high in overall confidence: ■ Mode: 5 ■ Mean: 3.998 Of course, as noted above on the survey methodology, respondents were already predisposed as a group to be highly interested in the inclusion of Native content in classroom teaching. Nevertheless, the data show that even within such a large group of sympathetic educators spanning across the state, there is a wide variety of experience and comfort in teaching Native material.

CURRICULUM LEADERS Curriculum leaders accounted for 46 survey responses, 7.5% of the total. Of these, seven selfidentified as Native American (15.2%). While the intent of this survey was to better understand how content specialists leading district (or school) initiatives were incorporating Native American content, the results are less focused based on the diversity of the professional experience of surveytakers. Job titles reflected by participants include, but are not limited to, literacy coach, assistant principal, superintendent, lead social worker, and creative specialist, in addition to more expected roles of curriculum leader, curriculum director, and content lead. While respondents are indeed leaders in their roles, the level to which they make curricular choices for classroom settings likely varies.

This group of respondents averaged 20 years of education experience. When asked to reflect on their confidence in incorporating Native American content, they were asked to rate their district’s success in this area—averaging 3.35 out of 7, with 3 being the most common rating.

Participants tended to think on a grander scale, contemplating systems change.

Overall, answers were more likely to describe both successes and challenges. For example, one respondent described, “Our school is actively building community with Native educators, artists, linguists and creatives to help us build educational resources for students, staff and families. I’m giving us a score of 2 because it still feels like we are very much in the beginning stage of this work that we wish to be doing.”

While there were far fewer respondents to this survey, these participants were more inclined to be champions for narrative change work.

EDUCATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS Surveys from educational groups accounted for 4.5% (28 responses) of the total survey respondents. Invitations to participate were sent electronically to representatives of professional associations, specialist groups, literacy and education advocacy organizations, and educational support institutions, as well as eight Indigenous and Native narrative changesupporting organizations, including the Phillips Indian Educators (PIE), We Are Still Here Minnesota (WASH-MN), and the Minnesota Humanities Center.

When asked what challenges they perceive to incorporating Native content into their group, responses were much like the educator survey— funding, capacity, staffing, and buy-in. Some groups admitted that they simply do not know how to start and would appreciate guidance.

Another felt their work could be impeded by stakeholders’ misinformation regarding critical race theory (CRT). Native working groups appear confident in their work, but question whether they will enjoy public support.

Presented on the following pages is a small, representative sample of verbatim comments by educators (88% of all survey respondents), explaining their reasons for their self-assigned scores on the Likert scale.

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SURVEY RESPONDENTS

LITTLE-TO-NO CONFIDENCE

Score of 1:

34 RESPONDENTS

542 RESPONDENTS

■ “ I did not grow up knowing of my ethnic background. I am still learning and become to know some of my relatives.”

■ “It’s not something I was taught directly, and I don’t want to misrepresent something inaccurate.”

■ “ I do not have any specific training in Native American content. When I attempt to include something from Native American culture into my classroom, it feels inauthentic.”

■ “I do not have the materials to include in my classes and I feel I am not educated enough to give it justice it needs in my class.”

Score of 2:

■ “ I don’t have any Indigenous students in my classroom.”

81 RESPONDENTS

■ “ I have attended trainings and taken classes, but I still don’t feel like I have the proper resources or understanding to adequately teach this material.”

■ “ What I know and can incorporate into my practice was gained from my Native American students. I was never taught my subject area through a Native American lens, therefore I feel I lack knowledge and skills to incorporate Native American content into my teaching practice.”

■ “ Right now, most Native American content is embedded in our 6th grade social studies curriculum. I would like us to include more literature and other Native American content in our curriculum, but I do worry that, without consultation with Native American people,

542 RESPONDENTS

the curriculum may lack depth —or worse, demonstrate and reinforce our ignorance of the needs, preferences, and hopes of Native people. We do not have any Native American students or staff at our school.”

■ “My knowledge is so superficial. I feel ok about talking about Native culture, history, as a white person - I know enough to avoid some of the pitfalls and have studied my own colonizer mentality. I still say wrong things and make mistakes but am clear in my teaching to say that I know I don’t know, that I am trying to learn and hear perspectives just as students are.”

■ “Most lessons I have found focus on the stereotypes of Native American culture.”

15

Score of 3:

88 RESPONDENTS

SURVEY RESPONDENTS

■ “ My personal education didn’t include much Native American content. It is overwhelming to try and self-educate myself on all marginalized groups and then figure out how to incorporate it into an already packed curriculum.”

■ “ I have the ability to research the subject and present to students, I’m just not confident on making sure I teach the content in a respectful way.”

■ “ I am aware of Native and Indigenous people, culture, and history, but not well versed in bringing it into the space I facilitate. I have done land acknowledgements and continue to find ways to make that opportunity most authentic for me and most impactful for my participants.”

■ “ I spent a little over a year working at a school on a reservation, so I feel more competent

Score of 4:

with some of the culture and traditions, but it is a different matter to incorporate this in meaningful ways to the curriculum. We have successfully incorporated some traditions into our Social Studies units, but I feel like there is more that could be added. In addition, I feel like the majority of available resources use cartoon illustrations, and more real depictions of Native Americans are needed in resources for the classroom.”

■ “I feel that although we have decent resources, there is always more we can be doing. Also - the resources we have might be dated (due to lack of funds) and therefore it is difficult to make appropriate choices all of the time. I want to go more in depth than just ‘here’s a legend’ and then we do compare/contrast with other works from other societies. I know there’s more.”

118 RESPONDENTS

■ “ I try to include Indigenous perspectives in the material that I teach, but especially with early history, I often struggle to represent the in ways other than the “defeated” perspective instead of also giving examples of triumph and success.”

■ “ I’m comfortable with creating space for the learning about Native American content, but I have a few challenges. One is simply being naive to the culture and not understanding it myself- this is something I desire to fix.

The other is that there seems to be this idea that because students learned about Native American/Minnesotans in middle school, they don’t need to learn it again.”

■ “ I just don’t feel adept. I have skills and strategies to engage learners by developing lessons in which they recognize their own culture and people. I aim to be a culturally responsive, trauma informed teacher. I understand what it means to know my students and their families before I ask them to learn in my math class. What shakes my confidence is, I lack the data to inform my instruction. When I asked to see standardized baseline math data for Native American students in this school or state, I’m told it is

542 RESPONDENTS

542 RESPONDENTS

not documented-it is too small of a population sample. In order for me to feel confident about my practice as it relates to serving any student, I need more than my good relationships and informal classroom curriculum measures as data to plan lessons, reteach, and intervene to disrupt the failure and dis-engagement of my Indigenous students.”

■ “I would LOVE to have a lot more [Native American] content—but our department one way or the other has continually cut more and more time out of our units in the way of Native American content. I have developed much more than (we) use at the moment. There are so many opportunities for us to do more. It bothers me a lot.”

■ “I was educated in Minnesota, through a system of white-focused history so I don’t feel comfortable marking higher than a 4 because I am sure that I have hidden biases.

However, I have benefited from having an Indigenous man teach my Minnesota history class in 6th grade and be the principal of my k-12 school. I have taken graduate level courses from professors who are part of the Ojibwe and Ho Chunk nations. I continue to seek out professional development to learn where my

Score of 5:

■ “Wanting to be authentic and make connections with Indigenous people first.

I am worried about over-generalizing or showing disrespect in some way.”

124 RESPONDENTS

■ “ I feel I have a strong understanding of the historical trauma and current barriers facing Native/ First Nation/ Indigenous students, their families, and their larger community.

I keep this at the forefront of every discussion with any known Native students I’m working with, but also make sure I embed this in conversation with other professionals.”

■ “ I feel like I have a solid understanding of the history of Native Americans here in MN, through conversations with Native colleagues, exhibits at the MNHS, books I have read and coverage in news and social media. I am not afraid to approach these topics in conversation, but I do not feel I have the expertise to teach these histories and stories.”

542 RESPONDENTS

actively working to be an anti-racist educator and believe that all children should learn the true history of the genocide that America inflicted on the Indigenous population of this nation. I am learning more about the Dakota and Ojibwe of Minnesota so that I might help my students to understand these populations of people, their culture, their values, and their history because it is our history.”

■ “ Literature accurate portrayal of Native American Indians has increasingly become available. Stories help students make a connection and build understanding of other cultures.”

■ “I love teaching social studies and do hours of personal research to make sure that I am teaching/incorporating appropriate and accurate content in my teaching. I attend as many professional development classes as possible and training to keep up to date on my knowledge of the subject/topic. However, since I myself am not of Native American ancestry, I don’t have the real life history examples or personal narratives that I can share with my students. I have to use the voice of others to help tell the story.”

■ “ I feel confident because I ask Native American and Indigenous peoples to speak for themselves in my classroom. As often as possible, I incorporate their voice and words to speak for themselves, so my students understand their perspectives and truth. I am

■ “I feel as if I continue to grow my connections with other Native educators and resources, but still battle with the wall of other nonIndigenous educators who have a hard time accepting new Indigenous narratives I bring forward to them.”

16

SURVEY RESPONDENTS

biases are and include texts in my curriculum that are from Indigenous people. I read fiction and nonfiction by authors from Native American backgrounds.”

17

Score of 6:

66 RESPONDENTS

SURVEY RESPONDENTS

■ “ A large part of my curriculum is about the Dakota and Ojibwe of Minnesota. I have taught it for a number of years, and have sought out videos, resources, training, and contacts that have helped deepen my understanding.”

■ “ Growing up Dakota and being an educator, I am able to put standards and domain learning right into cultural activities we have always done. I put a 6 to leave room open to learning as we do not know all our culture for historical trauma reasons and are always looking to learning to grow with our culture.”

■ “ As a teacher, I incorporated Native works. We studied the Sioux Uprising, looking at various points of view. As an administrator, I feel it is important to teach this content, but I still have to take inventory on what teachers are doing in this field (I am new this year), and then determine how that content may need to be revised.”

■ “ I have worked very hard and integrating Native American content into my Field

HIGH CONFIDENCE

Score of 7:

31* RESPONDENTS

542 RESPONDENTS Ecology class through student investigation of the history of the land to include human impacts and interaction with the land through a historical lens.”

■ “I’ve worked with another English teacher and our district’s Native American liaisons to create a Native Minnesotan unit for our English 12 course. The unit incorporates history and current events of the Ojibwe people in MN. We’ve used this unit for several years and it is updated frequently.”

■ “I have worked closely with many members of the Mille Lacs Band on various educational issues. I have also spent much personal time learning and understanding the history of the Anishinaabe peoples.”

■ “I have really worked hard to decolonize my art curriculum and incorporate the standards in a way that is meaningful, just, and not appropriative. Including artists like Dyani White Hawk, Frank Big Bear, and musicians like Tall Paul into the everyday curriculums.”

542 RESPONDENTS

■ “ I am a Bois Forte band member and feel comfortable sharing/utilizing my Native American experiences and framework within my daily work.”

■ “ I have a M.A. in Native American History / Native American and Indigenous Studies and a triple B.A. in History / Ojibwe / American Indian Studies.”

■ “ I have worked within Indian education for my entire career.”

■ “Grew up in a Native American community, know some of both my heritage Indigenous languages, can introduce myself in my mother’s tongue, I have a BA/MA/PHD in Native American Studies, I’ve taught for an Indigenous Nation, I’ve taught at the University level big and small, I’ve taught preK-8th grade, at all levels I’ve worked to incorporate NA content into the curriculum.”

■ “ I worked at Anishinabe Academy for seven years. I worked closely with Native educators and elders. I have had extensive trainings in Native history, culture, language and revitalization work. I have continued to read and educate myself. My capstone for my Masters focused on how revitalization work on curriculum has a positive effect on engagement for Native youth.”

* 11 respondents who rated themselves a 7 self-identify as Native American (and one other has a Native spouse and children).

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SURVEY RESPONDENTS

The data show that even within such a large group of sympathetic educators spanning across the state, there is a wide variety of experience and comfort in teaching Native material.

SURVEY FINDINGS

20

FIGURE 1. EDUCATOR CONFIDENCE (SELECTED) There were 183 survey answers given for this question, but some respondents provided more than one answer. Hence, there are 246 reasons considered in this chart.

Professional development Books Standards Northern Lights/MN studies Indian Education Proximity (access to Native tribes/individuals) College Resources 0%

5%

CONFIDENCE All survey respondents were asked to provide rationale for their confidence ratings. Results were captured in short answer form, rather than multiple choice, which allowed for greater understanding of individual survey takers’ perspectives. Educators were asked to rate their personal confidence while curriculum leaders and education group professionals were asked to rate the success of their school district/ organization with incorporating Native American content.

Educators were asked to self-evaluate their overall confidence when incorporating Native American content into their learning environments. Of the 542 responses, 359 (or 66%) indicated a general lack of confidence in

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

incorporating Native American content into their teaching practice. Of the 183 that remain (34%), their answers were sorted into eight categories as represented in Figure 1.

Respondents identified that unfettered access to Indigenous peoples was the greatest factor to increasing their overall confidence in incorporating Native American content into their learning environments. Examples include interacting with elders, collaborating with Native organizations, attending pow wows, visiting with Native family members, or self-identifying as Native American themselves. While this may seem simple on the surface, it requires respondents to be vulnerable when building new relationships with people from a different community. There must be a willingness to learn

SURVEY FINDINGS

A

ll survey questions, except for one, allowed for respondents to include a short answer narrative. Their answers discussed overall confidence in incorporating Native American content into their professional environments and discuss what, if any, challenges they encountered during the process. Respondents were asked to identify the most challenging and easiest topics to teach and list what resources and professional development opportunities they have utilized to aid in this work. When possible, verbatims have been included to illustrate comments made directly by the respondents.

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SURVEY FINDINGS and be humble as the relationship builds. There are protocols to consider, and oftentimes it can be challenging to build authentic connections.

For 27% of educators who display some level of confidence, they have put in the effort to meaningfully engage with Native people in their community and have gained new perspectives and opportunities to learn.

According to 20% of confident educators, another key factor to increasing confidence is access to culturally relevant, age-appropriate lesson plans. Since much of this content is yet to be provided, educators state that they have created materials on their own or with colleagues: I have a “college level (Concurrent Enrollment) unit on Native American mascots which includes several articles, editorials, videos, etc., which my seniors have to address, respond, and write a persuasive essay on whether or not Native American mascots should be banned in sports. We get a wide variety of in-depth articles, many of which are NA written and great discussion ensues.” Creating lesson plans requires educators to research the topic at depth before writing, therefore building

more foundational knowledge for the teacher to draw from when presenting to their class. Their increased understanding of Native American content aids in building overall confidence.

For 12% of confident educators, being familiar with the Minnesota State Standards assigned to their specific grade/subject was important.

While acknowledging that there is always room to grow, educators believed that understanding what is expected of them is necessary when teaching content that may be unfamiliar. As one educator explains it, “As a Minnesota social studies teacher, I closely follow the state standards in which MN Native American history/culture is embed[ded]. Our US History PLC [professional learning community] makes sure to focus on the Native American perspective of the closing of the frontier in our first unit in 10th grade. We highlight Native contributions to WWI/WWII and the continued discrimination they faced. We give all our students voice/choice options to choose and focus on Native American history (1885-1945) for the final summative project.”

Other factors that contributed to an overall increase in confidence for this segment of educators are post-secondary learning opportunities and/or teacher preparation programs (11%), professional development learning opportunities (10%), access to culturally authentic books (10%), collaboration with Indian Education departments in their districts (5%), and having experience teaching the Minnesota Studies and/or the integration of the Northern Lights textbook (5%). While it is important to understand the factors that help build confidence in educators in relation to incorporating Native American content, it is paramount that we offer a variety of supports to help teachers grow in their practice. These seemingly separate factors are heavily enmeshed with one another—you cannot have quality culturally responsive professional development without collaboration and access to Native American people.

In the same vein, you cannot expect educators to create and use Native American-focused lesson plans without books, standards, and collaboration with the Native community. One educator shared how Louise Erdrich’s “Birchbark House” series is used in their classroom: “I am able to connect the history of the book to what the students are learning in history class.

For example, the Sandy Lake Tragedy. We are learning the Ojibwe words that are in the book, and we have many discussions about how the Anishinaabe were treated by the voyageurs, settlers, and the US Government. We compare and contrast the life of the main character Omakayas to the lives of my students (ages 1417).” Having access to language resources, vetted books, and collaboration and buy-in from peers is essential for success.

Of the 46 curriculum leaders who responded to the survey, only one rated their organization a seven on the Likert scale. The respondent, who works for an arts organization, says that many arts educators “receive their professional learning on this topic through our work.” The remaining survey respondents recognize that, regardless of work already completed, there is so much more to do: “We have been working for the past 3 years to integrate Native American content in all areas. A Native American liaison was hired during the 2020-2021 school year to support these efforts. We have gotten started, but have a long way to go.”

Curriculum leaders act as the bridge between their district and educators by supporting overall initiatives and overseeing the curricular needs of educators; they have a unique understanding of the pressures districts have to diversify curricula while realistically estimating the time and effort necessary to write age-appropriate, subjectspecific lesson plans (with paired professional development) to support educators while fulfilling the overall priorities of their districts.

Respondents to the education groups survey comprise a very small sample size—28. Of these groups, we learn that without a concerted effort to include Native American content in their work, it gets lost amid other priorities.

According to one survey-taker, “The Black experience and non-White immigrant groups get more of the organization’s focus.” Thirty four percent of respondents acknowledged that inclusion of Native American narratives is an important part of their ongoing work to serve educators, schools, and districts: “In the last few years, [we] have put a priority on professional development for their staff regarding Native American content as well as having Tribal Relations and meaningful relations with Native American families and community at the center of our work with schools.”

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SURVEY FINDINGS

While many respondents admitted during this part of the survey to being overwhelmed by Native American standards, these educators were confident the state standards provided the opportunity to become better teachers as they injected new perspectives into their curricula.

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FIGURE 2. CHALLENGES (LACK OF) – EDUCATORS

SURVEY FINDINGS

Money

There are 681 responses from 542 respondents.

Professional development Support (community and/or district) Community experts Time Cultural knowledge Pedagogy/integration Curricular resources 0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

FIGURE 3. CHALLENGES (LACK OF) – CURRICULUM LEADERS There are 76 responses from 46 respondents.

Money Professional development Support (community and/or district) Community experts Time Cultural knowledge Pedagogy/integration Resources 0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

FIGURE 4. CHALLENGES (LACK OF) – EDUCATION GROUPS Money

25%

30%

There are 44 responses from 44 respondents.

Professional development Support (community and/or district) Community experts Time Cultural knowledge Pedagogy/integration Resources 0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

CHALLENGES

A lack of age-appropriate, culturally authentic resources tops the list for educators and curriculum leaders – at 28% and 24% respectively.

This category was identified as the top challenge for both sets of survey takers. One educator describes their challenge as “finding resources to teach the standards and teaching the standards with integrity. I am worried it will become a box to check off with one activity like many other things have become.” While important, only 14% of respondents from educational organizations listed a lack of authentic resources as a challenge to their work.

For educators (21%) and curriculum leaders (24%), respondents acknowledged how they questioned their ability to incorporate Native content with fidelity, citing concerns around perceived lack of respect and/or a gap in facilitation skills. One educator-coach states that “[F]or many nonNative teachers, there can be a tentativeness around teaching children something you don’t feel you know very much about. There is a concern about how the information is being presented, ‘is this all okay to teach/say/use.’”

More than this, respondents wish they better understood best practices for working with Native students and question how to discuss tough topics, such as genocide and conflict, with all young people in a way that does not impart undue heartache. A total of 16% of education group respondents rated this category as an ongoing challenge to their work—the thirdhighest rating in this category.

For educational organizations, a lack of support from the community was listed as their most cited challenge (at 27%). One respondent suggested that a “lack of meaningful engagement [was] due to historical lack of trust with schools (on the part of parents and community) and lack of true effort for meaningful connections (on the part of schools)” plays a significant role on the success of collaborative efforts. It should be noted that a perceived lack of engagement may be the result of cultural differences rather than a conscious decision to disengage. Furthermore community-based organizations are concerned about political repercussions because of concerns regarding critical race theory (CRT). Educator and curriculum leader survey respondents listed this concern at 6% and 8% respectively.

The inability to network with community experts was the second highest concern for the education group survey-takers at 18%. Because there is so much work to be done in this arena, respondents list building capacity as a top challenge: “Capacity. Members of this group work at a variety of agencies and schools and may not have the time to devote to [this] work. Also, the constant need to educate other teachers and professionals about our community, even the most basic information about Native people.”

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SURVEY FINDINGS

Respondents to all three surveys were asked to describe what, if any, challenges they experience when incorporating Native American content into their respective workplaces.

Survey answers were categorized into eight areas: no access to community experts, little understanding of cultural knowledge, a lack of curricular resources, inadequate funding, missing pedagogy/integration skills, incomplete professional development opportunities, a lack of support, and time constraints.

Tied closely to individual teaching practice is a lack of understanding as it applies to cultural knowledge: 23% of educators, 18% of curriculum leads, and 11% of education group respondents identified this as a relevant challenge to their work. Respondents’ knowledge of Minnesota’s first peoples is varied—from the basics of wondering what tribes call Minnesota home to contemplating the impact tribally run casinos have on the economic development of the state.

Aside from merely collecting knowledge, surveytakers wish for better understanding of Native American cultural knowledge at a level that would allow them to identify misinformation, call out problematic language and stereotypes, and be more adept during discussions with students and peers.

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SURVEY FINDINGS

Many Native American professionals are pulled in a variety of directions, choosing to prioritize projects within their own communities over collaboration with outside organizations. This has been perceived as disinterest rather than selfpreservation. Educator and curriculum leader survey respondents listed a lack of community experts at 6% and 5% respectively.

However, we also need to help teachers learn how to replace their materials. Some teachers know that their texts are problematic, but they do not have the funds to replace them.” While being able to support educators with new teaching materials is important, the survey respondents understand that this problem is deeper than a financial one.

Respondents from all surveys listed a lack of financial means as their least pressing challenge. While financial support would assist with funding curriculum writers, purchasing culturally enriching books, and paying for speakers and professional development facilitators, the challenges related

The remaining two factors—time and professional development—are closely aligned between the educator and curriculum leader survey responses. Individuals from both groups are often at the mercy of district planning schedules where professional development often eats up valuable teacher time, so it is no

to incorporating Native American content cannot simply be solved with a cash infusion without thoughtful preparation and foresight. As one education group professional stated, “We need to do a better job communicating policies and resources for text selection with other teachers.

surprise that both groups chose to rate one challenge higher than the other. Conversely, education group respondents value professional development (7%) over time (2%), likely due to the fact they have more autonomy over their daily schedules than their school-based peers.

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FIGURE 5. CHALLENGING TOPICS BY SUBJECT – EDUCATORS

Culture specific Math/science History/ELA 0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

FIGURE 6. CHALLENGING TOPICS RE: CULTURE – EDUCATORS Policy Mistreatment Traditions Modern day Tribes Colonization Language Culture (undefined) Perspective 0%

5%

CHALLENGING TOPICS We asked educators to reflect on which topics were most challenging for them to teach. Of the 542 responses received, 37 people (7%) acknowledged that all topics relating to Native Americans were tough while 27 respondents (5%) said that none of the topics were particularly challenging for them. In addition, 38 surveytakers (7%) were unsure which topics were most problematic.

After removing the 102 survey-takers listed above, answers from the remaining surveys were categorized into four buckets—art/music, history/English, math/science, and culture specific. It should be noted that some surveys gleaned multiple answers resulting in 491 answers from the remaining 440 surveys.

While culture is not a class most schools incorporate as a standalone subject, it was

10%

15%

20%

necessary to include due to the prevalence of responses (66%). This segment of survey responses was further broken down into nine categories: colonization, culture (undefined), language, mistreatment, modern day, perspective, policy, traditions, and tribes with totals are represented in Figure 6.

Eighteen percent of educator survey respondents identified contemporary information about Native American peoples and issues as their most challenging topics to teach. Survey-takers shared that the resources made available to them often provide a historical view of Natives which may also include outdated or biased language and/or reinforce stereotypical imagery.

According to one respondent: “Placing Native/ First peoples in current day. I mean, it’s like the concept of racism—that was ‘back then.’ But, to me ... assuming that Native culture is ‘from

SURVEY FINDINGS

Art/music

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SURVEY FINDINGS

A complex narrative Attempting to compartmentalize cultural information is particularly challenging. Let us consider boarding schools. For the purposes of this resource scan, they fall into the “mistreatment” category due to the comprehensive list of misdeeds and crimes associated with them. But as we peel back the layers, we must also consider that policies were created to enforce attendance, that traditions and languages were lost by attendees (and subsequent generations), and that modern-day Natives are still impacted by historical trauma resulting from these institutions. They must also be acknowledged as a product of colonization and a tool used by the U.S. government to control tribes. Boarding schools continue to be relevant today due to recent discoveries of unmarked graves at several residential schools in Canada and the history of the University of Minnesota, Morris, campus as a former boarding school institution.

Therefore, we must consider that teaching about boarding schools (and many other Native issues) as a standalone topic is not wrong but does provide an incomplete narrative.

history’ is horribly offensive but pervasive. I’ve been searching for modern voices in the Native community to read (that aren’t Sherman Alexie), but I’m struggling [to] find shorter pieces for high schoolers. However, that just means I have to try harder. I don’t want my students to walk away reading Native work or viewing Native art and think of face paint, feathers, and teepees as that is (1) not representative of all tribes, and (2) just...not accurate!!” Respondents specifically mentioned modern social and political movements like the American Indian Movement (AIM), Water Protectors, and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) as topics they wished to have better understanding of. A better understanding of the impacts of these issues on contemporary Native communities was something they also wished they knew how to attain.

While many teaching resources focus on the colonization of Native American peoples, 17% of respondents were concerned that what they were teaching was “whitewashed” or less honest than what it could be had it been created by Natives. Topics related to genocide, conflicts of all types, the loss of land, westward expansion, and Thanksgiving were all listed as examples. Overall, survey-takers admit that finding the “honest history of the Indigenous people of Minnesota”— given their skillset and tools they have—hard to do. Closely related to this topic, at 14%, is the mistreatment of Native American peoples.

Respondents identified issues surrounding oppression, bias, trauma, and boarding schools as particularly challenging due to their potential to create harm to students (Native and non-Native alike). Educators do not know how to artfully broach these topics in a respectful, yet honest way. As one educator explained it: “the total and continued disregard for Indigenous peoples rights by the U.S. government […it] sounds like government bashing if presented wrong.”

Having the opportunity to understand Native American perspective remains a challenge for educators. Being that mainstream curricula and resources tend to present a one-sided narrative,

Culture and traditions rated similarly for respondents at 10%. Unspecified challenges related to cultural knowledge were lumped together and may or may not include some of the topics discussed in the traditions category.

Educators specified many topics involving religion, spirituality, social/family connections, and customs along with hopes for increased access to oral histories, examples of traditional lifeways and ways of being, and origin stories.

While these topics may not necessarily appear in current Minnesota state standards, it would be helpful to collaborate with local tribes to gain their perspective on what, if any, of these subjects they wish to be made available to nonNative audiences.

Eight percent of educator survey respondents discussed their lack of understanding regarding Minnesota’s tribal nations, seeking information on treaties, reservation life, tribal government, economy and casinos, and overall treaty rights.

As an added challenge, educators struggle to present these complex topics in an ageappropriate way for all learners: “Treaties.

While my 6th graders understand some of the basics, they can still feel really tricky to teach to students who have such little knowledge of the U.S. government.” Furthermore, respondents crave historic and contemporary examples of how these issues continue to shape Minnesota and the United States as a whole.

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Having the opportunity to understand Native American perspective remains a challenge for educators.

The final two categories—language and policy— both came in at 6% for respondents. Some educators have worked to include examples of Minnesota’s traditional languages into their learning environments, which remains challenging due to the complexity of the languages themselves, but also due to a lack of quality resources and language speakers.

In terms of policy, survey takers identified topics related to interaction with the U.S. government, politics, relocation, and assimilation. One respondent shared, “Students are often surprised by the acts of assimilation. Most of my students are white and have a hard time imagining that era. They know very little about Native Americans other than the stereotypes.”

While not exhaustive, these topics are representative of the topics educators believe are most challenging for them to facilitate for student learning.

SURVEY FINDINGS

teachers struggle to understand how Native people authentically view every aspect—from interaction with government, amongst tribal nations, and within the context of modern America. An additional challenge for educators is building empathy within their students to develop an “understanding [of] things from the indigenous perspective…[and] examine perspectives from others’ point(s) of view.” For narrative change to be successful, educators need to be better equipped to lead their students in authentic, empathetic conversations about the resilience and experience of Native Americans in the state.

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FIGURE 7. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES UTILIZED BY EDUCATORS

SURVEY FINDINGS

Equity training Training led by Indian Education Conferences Cultural trainings During college Institutions (Native run or organization that partner with Native Americans) Tours/experiential learning Independent study Speakers

0%

5%

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

10%

15%

20%

25%

Ongoing training for educators is essential to maintain professional licenses and develop new skills and techniques to apply to their teaching environments. All three surveys asked respondents to share the availability and/or frequency of Native American specific professional development they have experienced at their school, was offered through their district, or made available through their organization.

This section will break down the findings from each of the three surveys.

Institutions that offer professional development in partnership with Native Americans

EDUCATORS

Native Studies Summer Workshop for Educators (St. Cloud State University)

When asked about the style and frequency of Native-specific professional development, 37% of respondents (199 people), admitted to having received none. This is problematic for several reasons. The most obvious concern is that Native-specific content is not being prioritized by schools and districts. Without ongoing support from either, the onus falls entirely on educators to identify and procure resources, locate suitable training, and potentially lead the way for this work in their professional communities. The challenges compound due

Northern Lights Academy (Minnesota Historical Society) Native Skywatchers (St. Cloud State University) Indian Home School Liaison (Minnesota Department of Education)

Educators Institute (Minnesota Humanities Center) Honoring Resilience: Learning from the Holocaust and Dakota Exile (The Olga Lengyel Institute (TOLI)) Dream Catchers (Minnesota Department of Education) Mni Sóta Maḳoce (Daḳota Wic̣oḣaŋ) Bdote Tour (Minnesota Humanities Center) Absent Narratives (Minnesota Humanities Center)

Of the remaining 343 respondents, a variety of professional development activities have been utilized by educators—college coursework, conferences, cultural workshops, equity trainings, training sessions facilitated by Indian Education departments, independent study, institution-led, speakers, and tours and/or experiential learning. The breakdown is listed in Figure 7.

Twenty one percent of respondents to the educator survey indicated they have completed training through a larger organization such as the Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS), Minnesota Humanities Center, The Olga Lengyel Institute (TOLI), or the Minnesota Department of Education.

While these organizations are not Native-run, they collaborate with the Native community to provide direction and authenticity to the overall programming. Additional institutions mentioned were Saint Cloud State and Daḳota Wicoḣaŋ, whose trainings Native Skywatchers, Native Studies Summer Workshop for Educators, and Mni Sóta Maḳoce were created by and continue to be facilitated by Native community members.

Partnering with non-Native organizations can be favorable to increase participant reach and access resources that may not otherwise be available, but it is imperative that such opportunities allow Native stakeholders to lead in this work. Too often Natives are made to compromise their goals and

values to fit a preconceived model designed by an outside partner.

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Interestingly, 14% of respondents included personal reading and visits to museums as part of their ongoing professional development. While these activities can be an essential part of selfeducation, they can also further problematic narratives if the resources have not been created and/or curated through a Native perspective.

There are several popular books written about Indigenous peoples that were not in fact authored

by Native Americans.

SURVEY FINDINGS

to a lack of support amongst colleagues and the immediate community where there may be pushback from the stakeholders regarding critical race theory (CRT) or concerns that Native specific content is unnecessary due to a lack of representation in the community as a whole. Failure to acknowledge the presence of Native Americans adds to their invisibility — by showing students that their contributions to Minnesota aren’t worth including in core content and to educators through offering incomplete professional learning — both of which lead to a lack of understanding about the historic and contemporary role that Native Americans have in both Minnesota and the United States.

Amongst respondents, 13% indicated they had recently participated in a professional development session facilitated by a Native American speaker. Top examples are Dr. Anton Treuer and Drs. Dan and Susan Ninham: “Via my partners in the American Indian Education program at St. Francis, my staff and I participated in the spring 2021 Indigenous Pedagogy Virtual Academy organized by Dan Ninham. We learned a ton, but perhaps most importantly learned how shallow our existing knowledge foundation and teaching practice is!

Looking forward to more opportunities, though not exactly sure where to find them.” Surveytakers indicated that using a virtual presentation platform, like Zoom, has allowed for increased opportunities to engage in diverse professional development during the pandemic.

Tied at 11%, survey respondents participated in various cultural workshops and professional conferences. Partaking in storytelling events, language tables, and learning trauma-informed practices helped educators better understand aspects of Native culture and some of the ongoing issues impacting the community. Educators have also attended professional conferences such as the Minnesota Indian Education Association (MIEA) conference, the National Indian Education Association (NIEA) conference, and subject-specific gatherings like the Minnesota Science Teachers Association (MNSTA) and the Art Educators of Minnesota (AEM) to collaborate with other educators and learn from their peers.

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SURVEY FINDINGS

Survey respondents have participated in a variety of tours, with the most common being the Bdote tour offered by the Minnesota Humanities Center. While others were mentioned, they did not seem to be readily available outside of oneoff opportunities. One survey-taker shared, “We have done a staff development day where we toured the Lower Sioux. This day also included time to visit booths with different Native agencies and professionals.” While tours are a wonderful way to understand the local community and promote land-based education, they are placebased and somewhat inaccessible for educators who live away from these areas.

in their school district—helping educators choose resources, facilitating professional development, and partnering to create lesson plans. Indian education staff persons may be the only opportunity for school staff to engage with Native American professionals: “The counseling department has brought in staff from the Indian Ed department in the district to educate us around smudging and some cultural traditions.” Oftentimes these departments are understaffed and pulled in a variety of ways, yet overwhelmingly eager to assist teachers as they work to include authentic Native American connections into their classrooms.

Colleges have also played a role in providing

The final category of professional development,

professional learning for teachers. Eight percent of respondents credit higher learning institutions for their teacher preparation programs, undergraduate, or graduate work, or various workshops offered throughout the year: “During my undergrad, we visited the cold springs at Minnehaha Park, attended a historical talk and luncheon hosted by the Native American center in Mendota Heights, and had guest speakers in our college class that talked about various issues that have affected Native peoples in Minnesota.” Minnesota colleges and universities have been increasing Native-specific initiatives, with the most recent being Augsburg College’s tuition waiver program for Native American undergrad students.

equity training, comes in at 6%. While helpful at showcasing conversations around race and bias, these trainings rarely cover Native American issues with any depth. Natives may be mentioned once or twice to check the box yet fail to appear in data sets due to being “statistically insignificant.”

To add to the complexity of race-based education, Native Americans are incredibly diverse and may not look how non-Natives assume they do. These assumptions increase invisibility and further existing stereotypes of Native Americans.

Seven percent of respondents acknowledged the role Indian Education departments play

What stands out from the educator survey data is that respondents are eager for opportunities to learn Native American content to enrich perspectives for all students they work with. We have found that teachers are learning over the weekends and during summer break to broaden their understanding of Native American content.

Respondents are eager for opportunities to learn Native American content to enrich perspectives for all students they work with.

FIGURE 8. DISTRICT/ORGANIZATION SUPPORT FOR NATIVE AMERICAN CONTENT

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SURVEY FINDINGS

Unsure Fully supportive Good/partially supportive Some/needs support Very little No support 0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

How supportive is your organization? (organizational representatives) How supportive is your district? (curriculum leaders) How supportive is your district? (educators)

CURRICULUM LEADERS Survey respondents were asked what Native American specific professional learning opportunities their district made available to staff. Sixty three percent of survey-takers indicated that their district does a good job offering professional development. One respondent shared, “When any new curriculum is developed a Teacher In-service is conducted for all teachers concerned. Also, individual schools or grades can request a teacher training usually we take one or two grades per year.” Districts rely heavily on their Indian Education departments and outside professional development partners to aid in facilitation. For districts that are partially meeting this need, we learn that professional development may be happening once or twice, but that additional follow-up would be appreciated: “We worked with Anton Treuer a few years ago to provide extensive training for 3 days. What we lack is the ongoing support/coaching indistrict to help make initiatives more successful.”

Unfortunately, 26% of respondents are not aware of any Native-specific professional learning

happening in their districts/organizations while 4% are unsure.

DISTRICT/ORGANIZATION SUPPORT FOR NATIVE AMERICAN CONTENT Respondents from all three surveys were asked to quantify how supportive they believed their districts/organizations were to incorporating Native American content into programming.

All answers were sorted into the following six categories—no support, very little support, some/needs support, good/partial support, fully supported, unsure. Since answers were in narrative form, verbatims from respondents have been included to provide context.

VERBATIMS FOR EACH CATEGORY: No support: ■ “Minimal. In fact, at the school I’m at now, none.”

■ “ Limited; I don’t recall specific training or other related topics being provided.”

■ “ I think my district would be open to this, but hasn’t done anything yet.”

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SURVEY FINDINGS Very little: ■ “ The district does very little in support of teachers to expand their understanding and the scholars understanding of Native American impact on society (history—inventions— contributions)” ■ “ Poor we use all the money that Indian Education generates from State and Federal resources. Very little comes from the district.”

■ “ Not well. We have a wonderful resource person and I don’t see her utilized for the growth of our whole organization.”

■ “This is an area that is lacking.”

Some/needs support: ■ “ In a climate of many, many competing interests, I see our district trying. I see us trying now better than ever. But it doesn’t feel naturally embedded yet.”

■ “We engage community experts.”

■ “We have an American Indian liaison, but she is very busy dedicating her time to her students, it’s hard to ask her to take time away from that to help me find appropriate resources. We have some attempts at bringing in education/ experiences from local experts, but it is a very generalized/full school presentation way instead of ways we can address in our individual classrooms.”

Good/partially supported: ■ “ There has been more and more work with PD and resources. We have a strong collaboration between our curriculum team and the folks in our Dept of Indian Ed. I do worry that the team will be pulled more and more making collaboration more difficult.”

Fully supportive: ■ “ We have culture class for all students K-5, Drum and Dance, and the high school also offers things. The Indian Education department has 4 or 5 staff members.”

■ “ [Our district] has always supported our efforts to improve the AI [American Indian] education for all of our students. They funded our Learning Trunks, supported our curriculum development and professional development.

Our AIPAC [American Indian Parent Advisory Committee] has been a great help in steering our efforts to improve the quality of content our teachers use in the classroom.”

■ “ The organization has been created to include Native experts across all areas that network to meet specific challenges identified in the groups. Sharing knowledge and resources has decompartmentalized information and broadened our ability to change the narrative and reveal deficits and awareness in intersectionality.”

Unsure: ■ “Not sure.”

■ “I am unclear, since I am new to the district.”

■ “ No idea. At my level and department (high school ELA) I have not ever seen any inclusion of native peoples in PD.”

At best, 31% of survey respondents believe Native American content is fully supported in their organization. This shows not only the lack of consistency between various school districts in the state, but also how educators and curriculum leaders in the same school districts may have completely different experiences based on professional collaborations and partnerships; with a lack of strategic planning regarding the inclusion of Native American initiatives, districts are able to do as much, or as little, as they see fit.

It is for this reason that it is important to have American Indian Parent Advisory Committees (AIPAC) to put pressure on individual schools and districts to be more thoughtful about working with Native students and families.

Curriculum leaders are responsible for managing their district’s learning goals while making sure educators have the resources and professional development on hand to fulfill said goals. In knowing the importance of offering quality professional learning, these survey respondents were asked to weigh in on how well they believed their districts met the need. Sixty three percent of respondents said their districts offered Native American-specific professional development, but it is not clear who the intended audience was (district-wide or particular grades/subjects) and whether there are ongoing opportunities for learners to increase the breadth and depth of their knowledge concerning Native Americans.

Conversely, 26% of respondents said there are no Native-specific offerings provided through their district. The full breakdown of respondents can be seen in Figure 9.

FIGURE 9. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR CURRICULUM LEADERS Yes Partially No Unsure 0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

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SURVEY FINDINGS

■ “ We support Native American authors and educators at our conferences. In our book club discussions this fall and winter, we’ll discuss how the books can be used in our classrooms.”

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FIGURE 10. LEAST CHALLENGING NATIVE AMERICAN TOPICS TO TEACH

SURVEY FINDINGS

All Unsure None 0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

FIGURE 11. LEAST CHALLENGING NATIVE AMERICAN TOPICS TO TEACH Tribal law/government Contributions Observable behaviors (visible parts of the “Cultural Iceberg”) Social justice/contemporary issues Geography (including migration) Music Culture/traditions/values/language Genocide/trauma/colonization/boarding schools Art/dance/visual arts History Literature/ELA (including legends, books, storytelling) Ecology 0%

2%

EASIEST TOPICS Survey respondents were asked to identify the topics they determined to be the least challenging to teach. For those survey takers who chose to respond simply—using None, Unsure, or All—the results were striking. Fifty one percent of respondents said that no topics relating to Native Americans were easy to teach, with another 45% unsure about their answer. Only 4% of respondents thought that all Native American content was easy to teach.

Similarly to other survey questions, this question elicited multiple responses from educators— the remaining 438 respondents provided 486

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

16%

18%

answers to this question. You can see the full breakdown of responses in Figure 11.

This data is interesting for a few reasons.

First, there is no category that receives an overwhelming response from educators—ease of topics for teachers is not generic and is linked to available resources and personal and/or teaching experience. While seemingly unpredictable, it does make sense once context is provided.

Sixteen percent of respondents said that it was easiest to teach about traumatic aspects of Native American history—boarding schools, colonization, conflict, and genocide. One surveytaker shared, “Wars, because there is much

36

SURVEY FINDINGS

information about them—mostly from the white perspective though.” Historical narratives tend to be written from the colonizers’ perspective where Natives are merely players within a dominant culture-centered narrative. Given the responses from educators, it is not clear whether this content is delivered in a nonbiased way. Tied closely to this, at 14%, is general history. Again, there must be an effort to source primary resources and unbiased accounts of historical events to provide a clearer picture of Native American perspectives. Educators tend to teach history, as it is viewed as more safe than contemporary events—resources have been created, key players are no longer alive, and they are less likely to offend someone by misspeaking or misrepresenting. In fact, only 3% of survey respondents said they believe teaching

topics to teach. One educator shared how a particular state standard helps guide them in this work: “8.4.3.14.8 Describe how groups are reviving and maintaining their traditional cultures, identities and distinctiveness in the context of increasing globalization. (The New Global Era: 1989 to Present). For example: Revitalizing a dying language, resisting western influence. So many examples to use to help students learn that Native peoples are living and thriving today! Not just a topic of history classes...” While standards like the one listed above are clear in their intent, it is not clear whether educators have accurate information to thoroughly meet the criteria of the standard.

contemporary perspectives about Natives is one of their easier topics to facilitate.

classes has made teaching easier for them.

As one educator said, “As an English teacher, imagery, irony, and intertextuality are fruitful points to explore when reading Native American literature.” This highlights the point that when

Fourteen percent of survey respondents said that teaching about culture (including values, traditions, and language) was one the easier

For educators who have access to quality materials, 13% said that integrating literature, picture books, and origin stories into their

37

SURVEY FINDINGS

educators are supported with authentic, vetted resources, it allows them to focus on what matters—teaching students effectively.

Focusing on Native Americans’ deep connection to place and the natural world is what 9% of educators listed as their easiest topic to share with students. One respondent shared, “I love learning about and teaching about how Native people have been and continue to be connected to the natural world. Ricing, fishing, hunting, and maple sugaring are amazing!” While the answers provided by respondents did not create cause for concern, it is essential to reference the “Crying Indian” trope. Educators must be cautious to teach this content in a way that does not reinforce common stereotypes about Native American people.

For 8% of respondents, focusing on topics above the Cultural Iceberg—i.e., what is visible (clothing, daily life, family, food, Thanksgiving,

and types of homes)—were easy to teach. This style of teaching often creates a simplistic view of Natives and a generic, or pan-Indian (culturally homogeneous) perspective, rather than diverse ways of living. Without proper resources of guidance, these topics can easily lead to reinforcing stereotypes and harmful narratives about Native American peoples.

Other topics of ease according to educators include several subject-specific categories: art/ dance/visual arts (8%), geography (5%), music (5%), and tribal law/government (5%). It should be noted that only 1% of educators believe contributions of Native Americans in Minnesota are easy to teach. This is a critical point as several Minnesota State Standards center on this detail, and one cannot help but wonder how effectively these standards are being met if only six respondents made mention of contributions.

38

FIGURE 12. RESOURCES NEEDED TO MEET PROFESSIONAL GOALS

All/any/everything Nothing/none 0%

10%

20%

PERCEIVED RESOURCE GAPS By asking educator survey respondents what, if any, resource gaps exist in their work we aim to tackle two goals—learning what topics educators are facilitating with little to no support and determining how best to align the goals of the Understand Native Minnesota project with specific teacher needs in the future.

We asked educator survey respondents to list what resources would help them to meet their professional goals around including Native American content in their classrooms and schools as a whole. Ninety respondents provided little narrative aside from None, All/everything, or Unsure. Of this, only 12% of people said they needed no additional resources. Most were unsure of what they needed, 47%, which speaks to how little respondents understand about what would actually assist them in furthering this work.

Of the educator survey respondents who provided specific information, one quarter of them requested ready-made lessons that are age appropriate and aligned with state standards while another 25% asked for books and lists of vetted materials. These respondents believe their success at incorporating Native American content is hindered by their lack of access to authentic resources that seamlessly fit into existing curricular plans.

Nineteen percent of respondents requested access to resource people—community members, elders, artists, etc.—to facilitate in-class discussions for students and further professional learning for educators. Survey respondents found that connecting with tribal members was often challenging being unsure who to ask or how persistent to be in their

30%

40%

50%

60%

attempts to make contact. Tied closely to this request are professional development and field trips at 15% and cultural learning at 14%. Allowing survey respondents to learn directly from Native Americans in place-based opportunities allows for educators to build authentic connections with people from communities outside of their daily lives. Since culture is not generally something taught well from a class, educators could experience traditional protocols and ways of being firsthand for more meaningful context.

What was most surprising is that only 2% of respondents requested additional time or money to increase their ability to incorporate Native American content. While the items on their wish lists do take time and increased funds to implement, this is a good indication that educators are used to making things happen even when overworked and underfunded. This is also an indication that respondents understand that without thoughtful pre-planning about how additional time and funds would be used, there is little value to providing both without guidance.

Respondents provided 256 requests for subjectspecific items in their short answer narratives.

As you can see from the chart below, the subjects are quite even, which is surprising given the more resource-heavy subjects like English language arts and social studies. It should be noted that while not a subject, 17% of educators requested professional learning to help them be better teachers for Native students—by learning best practices, understanding how to integrate Native content into their classes, and how better to serve Native communities. Of all the data generated, this is particularly heartwarming—educators may not know how to best integrate Native

SURVEY FINDINGS

Unsure

39

SURVEY FINDINGS

American content into their work, but they are willing and eager to do so, and this is the first step to providing meaningful narrative change.

CURRENT RESOURCES Survey respondents included a variety of resources in their submissions. While this resource scan is not intended to suggest and/or vet materials for classroom use, you will find a list of these resources included in the appendix on pages 50-56. While there are many resources listed, the majority of titles came from very few respondents, indicating that some schools and/ or districts are much better equipped in this area than others.

Titles have been sorted to categorize resources created by Minnesota tribal members (highlighted yellow), Minnesota residents/ organizations (highlighted orange), and those not recommended for use (highlighted red).

Please note that state standards may require the primary text to be written by a Minnesota tribal member and not a Native person who now calls the state home. While this may seem pedantic, it is critical to meeting the specific standard.

Helpful resources to vet books: ■A merican Indians in Children’s Literature: AmericanIndiansInChildrensLiterature.Blogspot.com

■M ontana’s Office of Public Instruction: Evaluating American Indian Materials and Resources for the Classroom Opi.mt.gov/Educators/Teaching-Learning/Indian-Education-for-All

■M innesota Humanities Center: Considerations for Selecting and Assessing American Indian Resources HumanitiesLearning.org/Resource/Index.cfm

■ I ndigenous Representations Workgroup Minitex.umn.edu/People/Indigenous-Representations-Workgroup

40

SURVEY FINDINGS

Educators may not know how to best integrate Native American content into their work, but they are willing and eager to do so, and this is the first step to providing meaningful narrative change.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

respondents are also not representative of the entire teaching profession. The 617 respondents to our survey comprise slightly less than one percent (1%) of Minnesota educators in the K-12 field today. In effect, our data reflects the views of some of the most engaged, the most passionate, and the most sympathetic to the cause of teaching Native American topics properly.

So, when it came to our project’s secondary goal of asking respondents questions about their experiences in handling and interacting with the materials used, their views must be regarded as the expressions of a tiny group of the most reflective, self-aware, and even self-critical educators with respect to Native subjects. To the extent that many of them feel ill-prepared to teach those topics appropriately or have doubts about where they can find reliable materials, we can only imagine how the other 99% of Minnesota K-12 professionals must feel.

Because of this fact—that our survey findings generally represent the ideas, hopes, doubts, and opinions of some of the most “Native-engaged” educators across the state—we must view with great alarm the widespread feelings of inadequate professional training, frustrations over the reliability of curricula and materials, and sense of lack of administrative support to get it right.

Bearing this qualification in mind, our survey findings lead us to these overall conclusions:

42

Key takeaways ■ Most K-12 classroom teachers have very few reliable tools to help them teach Native content.

■ The quality and availability of Nativerelated curriculum and instructional resources in Minnesota schools is hitor-miss, and some truly bad material is still in use in some places.

■ Educators (teachers, administrators, specialists, and support staff) have been given little or no exposure in their initial training or ongoing professional development to help them judge where to find and how to use bad resources in order to ensure that students learn Native subject matter accurately.

■ As state academic standards are revised to expand Indigenous content areas and school leaders feel a greater need to improve the teaching of the Native narrative, the need for accurate, comprehensive resources will become more acute.

■ Few school districts have a curated list of resources to recommend to their teachers on Native subjects or make such resources accessible.

■ Classroom teachers and curriculum leaders have great difficulty in assessing the accuracy and appropriateness of materials on Native American subjects.

■ To fill this gap, a few enterprising teachers and curriculum leaders spend considerable effort in collecting and, in some cases, even creating their own resources.

■ Educators who are sensitive to the importance of treating Native content with care (like our survey respondents) are very willing to engage the question about the quality of the resources which they use.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

W

hen our request to participate in our survey was sent to school districts, charter, and private schools, and related groups, it was generally forwarded to persons who were among those most interested in their respective organizations in teaching Native subject matter well. We anticipated the likelihood of this. Since our project’s main goal has been to get a view of what materials are currently being used in classrooms throughout Minnesota, our hearing from school personnel who are highly knowledgeable about teaching Indigenous content in their respective settings was in fact desirable. But, for that very same reason, it must be borne in mind that our

43

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

■ Very few teachers know and have access to Native outside subject matter experts to draw upon and serve as guest presenters.

schools still lags far behind present society’s more enlightened aspirations, despite the best efforts of many educators.

■ Most teachers are self-conscious about their lack of familiarity with Indigenous subject matter and feel professionally ill-prepared to teach it.

Educators in Minnesota’s K-12 system say themselves that they want more training to teach Native content well. And they need access to good curricular resources.

■ The teaching resources on Indigenous subjects being used across the state are of highly variable quality.

State and local policy makers, tribal leaders, education leaders and practitioners will have to be involved to develop the solutions to those two pressing problems. Many ideas and strategies should be considered. Here are six general ideas to stimulate this discussion:

■ Some of it is good.

■ The majority of it is adequate but could be improved upon.

■ Some material still in use today is bad: seriously inaccurate or misleading, culturally inappropriate or even grossly stereotyping.

■ Many Native-related resources in use do not have particular relevance to the Native experience in Minnesota.

■ The Minnesota Historical Society’s sixth-grade Northern Lights curriculum has long been viewed as the benchmark for incorporating Native American content but is underutilized.

While this text is the best resource teachers currently have, we should not be satisfied with it as being “good enough.” There must be a priority to meaningfully center Native American perspectives throughout the book.

■ Few school leaders are sending a clear signal to curriculum directors and classroom teachers that proper instruction on Native issues is important.

■ Collaboration among school districts in sharing information about good quality Native teaching resources occurs primarily among Indian education directors, not among curriculum directors.

The teaching of Native history, culture, and achievements has improved very slowly over time since statehood. The appreciation of its importance is generally acknowledged by most Minnesotans (see the public opinion data on page 8). But the reality of instruction in the state’s

INVOLVE TRIBAL AND NATIVE EXPERTISE ■ Change the dynamic of who creates Nativerelated content, from primarily non-Native to Native and Native-competent.

■ Develop cultural standards and essential understandings in accordance with the state’s 11 sovereign tribal nations.

■ Do not put the responsibility for implementation on those who are already overburdened (e.g., the Tribal Nations Education Committee).

CREATE AN ONLINE REPOSITORY OF CURATED RESOURCES ■ This should be created and sustained outside of traditional institutions (e.g., the Minnesota Department of Education, Minnesota Indian Affairs Council, etc.), probably requiring a longterm funding and administrative commitment by a consortium of partners.

■ It should serve as a clearinghouse of curated/ vetted content, even if less than ideal quality content is to be included initially (with appropriate disclaimers about its shortcomings).

■ The website/portal must be well-organized, searchable, highly user-friendly, and attractive to ensure that educators will want to consult it.

■ There must be a clear and reasonable process to decide on vetting and inclusion.

■ A professionally moderated chat board may be a valuable additional feature as a teacher resource.

CREATE AN ONLINE INDIGENOUS EDUCATION FOR ALL PROGRAM ■ A Minnesota-specific program for adults and children (similar to University of Alberta Indigenous Canada Course) should be created.

■ Content could be created for:

DEVELOP STANDARDS-ALIGNED CURRICULUM RESOURCES AND MAKE THEM ACCESSIBLE

■ Various grade levels

■ Some existing materials should be updated.

■ General adult population, so that parents can learn alongside and support their school-age children

■ Strong encouragement should be given for the creation of new curricula, textbooks, and online resources in collaboration with Native communities in the state.

DESIGN HIGH-QUALITY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS ■ Schools of education should provide future teachers and administrators with specific training in the culturally appropriate instruction of Native content.

■ Education professional associations and school boards can play a significant role in stimulating interest in and providing professional development around Native subject matter and cultural practices.

EXPAND THE ABILITY FOR NATIVE EXPERTS TO SHARE THEIR KNOWLEDGE IN CLASSROOM SETTINGS ■ Opportunities should be expanded for Native language and cultural experts outside of traditional licensure, including those without a standard college degree. (Example: The Montana Class 7 Native American Language Educator License.)

■ Educators and pre-licensure teacher candidates

■ This will help solve a problem encountered by many teachers. In the words of one of our survey respondents: “I spend time in my classroom unteaching things my students have heard elsewhere.”

44

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

■ It will have to grapple with the question about the review and possible inclusion of teachercreated content.

45

PROJECT TEAM

PROJECT TEAM

The four members of the advisory committee were consulted in the design of the project, involved in the development of the questionnaires, and assisted in the analysis of survey results.

ODIA WOOD-KRUEGER Author and principal investigator Odia Wood-Krueger has worked in public education for the past 20 years focusing on culturally relevant content, curriculum writing, and community engagement. Prior to consulting full time with her own firm, Wood Krueger Initiatives, she spent nine years working for the Indian Education department at Minneapolis Public Schools.

As a consultant, Odia collaborates with various organizations in hopes of making education better for all students, especially Native ones. Some of her projects include the first-of-its-kind Native American Freedom Schools, sensitivity writing for publishing houses, and community outreach for The Bias Inside Us, a traveling Smithsonian Institution exhibition focusing on implicit bias.

Odia is a member of the Central Urban Métis Federation, Inc. (CUMFI) and a dual Canadian-American citizen. She holds a bachelor of education degree from the University of Saskatchewan, a post-graduate certificate in environmental education and a master of education degree from the University of Minnesota, Duluth, and recently started a master of Indigenous land based education program at the University of Saskatchewan.

DANIELLE GRANT Advisory Committee member Danielle Grant has been the president and CEO of AchieveMpls, a nonprofit focused on career and college readiness, since 2016. Prior to joining AchieveMpls, Danielle held several positions with Minneapolis Public Schools, including executive director of Educational & Cultural Services and director of Indian Education. In these roles, she oversaw summer and after-school academics for K-8 students, multi-tiered systems of support, homeless and highly mobile programs, family resource centers, social emotional learning, reducing racial disparities in school discipline, and American Indian education.

Danielle is an enrolled member of the Little Shell Chippewa Tribe of Montana and a Turtle Mountain Chippewa descendent. She holds a bachelor of arts degree in political science and English from Marquette University, a master of public affairs degree from the University of Minnesota’s Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, and attended Harvard Business School’s Young American Leadership Program in 2018.

Danielle currently serves as the board chair of American Indian OIC and is also a board member of the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce, Advancing Equity Coalition, and Family Housing Fund.

Danielle was named Minnesota’s Outstanding American Indian Administrator by the Minnesota Indian Education Association in 2012. She was honored by Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal as a 2020 Women in Business honoree.

JOAQUIN MUÑOZ

46

Advisory Committee member

During his time as a teacher in K-12 and postsecondary education, Joaquin’s desire to support others in the development of their intercultural competency and their passion for social justice grew. He has spent the past decade developing skills for this work by using methods that include Indigenous Circle Work, the Theatre of the Oppressed, various forms of art, and dialogue and literacy tools. He currently works as a faculty member in the Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, where he helps teacher candidates and licensure students develop capacities for working with diverse student populations in culturally responsive and humanizing ways. Joaquin also consults for several groups and organizations both nationally and internationally, including in Canada, Germany, and Mexico.

IYEKIYAPIWIŊ DARLENE ST. CLAIR Advisory Committee member Iyekiyapiwiŋ Darlene St. Clair is an associate professor at St. Cloud State University where she teaches American Indian Studies and directs the Multicultural Resource Center. Her work focuses on several areas: Dakota Studies; Native Nations of Minnesota; the integration of Native cultures, histories, and languages into curricula and educational institutions; the arts and cultural expressions of Native peoples; Dakota places and sacred sites; and anti-racist pedagogy.

Darlene is Bdewakaŋtuŋwaŋ Dakota and a citizen of the Lower Sioux Indian Community in Minnesota.

She is the project lead for the Mni Sóta Ma ḳoce Curriculum Project and coordinates the Native Studies Summer Workshop for Educators.

TLAHTOKI XOCHIMEH Advisory Committee member Tlahtoki Xochimeh (“Dr. T”) has taught a variety of courses in the Chicano & Latino studies department at the University of Minnesota’s College of Liberal Arts, including classes on critical theory, folklore, literature, and Indigenous peoples from around the world. His research interests include Indigenous health and healing, Chicana/o and Xicana/o cultural studies, and traditional Chinese medicine. In addition to teaching, Tlahtoki also works as a licensed acupuncturist, herbalist, and tui na practitioner at his private practice in Minneapolis, Blackstone Acupuncture.

Tlahtoki is Nahua from Mexico. He has a doctor of philosophy degree in American studies with concentrations in Indigenous studies, Chicana/o studies, and history from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

PROJECT TEAM

Joaquin Muñoz grew up on the Pascua Yaqui Indian Reservation in Arizona, where he learned early on about the complicated issues of race, culture, history, and oppression. Since then, his continuous work to develop an understanding of being a mixed-race person (Pascua Yaqui Indian and Mexican-American) would, and continues to, inform all aspects of his professional career.

47

APPENDIX 1: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRES

APPENDIX 1: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRES

EDUCATOR SURVEY: 1.

What school district do you currently work in?

2. If your school/district was not represented above, please include its names (or your school’s name) here: 3.

What is your job title?

4. How many years have you worked in education?

5. Do you self-identify as Native American, First Nations, or Indigenous?

6. If applicable, what is your tribal affiliation?

7.

On a scale of 1 to 7 (with 1 being least confident and 7 being highly confident) how do you rate your overall confidence in incorporating Native American content into your teaching practice?

8. What is the rationale for your above rating?

9. What do you perceive to be your biggest challenge(s) in incorporating Native American content in your work?

10. What topics (or standards) concerning Native American peoples are most challenging for you to teach?

11. What topics (or standards) concerning Native American peoples are easiest for you to teach?

12. What resources have you/do you incorporate into your practice when teaching about Native American peoples?

13. What Native American specific professional learning opportunities have you participated in (through your district or independently)?

14. This survey will be used to determine resource gaps that exist for educators as they teach about Native Americans. What types of resources and/or topics are on your development wish list?

15. How well does your district support the incorporation of Native American content? (This could include, but is not limited to, professional development, diverse resources, or access to community experts.)

16. What factors determine your district’s support for the incorporation of Native American content?

(This could include, but is not limited to community pressure, strategic planning, scope and sequence, grant requirements, or availability)?

17. Where do you think your district is getting it right? In what areas could they use some help?

18. The data gathered in this survey will be used to improve Native American content knowledge in Minnesota. Is there anything else you would like for us to know as we move forward?

CURRICULUM LEADER SURVEY: What school district do you currently work in?

2. If your school/district was not represented above, please include its names (or your school’s name) here: 3.

What is your job title?

4. How many years have you worked in education?

5. Do you self-identify as Native American, First Nations, or Indigenous?

6. If applicable, what is your tribal affiliation?

7.

On a scale of 1 to 7 (with 1 being very little and 7 being highly integrated), how well does your district incorporate Native American content into core learning?

8. What is the rationale for your above rating?

9. What do you perceive to be your biggest challenge(s) to incorporating Native American content in your district’s learning goals?

10. Please provide an example(s) of how Native American content is included in your district’s learning goals: 11. Each school district determines core texts that students are required to read to meet ELA standards. While many teachers are given an option of books to choose, it would be helpful to learn what is currently being used in school settings. If possible, please attach your district’s list of anchor texts below: 12. If you are not able to upload a file of your district’s anchor texts above, please list any Native American texts used in your schools here: 13. What district resources are provided for staff to meet state standards pertaining to Native American content?

14. What Native American specific professional learning opportunities does your district make available for staff?

15. This survey will be used to determine resource gaps that exist for educators/Minnesota schools as they teach about Native Americans. What types of resources would best support your district’s vision moving forward?

16. How well does your district support the incorporation of Native American content? (This could include, but is not limited to, professional development, diverse resources, or access to community experts.)

17. What factors determine your district’s support for the incorporation of Native American content?

(This could include, but is not limited to community pressure, strategic planning, scope and sequence, grant requirements, or availability)?

18. Where do you think your district is getting it right? In what areas could they use some help?

19. The data gathered in this survey will be used to determine how best to support educators as they increase Native American content knowledge in Minnesota. Is there anything else you would like for us to know as we move forward?

APPENDIX 1: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRES

1.

48

49

EDUCATION GROUPS SURVEY:

APPENDIX 1: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRES

1.

What professional organization are you representing/a member of?

2. If your organization us not represented above, please include its name here: 3.

What is your role in this organization?

4. Do you self-identify as Native American, First Nations, or Indigenous?

5. On a scale of 1 to 7 (with 1 being least confident and 7 being highly confident) how well does this organization prioritize Native American content into their policy and professional development offerings?

6. What is the rationale for your above rating?

7.

What do you perceive to be the biggest challenge(s) this organization faces in incorporating Native American content and perspectives in their work?

8. What successes has this organization had in promoting Native American content and perspectives in their work?

9. What resources does this organization provide its membership to meet state standards pertaining to Native American content?

10. In what ways does this organization support the incorporation of Native American content?

(This could include, but is not limited to, professional development, diverse resources, or access to community experts.)

11. What factors determine your organization’s support for the incorporation of Native American content? (This could include, but is not limited to, community pressure, strategic planning, grant requirements, or availability)?

12. Where do you think this organization is getting it right? What areas could they use some help?

13. This survey will be used to determine resource gaps that exist for educators/Minnesota schools as they teach about Native Americans. What types of resources do you believe would best support the mission and future work of this organization moving forward?

14. The data gathered in this survey will be used to determine how best to support educators as they increase Native American content knowledge in Minnesota. Is there anything else you would like for us to know as we move forward?

APPENDIX 2: RESOURCES

50

Recommended

Not Recommended

Unrated (Insufficient knowledge)

BOOK TITLE

TYPE

AUTHOR(S)

GRADE LEVEL

NOTES

#NotYourPrincess: Voices of Native American Women

Book

Lisa Charleyboy (Tsilhqot’in) and Mary Beth Leatherdale - editors

High School

Recommended

500 Nations

Documentary

https://www.imdb.com/ title/tt0111868/

High School

Unrated, Insufficient Knowledge

A Concise Dictionary of Minnesota Ojibwe

Book

John Nichols

Teacher Resource

Recommended

A Man Called Raven

Book

Richard Van Camp (Dogrib Tlicho/Dene)

Primary/Elementary

Recommended

A Native Thought of It: Amazing Inventions and Innovations

Book

Rocky Landon (Ojibway)

Elementary/Middle School

Recommended

Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Book

Sherman Alexie (Spokane/Coeur d’Alene)

High School

Not recommended

Ajijaak

Book

Cecelia Rose LaPointe (Ojibway/Métis)

Primary

Recommended

All My Relations

Podcast

https://www. allmyrelationspodcast. com/

Media

Unrated, Insufficient Knowledge

All Our Relations: Native Struggles for Land and Life

Book

Winona LaDuke (White Earth Ojibwe)

High School

Authored by Minnesota Tribal Member

All the Real Indians Died Off

Book

Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz and Dina Gilio-Whitaker (Colville Confederated Tribes)

High School

Recommended

American Indian Stories

Book

Zitkála-Šá (Dakota)

Middle School/High School

Recommended

An Indian’s View of Indian Affairs

Website

https://www.

Teacher Resource digitalhistory.uh.edu/ disp_textbook. cfm?smtID=3&psid=4054

Unrated, Insufficient Knowledge

An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People

Book

Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz and adapted by Jean Mendoza and Debbie Reese (Nambé Pueblo)

Middle School/High School

Recommended

Apple in the Middle

Book

Dawn Quigley (Turtle Mountain Ojibwe)

Middle School/High School

Authored by Minnesota Resident

Arrow to the Sun

Book

Gerald McDermott

Primary

Not Recommended

As Long as the Rivers Flow

Book

Larry Loyie (Cree)

Primary/Elementary

Recommended

APPENDIX 2: RESOURCES

Following is an exhaustive list of the resources that survey respondents noted they use or have used to teach Native American subject matter.

Recommended

51

Not Recommended

Unrated (Insufficient knowledge)

APPENDIX 2: RESOURCES

Bdote Memory Map curriculum

Website

http://bdotememorymap. org/

Teacher Resource

Recommended

Bead on an Anthill

Book

Delphine Red Shirt (Oglala Sioux)

Middle School

Recommended

Bears Make Rock Soup

Book

Lise Erdrich (Turtle Mountain Ojibwe) and Lisa Fifield (Oneida)

Primary

Recommended

Bearstone: With Connections Book

Will Hobbs

Middle School

Not recommended

Beloved Child: A Dakota Way of Life

Book

Diane Wilson (Dakota)

High School

Authored by Minnesota Resident

Birch Coulie: The Epic Battle of the Dakota War

Book

John Christgau

Black Elk Speaks

Book

John G. Neihardt

High School

Recommended

Bless the Beasts and Children Book

Glendon Swarthout

Elementary

Unrated, Insufficient Knowledge

Boarding School Seasons: American Indian Families, 1900-1940

Book

Brenda J. Child (Red Lake Ojibwe)

High School

Authored by Minnesota Tribal Member

Books and Islands in Ojibwe Country: Traveling Through the Land of My Ancestors

Book

Louise Erdrich (Turtle Mountain Ojibwe)

High School

Authored by Minnesota Resident

Bowwow Powwow

Book

Brenda J. Child (Red Lake Ojibwe)

Primary

Authored by Minnesota Tribal Member

Braided Lives

Book

Minnesota Humanities Center

Middle School

Authored by Minnesota Organization

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants

Book

Robin Wall Kimmerer (Potawatomi)

High School

Recommended

Brother Sun, Sister Moon

Book

Katherine Paterson

Unknown

Unrated, Insufficient Knowledge

Buffalo Bird Girl: A Hidatsa Story

Book

S.D. Nelson (Standing Rock Sioux)

Primary

Recommended

Buffalo Song

Book

Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki)

Elementary

Recommended

Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee

Book

Dee Brown

High School

Recommended

Cell Traffic: New and Selected Poems

Book

Heid Erdrich (Turtle Mountain Ojibwe)

High School

Authored by Minnesota Resident

Ceremony

Book

Leslie Marmon Silko (Laguna Pueblo)

High School

Recommended

Chester Nez and the Unbreakable Code

Book

Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki)

Elementary

Recommended

Unrated, Insufficient Knowledge

Book

Louise Erdrich (Turtle Mountain Ojibwe)

Elementary/Middle School

Authored by Minnesota Resident

Children of Native American Today

Book

Yvonne Wakim Dennis (Cherokee) and Arlene Hirschfelder

Elementary

Recommended

Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two

Book

Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki)

Middle School

Recommended

Coyote Steals the Blanket: A Ute Tale

Book

Janet Stevens

Primary

Not Recommended

Coyote Tales

Book

Thomas King (Cherokee)

Middle School

Recommended

Crazy Brave: A Memoir

Book

Joy Harjo (Musogee)

High School

Recommended

Custer Died for Your Sins: An Book Indian Manifesto

Vine Deloria Jr. (Standing Rock Sioux)

High School

Recommended

Dakota Prisoner of War Letters: Dakota Kaskapi Okicize Wowapi

Book

Clifford Canku (Sisseton Wahpeton)

High School

Recommended

Dakota/Lakota Star Map Constellation Guidebook: An Introduction to D(L)akota Star Knowledge

Book

Annette Lee (Lakota) and Jim Rock (Dakota)

Middle School/High School

Authored by Minnesota Resident

Dance in a Buffalo Skull

Book

Zitkála-Šá (Dakota) and S.D. Nelson (Standing Rock Sioux)

Primary

Recommended

Dances With Wolves

Movie

https://www.imdb.com/ title/tt0099348/

Media

Recommended, but with conditions

Dancing Drum: A Cherokee Legend

Book

Terri Cohlene

Primary

Not Recommended

Do All Indians Live in Tipis?

Book

National Museum of the American Indian

High School

Recommended

Dog Song

Book

Gary Paulsen

Middle School

Unrated, Insufficient Knowledge

Dreaming in Indian: Contemporary Native American Voices

Book

Lisa Charleyboy (Tsilhqot’in) and Mary Beth Leatherdale

High School

Recommended

Drumbeat...Heartbeat: A Celebration of the Powwow (We Are Still Here: Native Americans Today)

Book

Susan Braine (Assiniboine)

Elementary/Middle School

Recommended

Eagle Books Series

Book

Georgia Perez (Nambé Pueblo)

Primary

Recommended

Eagle Song

Book

Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki)

Elementary

Recommended

Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask

Book

Anton Treuer (Leech Lake High School Ojibwe)

Authored by Minnesota Tribal Member

Fatty Legs: A True Story

Book

Margaret-Olemaun Elementary/Middle Pokiak-Fenton (Inuvialuit) School and Christy JordanFenton

Recommended

52

APPENDIX 2: RESOURCES

Chickadee

Recommended

53

Not Recommended

Unrated (Insufficient knowledge)

APPENDIX 2: RESOURCES

Follow the Blackbirds

Book

Gwen Westerman (Dakota)

High School

Authored by Minnesota Tribal Member

For Indigenous Eyes Only: A Decolonization Handbook

Book

Waziyatawin (Dakota) and Michael Yellow Bird (Mandan/Hidatsa/ Arikara)

High School

Authored by Minnesota Tribal Member

Forever Sky

Book

Thomas Peacock (Fond du Primary Lac Ojibwe)

Authored by Minnesota Tribal Member

Fort Snelling at Bdote

Book

Peter DeCarlo

High School

Authored by Minnesota Resident

Four Souls

Book

Louise Erdrich (Turtle Mountain Ojibwe)

High School

Authored by Minnesota Resident

Fry Bread: A Native American Book Family Story

Kevin Noble Maillard (Seminole)

Primary

Recommended

Gift Horse - A Lakota Story

Book

S.D. Nelson (Standing Rock Sioux)

Primary/Elementary

Recommended

Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message

Book

Chief Jake Swamp (Mohawk)

Primary/Elementary

Recommended

Go Show the World: A Celebration of Indigenous Heroes

Book

Wab Kinew (Ojibway)

Elementary

Recommended

God is Red: A Native View of Religion

Book

Vine Deloria Jr. (Standing Rock Sioux)

High School

Recommended

Grandfather Buffalo

Book

Jim Arnosky

Primary

Unrated, Insufficient Knowledge

Grandmother’s Dreamcatcher

Book

Becky Ray McCain

Primary

Not Recommended

Grasshopper Girl

Book

Teresa Peterson (Upper Sioux Dakota)

Primary

Authored by Minnesota Tribal Member

Hearts of Our People: Native Women Artists

Book

Jill Ahlberg Yohe and Teri Greeves (Kiowa)

High School

Authored by Minnesota Organization

How Chipmunk Got His Stripes

Book

Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki) and James Bruchac

Primary/Elementary

Recommended

How I Became a Ghost

Book

Tim Tingle (Choctaw)

Elementary/Middle School

Recommended

Hungry Johnny

Book

Cheryl Kay Minnema (Mille Lacs Ojibwe)

Primary

Authored by Minnesota Tribal Member

I Am Not a Number

Book

Jenny Kay Dupuis Elementary (Ojibway) and Kathy Kacer

Recommended

If I Ever Get Out of Here

Book

Eric Gansworth (Tuscarora)

Middle School

Recommended

If You Lived With the Sioux Indians

Book

Ann McGovern

Primary

Not Recommended

Website

https://illuminatives.org/

Teacher Resource

Recommended

In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse

Book

Joseph Marshall III (Rosebud Sioux)

Elementary/Middle School

Recommended

Indian No More

Book

Charlene Willing McManis (Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde) and Traci Sorell (Cherokee)

Middle School

Recommended

Indian Shoes

Book

Cynthia Leitich Smith (Muscogee)

Elementary

Recommended

InterTribal Buffalo Council (trunk)

Website

https://itbcbuffalonation. org/

Teacher Resource

Recommended

Itse Selu: Cherokee Harvest Festival

Book

Daniel Pennington (Cherokee)

Primary

Recommended

Jim Thorpe’s Bright Path

Book

Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki)

Primary/Elementary

Recommended

Jingle Dancer

Book

Cynthia Leitich Smith (Muscogee)

Primary

Recommended

Johnny’s Pheasant

Book

Cheryl Kay Minnema (Mille Lacs Ojibwe)

Primary

Authored by Minnesota Tribal Member

Kamik: An Inuit Puppy Story

Book

Donald Uluadluak (Inuit)

Primary

Recommended

Keepers of Life: Discovering Plants through Native American Stories and Earth Activities for Children

Book

Michael J.Caduto and Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki)

Elementary/Middle School

Recommended

Keepers of the Earth: Native American Stories and Environmental Activities for Children

Book

Michael J.Caduto and Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki)

Elementary/Middle School

Recommended

Keepers of the Game

Documentary

https://www.imdb.com/ title/tt5646004/

Media

Unrated, Insufficient Knowledge

Kiki’s Journey

Book

Kristy Orona-Ramirez (Taos Pueblo/ Tarahumara)

Primary

Recommended

Killer of Enemies (Killer of Enemies #1)

Book

Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki)

Middle School

Recommended

Lakota Hoop Dancer

Book

Suzanne Haldane, Jacqueline Delahunt (Sicangu Lakota), and Kevin Locke (Standing Rock Sioux/White Earth Ojibwe)

Elementary/Middle School

Illustrated by Minnesota Tribal Member

Legend of the Lady Slipper

Book

Lise Lunge-Larsen

Primary

Unrated, Insufficient Knowledge

Life in a Plains Camp

Book

Bobbie Kalman

Elementary

Recommended

Life in an Anishinabe Camp

Book

Niki Walker and Bobbie Kalman

Elementary

Recommended

David A. Nichols

High School

Unrated, Insufficient Knowledge

Lincoln and the Indians: Civil Book War Policy and Politics

54

APPENDIX 2: RESOURCES

IllumiNative

Recommended

55

Not Recommended

Unrated (Insufficient knowledge)

APPENDIX 2: RESOURCES

Little Big Man

Movie

https://www.imdb.com/ title/tt0065988/

Media

Unrated, Insufficient Knowledge

Little Voice

Book

Ruby Slipperjack (Ojibway)

Elementary/Middle School

Recommended

Living Our Language: Ojibwe Tales and Oral Histories

Book

Anton Treuer (Leech Lake High School Ojibwe)

Authored by Minnesota Tribal Member

Love Medicine

Book

Louise Erdrich (Turtle Mountain Ojibwe)

High School

Authored by Minnesota Resident

Makoons

Book

Louise Erdrich (Turtle Mountain Ojibwe)

Elementary

Authored by Minnesota Resident

Mama, Do You Love Me?

Book

Barbara M. Joosse

Primary

Recommended, but with conditions

Mni Sota Makoce: The Land of the Dakota

Book

Gwen Westerman (Dakota) and Bruce White

High School

Authored by Minnesota Tribal Member

Moccasin Thunder: American Indian Stories for Today

Book

Lori Marie Carlson

Elementary/Middle School

Recommended

Morning on the Lake

Book

Jan Waboose (Ojibway)

Primary

Recommended

Muskrat and Skunk

Book

Donald F. Montileaux (Oglala)

Primary

Recommended

My Name is Not Easy

Book

Debby Dahl Edwardson

Middle School

Recommended

Nanabosho and Porcupine

Book

Joseph McLellan and Matrine Therriault (Ojibway)

Primary

Recommended

Nanabosho and the Butterflies

Book

Joseph McLellan and Matrine Therriault (Ojibway)

Primary

Recommended

Nanabosho and Woodpecker

Book

Joseph McLellan

Primary

Recommended

Nanabosho: How the Turtle Got its Shell

Book

Joseph McLellan

Primary

Recommended

Nation to Nation: Treaties Between the United States and American Indian Nations

Book

Suzan Shown Harjo (Cheyenne and Hodulgee Muscogee)

High School

Recommended

Native American Master Artist: Oscar Howe

Book

Lisa Dresch and Lois Sayre

Middle School/High School

Unrated, Insufficient Knowledge

Native Athletes in Action!

Book

Vincent Schilling (Akwesasne Mohawk)

Middle School

Recommended

Native Defendersof the Environment

Book

Vincent Schilling (Akwesasne Mohawk)

Middle School

Recommended

Native Men of Courage

Book

Vincent Schilling (Akwesasne Mohawk)

Middle School

Recommended

Native Musicians in the Groove

Book

Vincent Schilling (Akwesasne Mohawk)

Middle School

Recommended

Website

https://www. nativeskywatchers.com/

Teacher Resource

Authored by Minnesota Organization

Native Women of Courage

Book

Kelly Fournel

Middle School

Recommended

Native Writers: Voices of Power

Book

Kim Sigafus (White Earth Ojibwe) and Lyle Ernst (Native American Coalition of the Quad Cities)

Middle School

Authored by Minnesota Tribal Member

Navajo Long Walk: Tragic Story of A Proud Peoples Forces March From Homeland

Book

Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki)

Elementary

Recommended

Neither Wolf Nor Dog: On Forgotten Roads with an Indian Elder

Book

Kent Nerburn

High School

Not Recommended

Night Flying Woman: An Ojibwe Narrative

Book

Ignatia Broker (White Earth Ojibwe)

Middle School/High School

Authored by Minnesota Tribal Member

Nimoshom and His Bus

Book

Penny M. Thomas (Cree/ Ojibway)

Primary

Recommended

NK360

Website

https://americanindian. si.edu/nk360

Teacher Resource

Recommended

North Country: The Making of Minnesota

Book

Mary Lethert Wingerd

High School

Authored by Minnesota Resident

Ojibwe Heritage

Book

Basil Johnston (Ojibway)

High School

Recommended

Ojibwe Sky Star Map Constellation Guidebook: An Introduction to Ojibwe Star Knowledge

Book

Annette Lee (Lakota) and William Wilson (Ojibway)

Middle School/High School

Authored by Minnesota Resident

Ojibwemowin Series II: The Ojibwe Language

Book

Judith L. Vollum and Thomas Vollum

High School

Recommended

Ojibwemowin: The Ojibwe Language, Series 1

Book

Judith L. Vollum and Thomas Vollum

High School

Recommended

Onigamiising: Seasons of an Ojibwe Year

Book

Linda LeGarde Grover (Bois Forte Ojibwe)

High School

Authored by Minnesota Tribal Member

Our Sisters in Spirit: MMIWG

Documentary

https://www. youtube.com/ watch?v=zdzM6krfaKY

Media

Unrated, Insufficient Knowledge

Powwow Summer: A Family Celebrates the Circle of Life

Book

Marcie R. Rendon (White Earth Ojibwe)

Primary/Elementary

Authored by Minnesota Tribal Member

Project 562

Website

http://www.project562. com/

Teacher Resource

Recommended

Quiet Hero: The Ira Hayes Story

Book

S.D. Nelson (Standing Rock Sioux)

Primary

Recommended

Rain is Not My Indian Name

Book

Cynthia Leitich Smith (Muscogee)

Middle School

Recommended

Reservation Blues

Book

Sherman Alexie (Spokane/Coeur d’Alene)

High School

Not Recommended

56

APPENDIX 2: RESOURCES

Native Skywatchers

Recommended

57

Not Recommended

Unrated (Insufficient knowledge)

APPENDIX 2: RESOURCES

Rethinking Columbus: The Next 500 Years

Book

Bob Bigelow and Bob Peterson

Teacher Resource

Recommended

Rez Life

Book

David Treuer (Leech Lake Ojibwe)

High School

Authored by Minnesota Tribal Member

Rocks Not Happy in Sacks

Book

Gilbert Walking Bull (Oglala Sioux) and Sally Moore

Primary

Recommended

Rough-Face Girl

Book

Rafe Martin

Primary

Not Recommended

Sacagawea

Book

Lise Erdrich (Turtle Mountain Ojibwe) and Julie Buffalohead (Ponca)

Primary

Recommended

Sacred Wilderness

Book

Susan Power (Standing Rock Sioux)

High School

Recommended

Sharing the Skies: Navajo Astronomy

Book

David Begay (Navajo) and Nancy C. Maryboy (Cherokee/Navajo)

Middle School/High School

Recommended

Sioux Code Talkers of World War II

Book

Andrea Page (Standing Rock Sioux)

Middle School

Recommended

Sitting Bull: Lakota Warrior and Defender of His People

Book

S.D. Nelson (Standing Rock Sioux)

Primary/Elementary

Recommended

SkySisters

Book

Jan Bourdeau Waboose (Cree)

Primary

Recommended

Smoke Signals

Film

https://www.imdb.com/ title/tt0120321/

Media

Recommended

Solar Storms

Book

Linda Hogan (Chickasaw)

High School

Recommended

Songs from the Loom: A Navajo Girl Learns to Weave (We Are Still Here: Native Americans Today)

Book

Monty Roessel (Navajo)

Primary

Recommended

Sootface: An Ojibwa Cinderella Story

Book

Robert San Souci and Daniel San Souci

Primary

Unrated, Insufficient Knowledge

Spirit Car: Journey to a Dakota Past

Book

Diane Wilson (Dakota)

High School

Authored by Minnesota Resident

Stolen Children: Residential School Survivors Speak Out

Documentary

https://www. youtube.com/ watch?v=vdR9HcmiXLA

Teacher Resource

Unrated, Insufficient Knowledge

Sweetgrass Basket

Book

Marlene Carvell

Middle School

Recommended

Taku Wadaka He?

Book

Joanne Zacharias (Dakota)

Primary

Authored by Minnesota Tribal Member

Talking Leaves

Book

Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki)

Elementary/Middle School

Recommended

Talking Rocks: Geology and 10,000 Years of Native American Tradition in the Lake Superior Region

Book

Ron Morton and Carl Gawboy (Bois Forte Ojibwe)

Middle School/High School

Authored by Minnesota Tribal Member

Ron Morton and Carl Gawboy (Bois Forte Ojibwe)

Middle School/High School

Authored by Minnesota Tribal Member

Tasunka: A Lakota Horse Legend

Book

Donald F. Montileaux (Oglala)

Primary

Recommended

Tatanka and the Lakota People

Book

Donald F. Montileaux (Oglala)

Primary

Recommended

Thanks to the Animals

Book

Allen Sockabasin (Passamaquoddy)

Primary

Recommended

Thanku: Poems of Gratitude

Book

Miranda Paul and Marlena Myles (Spirit Lake Dakota)

Elementary

Illustrated by Minnesota Resident

The Assassination of Hole in the Day

Book

Anton Treuer (Leech Lake High School Ojibwe)

Authored by Minnesota Tribal Member

The Bean Trees

Book

Barbara Kingsolver

High School

Unrated, Insufficient Knowledge

The Birchbark House

Book

Louise Erdrich (Turtle Mountain Ojibwe)

Elementary/Middle School

Authored by Minnesota Resident

The Chichi Hoohoo Boogeyman

Book

Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve (Rosebud Sioux)

Elementary

Recommended

The Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two

Book

Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki)

Middle School

Recommended

The Contest

Book

Caroline Stellings

Elementary/Middle School

Unrated, Insufficient Knowledge

The Creator’s Game: A Story of Baaga’adowe

Book

Art Coulson (Cherokee)

Elementary

Authored by Minnesota Resident

The Dakota or Sioux in Minnesota as They Were in 1834

Book

https://www.loc.gov/ item/18018923/

High School

Unrated, Insufficient Knowledge

The Dance Boots

Book

Linda LeGarde Grover (Bois Forte Ojibwe)

High School

Authored by Minnesota Tribal Member

The Dancers

Book

Thomas Peacock (Fond du Primary Lac Ojibwe)

Authored by Minnesota Tribal Member

The Forever Sky

Book

Thomas Peacock (Fond du Lac) and Annette Lee (Dakota)

Authored by Minnesota Tribal Member

The Four Hills of Life

Book

Thomas Peacock (Fond du Elementary/Middle Lac) and Marlene Wisuri School

Authored by Minnesota Tribal Member

The Game of Silence

Book

Louise Erdrich (Turtle Mountain Ojibwe)

Elementary/Middle School

Authored by Minnesota Resident

The Goose Girl

Book

Joseph McLellan

Primary

Recommended

Primary

58

APPENDIX 2: RESOURCES

Talking Sky: Ojibwe Book Constellations as a Reflection of Life on the Land

Recommended

59

Not Recommended

Unrated (Insufficient knowledge)

APPENDIX 2: RESOURCES

The Hiawatha

Book

David Treuer (Leech Lake Ojibwe)

High School

Authored by Minnesota Tribal Member

The House of Purple Cedar

Book

Tim Tingle (Choctaw)

High School

Recommended

The Jailing of Cecelia Capture

Book

Janet Campbell Hale (Coeur d’Alene/Ktunaxa/ Cree)

High School

Recommended

The Legend of the Bluebonnet

Book

Tomie dePaola

Primary

Not Recommended

The Legend of the Indian Paintbrush

Book

Tomie dePaola

Primary

Not Recommended

The Legend of the Poinsettia

Book

Tomie dePaola

Primary

Not Recommended

The Light People

Book

Gordon Henry (White Earth Ojibwe)

High School

Authored by Minnesota Tribal Member

The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven

Book

Sherman Alexie (Spokane/Coeur d’Alene)

High School

Not recommended

The Man Who Swam With Beavers

Book

Nancy Lord

High School

Unrated, Insufficient Knowledge

The Manitous

Book

Basil Johnston (Ojibway)

High School

Recommended

The Marrow Thieves

Book

Cherie Dimaline (Métis)

Middle School/High School

Recommended

The Mishomis Book: The Voice of the Ojibway

Book

Edward Benton-Banai (Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe)

Elementary/Middle School

Recommended

The People Shall Continue

Book

Simon Ortiz (Pueblo of Acoma)

Elementary

Recommended

The Porcupine Year

Book

Louise Erdrich (Turtle Mountain Ojibwe)

Elementary/Middle School

Authored by Minnesota Resident

The Raccoon and the Bee Tree

Book

Charles A. Eastman (Dakota) and Elaine Goodale Eastman

Primary

Recommended

The Round House

Book

Louise Erdrich (Turtle Mountain Ojibwe)

High School

Authored by Minnesota Resident

The Sioux Chef

Website

https://sioux-chef.com/

Teacher Resource

Authored by Minnesota Organization

The Star People: A Lakota Story

Book

S.D. Nelson (Standing Rock Sioux)

Elementary

Recommended

The US-Dakota War of 1862

Website

http://www.usdakotawar. org

Teacher Resource

Authored by Minnesota Organization

The Warrior Maiden: A Hopi Legend

Book

Ellen Schecter

Primary

Not Recommended

The Warriors

Book

Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki)

Elementary/Middle School

Recommended

Book

Joanne Robertson (Anishinaabe)

Primary

Recommended

The West

Documentary

https://kenburns.com/ films/west/

High School

Unrated, Insufficient Knowledge

There There

Book

Tommy Orange (Cheyenne/Arapaho)

High School

Recommended

Thirteen Moons on Turtle’s Back: A Native American Year of Moons

Book

Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki)

Elementary

Recommended

This Land

Podcast

https://crooked.com/ podcast-series/this-land/

High School

Recommended

This Land is My Land

Book

George Littlechild (Cree)

Primary

Recommended

To Be Free: Understanding and Eliminating Racism

Book

Thomas Peacock (Fond du Middle School Lac) and Marlene Wisuri

Authored by Minnesota Tribal Member

Tracks

Book

Louise Erdrich (Turtle Mountain Ojibwe)

High School

Authored by Minnesota Resident

Trail of the Dead (Killer of Enemies #2)

Book

Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki)

Middle School

Recommended

Trickster: Native American Tales, A Graphic Collection

Book

Matt Dembicki and Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki)

Middle School/High School

Recommended

Turtle Island: The Story of North America’s First People

Book

Eldon Yellowhorn (Piikani) and Ephie Lowinger

Elementary/Middle School

Recommended

Waasa Inaabidaa

Book

Thomas Peacock (Fond du High School Lac) and Marlene Wisuri

Authored by Minnesota Tribal Member

Walk Two Moons

Book

Sharon Creech

Middle School

Not Recommended

Walking on Earth and Book Touching the Sky: Poetry and Prose by Lakota Youth at Red Cloud Indian School

Timothy P. McLaughlin (editor)

Elementary/Middle School

Recommended

We Are At Home: Pictures of the Ojibwe People

Book

Bruce White and Gerald Vizenor (White Earth Ojibwe)

High School

Authored by Minnesota Tribal Member

We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga

Book

Traci Sorell (Cherokee)

Primary

Recommended

We Are Still Here

Book

Dick Bancroft and Laura Waterman Wittstock

Middle School/High School

Authored by Minnesota Resident

We Are Water Protectors

Book

Carole Lindstrom (Turtle Mountain Ojibwe)

Primary

Recommended

We Shall Remain

Documentary

https://www. pbs.org/wgbh/ americanexperience/ films/weshallremain/

Media

Unrated, Insufficient Knowledge

What Does Justice Look Like?: The Struggle for Liberation in Dakota Homeland

Book

Waziyatawin (Dakota)

High School

Authored by Minnesota Tribal Member

60

APPENDIX 2: RESOURCES

The Water Walker

61

APPENDIX 2: RESOURCES

What’s the Most Beautiful Thing You Know About Horses?

Book

Richard Van Camp (Dogrib Tlicho/Dene)

Primary

Recommended

When I Was Eight

Book

Margaret-Olemaun Primary Pokiak-Fenton (Inuvialuit) and Christy JordanFenton

Recommended

Where Did You Get Your Moccasins?

Book

Bernelda Wheeler (Cree)

Primary

Recommended

Where I Belong

Book

Tara White (Mohawk)

Middle School/High School

Recommended

Whereas: Poems

Book

Layli Long Soldier (Oglala Lakota)

High School

Recommended

Why Treaties Matter

Website

http://treatiesmatter.org/ exhibit/

Middle School/High School

Authored by Minnesota Organization

Wigwam Evenings: 27 Sioux Folk Tales

Book

Charles A. Eastman (Dakota) and Elaine Goodale Eastman

Unknown

Unrated, Insufficient Knowledge

Wild Berries

Book

Julie Flett (Cree-Métis)

Primary

Recommended

Yellow Woman and a Beauty of the Spirit

Book

Leslie Marmon Silko (Laguna Pueblo)

High School

Recommended

You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me

Book

Sherman Alexie (Spokane/Coeur d’Alene)

High School

Not Recommended

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