Common Ground

Indian education for all

Assessing the year after big changes in Montana’s public school curriculum

Child at Arlee Pow Wow. Photo by Alice Tejkalová.

By Israel Tockman and Alice Tejkalová 
Prague 2007: Common Ground

According to a 1998 Montana history textbook, “The death of the American Indian culture took less than 30 years after its 9,000 years of building.”  Mike Jetty, director of curriculum for the Indian Education Department with Montana’s Office of Public Instruction (OPI), finds a lot to disagree with in that statement.

Not only have Indians lived on the North American continent for longer than 9,000 years, but their varied cultures are still alive, said Jetty. “There was no bad-intention” on the authors’ parts, he said, but the statement is rather an expression of ignorance.

Tribal education supports skills of Indian students

In Browning and on the Flathead, tribal schools are getting results

Symbol of Salish Kootenai College. Photo by Alice Tejkalová.

By Israel Tockman and Alice Tejkalová 
Prague 2007: Common Ground

According to research done in 2003, only 52 percent of Native American girls and less than 50 percent of boys finish high school in the United States. There are various reasons for such a high dropout rate.  Language immersion elementary schools and tribal colleges may help more American Indian students to succeed.  Both types of schools are designed according to the needs of Indian students, with understanding for their cultural backgrounds and differences.

Children who attend Nizipuhwahsin Center in Browning run by the Blackfeet poet, Harvard graduate and Vietnam veteran Darrell Kipp have better chances to succeed in high schools and then at university than their peers from public schools. Their education is based on a language immersion program. That means in grades K-8, all of their studies are conducted in the Blackfeet language.

The Home Schooling Alternative

Home schooling offers flexibility, but some worry there’s not enough oversight

Homeschooled children. Photo by Alice Tejkalová.

By Israel Tockman and Alice Tejkalová 
Prague 2007: Common Ground

Shelley Schenderline decided to home school her two daughters after seeing how they were treated at the public elementary school in Harrison, Montana.  “They were the only Natives,” she said.  “They had a lot of discrimination both from students and teachers.”  Schenderline added that other students often pulled her daughters’ hair.

If you ask two families why they home school, you’ll most likely get two different answers.  Some, like Suzi Schrock, decide to home school because their children have trouble with the pace or format of public school curricula.  Shrock’s oldest daughter had trouble focusing in school.  “She’d come home feeling stupid: ‘I’m never going to learn anything.  I’m always behind,’” said Schrock.  Some parents want more personal involvement in the content of their children’s education.    Others want to protect their children from the negative experiences they had in school.

Interview: Joyce Silverthorne

Prejudice is an equal opportunity problem

Joyce Silverthorne. Photo by Alice Tejkalová.

By Israel Tockman and Alice Tejkalová
Prague 2007: Common Ground

Joyce Silverthorne has been the head of the Tribal Education Department of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes for 10 years.  She spoke about the history and current status of Indian Education For All, American Indian achievement gaps, the public school system and discrimination.

Who was involved in getting recognition of American Indian education to be part of the language in the Montana constitution in 1972? Were you a part of that?

No. There were no Indians at the Constitutional Convention. This was decided by non-Indian people who realized that Indian studies had not been a part of their history [in school]. Legislators have needed to know this for a long time because when they get elected they have from the first week of November until January when they take office to suddenly learn everything about tribes, reservations, land, minerals, water. There is the treaty sovereignty and as legislators they have to understand how those interact with what they’re doing.  There were legislators who realized that it was important to have this knowledge.