Podcast: Play in new window | Download (27.0MB) | Embed
The governor of Wyoming recently signed the Indian Education For All bill, which requires educators to create Native curricula for public schools statewide. The bill mandates organizers work with Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone tribes to come up with the lesson plans. Wyoming is one of a handful of states putting an emphasis on teaching Native viewpoints. What’s behind states mandating the Native perspective of history, culture, the arts and other classroom subjects? What benefits are they hoping to see?
Guests:
Jason Baldes (member of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe) – executive director of the Wind River Native Advocacy Center
Patricia Whitefoot (member of the Yakama Nation) – Indian education director for the Toppenish School District, and the director of Yakama Wellness Coalition
Mike Jetty (member of the Spirit Lake Dakota Nation) – Indian education specialist with the Montana Office of Public Instruction
Break music: Agent 49 (song) Arigon Starr (artist) Wind-Up (album)
Thank you for airing this program. K-12 educators interested in integrating Native American-authored literature into the classroom in particular can find an annotated list of resources on the website of the Association for the Study of American Indian Literature, an association of Native and non-Native scholars and teachers of Native-authored literature.