When Tribal Sovereignty Challenges

Democracy

Lomawaima and McCartyBy: Marya Tambawala

Spring 2013

Tsianina Lomawaima

Earned her PhD at Stanford University Professor at University of Arizona Publications include:

To Remain an Indian: Lessons in Democracy from a Century of Native American Education

Uneven Ground: American Indian Sovereignty and Federal Law

Away from Home: American Indian Boarding School Experiences

They called it prairie light : the story of Chilocco Indian School

Check out Lomawaima’s interview with PBS

Think About It:Are Native American children better served by Native American teachers? If so, is that the case for other minority groups?

According to Lomawaima, most Native people would prefer a segregated, rather than an integrated school. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this?

According Indian Country Today, 45% of American Indian opinion leaders polled believe the media is the

primary cause of anti-Indian sentiment.

Read Me! Make a list: What pops into your head when

you hear the term “American Indian”?

“Safe” Versus “Dangerous” “Many episodes illustrate the federal dilemma that has endured

to the present day: how to judge what might be allowably safe, innocuous expressions of Native beliefs and practices

and how to manage or eradicate beliefs and practices judges too dangerously different or subversive or mainstream

values,” (pp. 285).

Complete the Chart

• • •

•Paganism•Polygamy•Savage customs

Safe Dangerous

The Meriam Report (1928)

Surveyed the economic and social conditions of American Indians, including health, education, family and community life, and more.

See parts of the actual report here Proposed that “Indian people should have the

power to make choices and that the federal government should support them in their choices,” (Lomawaima and McCarty pp. 287)

Led to the development of bilingual instruction in some federal schools.

“Some Indians proud of their race and devoted to their culture have no desire to be as the white man is..” (Meriam

Report) Questions:

1.How does this perception of American Indians differ from Freire’s characteristics of the oppressed? 2. Why might native-americans have different Goals than other oppressed groups?

Keeping the quote from the Meriam Report in mind: what do you think the “American Dream” looks like to the Native-Americans sitting at the table with President Obama? What would it look like to Native American youth?

The Rise of Indigenous Community-Controlled Schools

1970 marked a turning point in Native American education

Widely publicized critiques and reports forced President Nixon to declare that “every Indian community wishing to do so should be able to control its own schools”

Rough Rock was the first American-Indian community controlled school

Rough Rock Community School still exists today!

Check out their website: Has its mission have remained the same since its inception?

See the campus and some kids in action here!

Short-Lived Success

By 1978, there were 34 Indigenous community-controlled schools with a bilingual/bicultural curriculum

Academic achievement was high, with students at community-controlled schools performing as well as, if not better than, students from traditional schools

Restored self-confidence and pride among Native children

Until…

Budget consolidations, policy changes, andfinancial instability, oh my!

“No other U.S. school system functions undersuch a cloud of uncertainty…This constellation of

conditions can only be described asinstitutionalized racism” (pp. 294)

Think about it…Why has every tribal gain been met by

road blocks imposed by the federalgovernment?

What would Freire say about it? What is in the best interest of the oppressors?

Listen to this NPR interview with Native American

professor and author Anton Treuer

How do you/would you approach the topic of Thanksgiving in your

classroom?

Check out this current Native American boarding school’s website and

this student profile. In what ways is Santa Fe Indian School succeeding or

failing to provide a bicultural and bilingual education?

Read this Article Are off reservation boarding schools a better

option for Native- American students?

How would Schlesinger feel about teaching Native- American history and traditions to the current generation of Navajo children? Is it as “irrelevant” as the Afrocentric curriculum

Are off reservation schools, with their focus on preserving language and culture, preparing students to succeed in society?

In Closing…

Most of the articles and interviews I found around the subject of Native-American education were from PBS and NPR.

What does that say about the significance given to the Native-American achievement

gap in mainstream media and society?

References (2011). AS-IA Larry Echo Hawk Dedicates Rough Rock Community School. YouTube. Retrieved from

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMldnOmcMH0.

(2013). Face-To-Face with Santa Fe Indian School’s Bridget Lee. ABQJournal. Retrieved from http://www.abqjournal.com/main/2013/03/08/north/headline-256.html.

Bear, C. (2008). American Indian school a far cry from the past. National Public Radio. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17645287.

Headlee, C. (2012). Behind the Native American acheivement gap. National Public Radio. Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/2012/11/22/165662639/behind-the-native-american-achievement-gap.

K. Tsianina Lomawaima. Retrieved from http://www.ais.arizona.edu/people/k-tsianina-lomawaima.

Lomawaima, T.K. & McCarty, T.L.(2002). When tribal sovereignty challenges democracy: American Indian education and the democratic ideal. American Education Research Journal, 39:2, 279-305.

Miller, F.C. (1928/1971). Meriam report: The problem of indian administration. National Law Library. Retrieved from http://www.narf.org/nill/resources/meriam.htm.

References (cont’d) PBS. Interview with Tsianina Lomawaima. Only a Teacher. Retrieved from

http://www.pbs.org/onlyateacher/today7.html.

President Obama and the Native American community. Retrieved from http://www.whitehouse.gov/nativeamericans.

Rough Rock Community School. Retrieved from http://www.roughrock.k12.az.us/Welcome.htm.

Santa Fe Inidan School. Retrieved from http://www.sfis.k12.nm.us/.

Schmidt, R. (2007). The harm of Native stereotyping: Facts and evidence. Retrieved from

http://www.bluecorncomics.com/stharm.htm.

Treuer, D. (2012). Kill the Indians, then copy them. The New York Times. Retrieved from

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/30/opinion/sunday/kill-the-indians-then-copy-them.html?_r=2&.