Put Native American Curriculum in Schools

Throughout history and today, curriculum in American public schools includes little or nothing about Indian history and culture. Students do not learn about indigenous occupation of this continent and ownership of this land. Nor do students learn about how this land was “acquired” from the tribes or how Indian nations continue to own land and retain interests in their aboriginal territories.

However, this legacy of ignorance is changing. Here in Minnesota, the St. Paul Public Schools have undertaken a serious commitment to including the Native American perspective in all students’ curriculum. Partnering with ILTF for a pilot project introducing culturally appropriate and locally relevant materials into the classroom, schools have seen enormous success in increasing students’ knowledge and understanding about our nations’ first people. Your gift to the Lessons of Our Land Fund will enable more schools to include this critical material so that all students may appreciate our nation’s history and the importance of our relationship to the land upon which we live.

ILTF developed a curriculum, “Lessons of Our Land,” for implementation in Headstart, K-12 and college classrooms. The lessons are intended to give educators the opportunity to incorporate relevant materials about American Indian land tenure into pre-existing curriculum while satisfying all federal educational standard requirements. The curriculum provides American Indian and non-Indian students with broader understanding of land, cultures, inherent rights and tribal sovereignty. Perhaps more importantly, Indian students will see themselves and their ancestors reflected in their classroom materials, often for the first time. Instead of perpetuating stereotypes of Indian people, the lessons allow local experts to adapt the curriculum to local tribes’ histories, cultures and languages. Your support of the Lessons of Our Land Fund will provide our youth access to a richer educational experience.