Early Native American Education

Objectives

At the end of this lesson, students will be able to…

1. Describe and explain traditional Native American education before the Europeans arrived in North America and how the strategies they employed reflected indigenous values.

2. Describe and analyze the experiences of Native American students who were forced into boarding schools and the impact that assimilation had on Native Americans.

3. Identify and define strategies that teachers can use to support Native American students in today’s classroom. 

Conclusion

Tharpe (2006) makes a wonderfully valid point: throughout most of human history, young peoples’ education has been conducted mostly through their home and community lives. Since the inception of schools, public and private education has been supplementing the educational endeavors that students have been experiencing at home. However, today, these roles are largely reversed. Our public schools are responsible for providing a common education for all students, and this means that despite the many different languages and cultures of our students, we must find common ground and create an environment that is applicable to all students. Personally, I believe this is what makes teaching such a special career. Creating a safe, welcoming space where all students feel as though they are part of a community is such a special thing, so it is important that we are committed to cultivating a culturally relevant classroom. Researching the history of Native American education has been an enlightening experience, as I had no idea that Indigenous students were subjected to these boarding schools before I started the research for this project. It has also been eye opening to learn about Native American education before European contact, particularly because many of the strategies they employed - demonstrations, modeling, hands-on activities, formative assessment, among many others (Juneau, 2001/2013) - are all things that significantly improve student engagement and success. It has reinforced to me the importance of meeting students where they are and seeing their diverse backgrounds and cultures as an asset rather than an obstacle. I think that all educators should have at least a foundational knowledge of the history of Native Americans and their educational experiences so that they can support their students more effectively. While it is by no means comprehensive and should certainly be expanded on by further research, I hope that the overview I have laid out provides an informative introduction to the experiences of Indigenous Peoples in education. 

Reflect

Think about the two images we looked at in the beginning of this lesson. Has your answer changed after reading the content of this page?

How can you incorporate this knowledge of Indigenous learners into your future classroom?

How I used AI

1. For this assignment, I used ChatGPT.

2. I used AI to help me brainstorm ideas for how to make this lesson interactive and fun, and I also used it to help me generate ideas for the questions above. However, all written content and interactive materials were created by me. It made the process easier in places where I was struggling, but I really wanted to make the effort to generate the majority of the content myself. I believe that it did improve the quality of my lesson because I was having difficulty coming up with good ideas about how to make the lesson interactive and engaging, and without AI I probably would have ended up with a much more text-based lesson. 

3. Personally, I am still very wary of AI. I have seen its benefits, and I will probably use it in the future - albeit sparingly. However, I do not want to become too reliant on it to navigate my life, whether that be for school, work, or just general inquiries. My personal AI policy is that I can use it for inspiration but not content. If I need ideas for how to make something more engaging or interesting, I would allow myself to use AI, but I will never use it to generate text that I will pass off as my own. 

References

The Canadian Encyclopedia. (n.d.). Education of indigenous peoples in Canada. The Canadian Encyclopedia.

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/aboriginal-people-education

Carlisle Indian School Digital Resource Center (1902). ‘Tom Torlino - Navajo’ [Photograph]. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tom_Torlino%E2%80%94Navajo.jpg

Couse, E. I. (1902). ‘The Historian: The How and Why Library’ [Photograph]. Picryl. https://picryl.com/media/the-historian-the-how-and-why-library-dbfd2e

Couse, E. I. (1909). ‘The Lovers’ [Photograph]. Picryl. https://picryl.com/media/the-lovers-by-eanger-irving-couse-1909-3aa8f9

Couse, E. I. (1923). ‘Overlooking the Valley’ [Photograph]. Picryl. https://picryl.com/media/overlooking-the-valley-by-eanger-irving-couse-1923-f54b9c

Davis, J. (2001). American Indian boarding school experiences: Recent studies from Native perspectives. OAH Magazine of History, 15(2), 20–22. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25163421

James, G. W. (ca. 1898). ‘Hopi mother and daughter from a wealthy family at Mishongnovi (Mashongnavi), Arizona, ca.1898’ [Photograph]. Picryl. https://picryl.com/media/hopi-mother-and-daughter-from-a-wealthy-family-at-mishongnovi-mashongnavi-arizona-674cf6

Juneau, S. (2001). History and foundation of American Indian education (Rev. & updated by W. Fleming & L. Foster, 2012–2013). Montana Office of Public Instruction, Indian Education for All Division.

The Library of Congress (1911, August 8). Webster City freeman [Photograph]. https://www.loc.gov/item/sn85050913/1911-08-08/ed-1/. 

National Gallery of Art, Washington DC. (1861). ‘George Catlin, Iowa Indians Who Visited London and Paris, 1861-1869’ [Photograph]. Picryl. https://picryl.com/media/george-catlin-iowa-indians-who-visited-london-and-paris-1861-1869-nga-50419-1f7196

Pierce, C.C. (ca. 1900). ‘Walapai Indian school at Kingman, Arizona, ca. 1900’ [Photograph]. Picryl. https://picryl.com/media/walapai-indian-school-at-kingman-arizona-ca1900-chs-3188-36ed41

Porterfield, A. (2023, September 1). Supporting Native American students through culturally relevant education. Institute of Education Sciences. https://ies.ed.gov/learn/blog/supporting-native-american-students-through-culturally-relevant-education

Tharpe, R. G. (2006). Four hundred years of evidence: Culture, pedagogy, and Native American learning. Journal of American Indian Education, 45(2), 6–25. https://jaie.asu.edu/sites/g/files/litvpz1681/files/452_2006_2_tharp.pdf