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A focus on reducing chronic absenteeism for Native American students is paying off in a Cheyenne-Arapaho school system. It’s a hands-on initiative with an intensive interest in reaching students in the Oklahoma tribe. It comes as absenteeism remains at high levels for all students since the COVID-19 pandemic, but especially so for Native students. We’ll hear about promising methods to help keep kids on the track for learning.
GUESTS
Hollie Youngbear (Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes), Watonga Public Schools Indian Educator
Jacob Metoxen (Oneida Nation of Wisconsin), legal specialist with the Tribal Law and Policy Institute
Johanna Farmer (Rosebud Sioux Tribe), program attorney with the National American Indian Court Judges Association
Break 1 Music: Children’s Honoring Song (song) Red Hawk Medicine Drum (artist) New Beginnings (album)
Break 2 Music: Ballad of Athabascan Theory (song) Hataałii (artist) Waiting for a Sign (album)
Hi there !
Thank you for your program ! Very interesting topic indeed. I am writing you from French Guiana where I have been teaching French to french speaking Teko and Wayampi native american students. We are facing similar problems. Most of our tribes live in the rain forest and reaching them is also a daily challenge. As far as I am concerned, I think that one solution would be to teach our students a more appropriate curricular, something that would really matches their needs. The content I teach for instance ( French language and literature ) is not adapted to them although I keep trying to build bridges between our respective cultures. Our students are also going through a trauma left by boarding schools ( called Homes here ) and as such, school is seen like a big ennemy… there is so much to say … ….