A Dream Job

Sashay Schettler started off in Bismarck Public Schools (BPS) as an instructional aide while she was still working on her undergraduate degree. It was during that time that BPS hired their first cultural responsive coordinator to serve indigenous students in the district. “I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s my dream job’,” Schettler said. She is a citizen of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation. Only a month after she graduated from college, the position opened again, and she applied.

“There was only one position, but two of us were a really good fit, so they created two positions,” she said. The position was still new, so Schettler was able to help create what the position looks like and trailblaze new programming across the district. As the programming grew, the district created the position of Indian Education Director to oversee the two cultural responsive coordinators. Schettler was the perfect fit and transitioned to the director position in March 2021. Not only is Schettler the first full-time Indian Education Director for BPS, but she is also the only full-time Indian Education Director in the state of North Dakota. Although her position is primarily about impacting indigenous students in the district, her work benefits all students and staff. “We work for culturally relevant practices, which impacts all students and is beneficial for our entire community,” she said.

Schettler directly reports to the superintendent of the school system and spends most of her days working on creating programming and teaching systems that help the district equitably reach indigenous students. “Often times this position and our indigenous education program can be viewed as divisive, as though we’re siloing indigenous peoples into their own program,” Schettler said. “But really, it is about the unique responsibility that we have to our tribal citizens that are in our public school setting to make sure that they can see themselves reflected in a classroom, in the curriculum, and in the staff.”

Less than one percent of BPS staff are indigenous. In contrast, 12% of students are indigenous — a total of about 1,455 students. Schettler works to make sure that these students have examples and role models in the school system. “Our vision is to honor the seven generations who stand behind us, and to build with intentionality the seven generations ahead of us, as we work together to celebrate and empower our students,” she said. “What are these next generations of indigenous youth going to look like, how are they going to impact the world, and how are we going to empower them to do that, instead of telling them that they don’t really exist in a modern, contemporary example?”

One way they’ve been able to do that is by offering courses in all indigenous languages that share North Dakota borders — a total of five languages — at Bismarck High School this fall, by partnering with local tribal colleges. Schettler hopes to continue to expand that program in the future.

On top of her work in the school system, Schettler is working on her master’s in teacher leadership from University of Mary Online. “My classes have really prepared me to take on some of the challenges that we have within our schools, and they’ve taught me some of the fundamentals that you really need to know,” she said. “The staff at Mary has been amazing. They are so supportive and loving; they support the work I do, and they support me as a person. It’s been a great experience.”

Schettler hopes to graduate in the summer of 2022, all while trailblazing in her new position and planning her wedding. Her passion for what she does keeps her going. “When I started as a coordinator, I was at a BPS event with my mom, and she was telling everyone that I planned everything, and I told her, ‘No, no, I’m just here for support.’ She was so proud of me,” she said. “She passed away in 2019, and when I got this position in March, I went to her grave and said, ‘Well mom, you were seeing into the future, because I do run the program now.’ It all goes back to when I was young, and my mom always told me I needed to be proud of where I came from.”

The 2021 masters graduates from the Native American Education Leadership Program (NAELP).

Grants Benefit Native American Students

This fall, the University of Mary was awarded two grants from the Office of Indian Education’s Professional Development Program worth $2.88 million to be used over the next five years. The first grant supports scholarships for Native Americans wanting a bachelor’s degree in teacher education or special education on a fast track of three years. The second grant is scholarship money for Native American graduate students wanting to enter University of Mary’s online master’s of education program. United Tribes Technical College is a key partner in these awards.

“We’re so excited, humbled, and honored to receive this scholarship funding again that has proven in the past to significantly benefit our Native American population,” said Dr. Carmelita Lamb, associate dean of the Liffrig Family School of Education and Behavioral Sciences. Lamb says the grants awarded to the University of Mary over the past years have benefited 110 Native American students, representing an 85 percent completion rate for the program.