Indigenous Insights
The Indigenous student forum discussed the impact of cultural incompetence, the failures of unbalanced curriculum, and the isolation that comes with minimal representation.
Indigenous students highlighted cultural competency as an area in the classroom that needs to be addressed. From misrepresenting history to perpetuating stereotypes, it’s clear that cultural ignorance excludes Indigenous students from the school community by failing to accurately represent their cultures, histories, and identities.
Facilitators
Delmar Billy, Restorative Specialist; Elizabeth Billy, Native American Community Worker
“I think teachers should go through some training to have a basic knowledge of the Native Americans that come from this area. Teachers should be able to give students options, we’re young, still trying to figure out who we are.”
Representation and connection were common threads in stories of success and safety at school:
“A teacher mentioned to me that he was planning to teach about Native Americans and I thought, oh, you’re thinking of me and my culture, you’re seeing me as a whole individual and that made me feel seen. Just acknowledging that you’re being seen and heard through a curriculum, it was nice to hear that.”
“My english teacher, he is a person of color, he makes sure to share people from different ethnicities. He’s very supportive of us as students and individual people. He’s just always there.”
“When I was little, I always had long hair and I was very proud of it. A lot of the kids at school did not get that that was something that boys wore with pride. It was discouraging. I felt like I was being bullied for trying to honor who I was.”
“Learning about history and thanksgiving was upsetting. That was the only time I felt alienated. You don’t want to participate. You don’t feel represented. Textbooks were really outdated.”
Insights &
Takeaways
Expand and update curriculum
Cultural competency is critical
Increase representation