Best Practices

Native alternative schools exist because the educational systems in the USA, begun with Indian Boarding schools and continuing with public education, have not been designed to meet Native childrens educational needs.  These schools were created without regard for our children and their needs. The relationship of American education to Native Americans, from the outset, has been "Kill The Indian, Save The Man," which translates to "Strip them of their culture and turn them into something more exploitable."

Schools like this are more correctly termed re-education centers and they do not work well as schools. Clearly an alternative is needed and so schools like Heart Of The Earth, Red SchoolHouse and Na-way-ee Center School were begun to provide places for people who knew how best to teach Native children, or at the least, cared enough to find out how it could be most effectively done.

Research shows us and our traditions tell us that Native students are more likely to be holistic, kinesthetic learners who prefer a reflective, visual style of processing and mentally representing information and who prefer a collaborative approach to task completion.

Our experiences working with Native youth in the Phillips community also emphasize that the core value of Native society in general is still people. Natives value each other and education of Native students does not happen until the teacher and the student and school engage each other in a positive, meaningful, supportive relationship.

To that end it is important to understand the behavior of Native students so that a relationship that will support education can be established.  What follows are a few clues about relating and a list of things we are doing at Center School that work for our students..

Student Behaviors

• Natives do not always make eye contact. In many instances it is considered disrespectful to look someone directly in the eyes.
• You will also find that our students do not listen in the same manner as others. They will not S.L.A.N.T. (sit up, lean forward, act attentive, nod and track) but will listen with eyes closed or while doing something else. (Doodling on paper is my favorite).
• They may take awhile to answer questions as they prefer to reflect on them first, so be patient when waiting for answers or come back to get answers later.
• Finally, these students are very independent minded, so don't participate in power struggles. The harder you push them to make them do something, the harder it is to get them to do it.
• We suggest that you give them choices, let them some have sort of control within the class structure, or they will take control anyway.

This may sound as though I'm saying you should just let the class go "up for grabs" but I'm not. I'm saying that you must relate to them as people first before they will learn from you.  Here are a few things that work in our schools, our Best Practices if you would:

• Establish your rules and expectations and get everyone, students, teachers, etc. on the same page.
• Relationships come before curriculum. Get to know your students.
• Involve the community (feasts, ceremonies, language tables, field trips, award dinners all provide great opportunity)
• Integrate Native culture into the curriculum and school culture (use books by Native authors, consult with Native staff persons, use Native-oriented visual aids, look at "Creating Sacred Places for Children (NISB) or other Native curriculum sources such as www.cradleboard.org)
• Make use of activity-oriented instruction (technology, sports, talking circles, cooking, field trips, drum & dance, projects, labs, alternative schedule days etc.)
• Small class sizes help facilitate relationship-building. (This a big reason why funding based on student attendance is so counter-productive.)
• Educate your staff in how to teach to the preferred learning styles of most Native students and about all learning styles and the theory of multiple intelligences.
• Use storytelling in place of lecture.
• Use Talking Circles in place of discussions.
• Invite/Encourage community volunteers
• Plan several inter-disciplinary units involving the entire staff.
• Include Native professionals from the community
• Build physical activity into your lessons as often as possible

Note: This is not meant to suggest that we know everything

There is to know about teaching Native students.Clearly ,there is much yet to learn.We are only sharing what we have found that works and are always looking for more answers to the many questions we encounter as we strive to be better and offer this in that same spirit.

These are a few of the books and curriculum resources that we have found to be helpful to teachers at Center School and/or their students:

Title -- Author

Igniting The Sparkle -- Cajete, Gregory Ph.D.

Look To The Mountain -- Cajete, Gregory Ph.D.

Native Science -- Cajete, Gregory Ph.D.

Keepers Of The Animals -- Bruchac, Joseph

Keepers Of The Earth -- Bruchac, Joseph

Keepers Of Life -- Bruchac, Joseph

Keepers Of The Night -- Bruchac, Joseph

Power And Place -- Deloria, Vine

Collected Wisdom -- Peacock, Thomas

The Seventh Generation -- Peacock, Thomas

Teaching With Love And Logic -- Faye, James

The Power Of Their Ideas -- Meier, Debra

Indian Givers -- Weatherford, Jack

Native Roots -- Weatherford, Jack

Ininatig's Gift Of Sugar -- Wittstock, Laura Waterman

Through Dakota Eyes -- Anderson, Gary

Night Flying Woman -- Broker, Ignatia

Chippewa Customs -- Densmore, Francis

A Concise Dictionary Of Minnesota Ojibwe -- Nichols, John

Living Our Language -- Treuer, Anton

Ojibwemowin -- Vollom, Thomas

All Our Relations -- Laduke, Winona

The Lakota Way -- Marshall, Joseph

Food Is Medicine -- Laduke, Winona

Chronicles Of American Indian Protest -- The Council On Interracial Books For Children

Kill The Indian, Save The Man -- Churchill, Ward

From A Native Son -- Churchill, Ward

A People's History Of The United States -- Zinn, Howard

American Indian Politics and the American Political System -- Wilkins, David

Genocide Of The Mind -- Moore, Martin

Like A Hurricane -- Smith/Warrior

Here are some previously developed curricula that we liked:

Title -- Source/Author

Creating Sacred Places For Children -- National Indian School Board Association

Science: Through Native American Eyes -- Cradleboard Teaching Project/Buffy Sainte-Marie www.cradleboard.org