The Future Begins with the Present: Advocating for the Improvement of Education in my Community

Jordyn Henry

Navajo Nation

"Sharing One Skin"

It is our responsibility and dignity to show, practice, and know where you come from. The language, culture, tradition, community, and land define who we are as indigenous people. It's important to take care of your land, community, and self. Four capacities contribute to get closer to the Earth, your human being. It's your job to protect and care for what is you. This is you, your ancestors, your people, your grandparents and parents. This is your heart, this is your home.

When I say I am connected to this article, I'm connected to how much I learned and what I've already known. I didn't grow up traditionally or around much of my culture. I still don't know much of my language and the only person left who knows it well is my grandpa. In the last summary, I said it's important to know who you are and where you come from. Before, I didn't, I didn't know who I was because I didn't take it into my responsibility. As I grew older, I learned a little, like my clans. Language is important, and I wish I didn't waste time to actually learn it. It's scary and risky now because I don't know if my kids or future generations will know who they are. Now, it's my duty and full responsibility to learn, protect, and care for myself, community, people, and land.

Armstrong, Jeannette. 1996 "Sharing One Skin: The Okanagan community." pp. 460-470 in Jerry Mander and Edward Goldsmith (eds.), The Case Against the Global Economy, San Francisco, CA: Sierra Club Books.

"How Place Names Impact the Way We See Landscape"

We've seen all the names before. Washington, Jackson, Jefferson, etc. on street signs and countries. What do you think when seeing them? Why was that specific street or place named after that person? Sacred monuments, mountains and land shouldn't be named after someone who we don't honor. There are stories about what really happened at that specific area. Place identity is as "those dimensions of self that define the individuals personal identity in relations to the physical environment." We have connections with these places because the mean something more.

For me, I've always wondered the same thing and I do ask why mountains or lakes, monuments or anything have names of colonizers. You look at the history and soon find out they were "heroes." In reality, they did horrible things to us native people but get the credit. When I see where I live, the places I call home, I get a warm feeling and I've been told stories. Down in Zuni Pueblo, the rocky hills and cliffs is where Spider Woman lived. I want to know the true history and stories of what really happened here and there. These places are sacred to us and we have to protect it. It defines us and our communities.

Toastie, B. "How place names impact the way we see landscape." High Country News. Know the West, 1 May 2022, https://www.hen.org/issues/54.5/people-places-how-place-names-impact-the-way-we-see-landscape. Accessed 27, August 2022.

"The Sobering History of Native American Education in the 19th Century"

History has shaped the educational system today as there was so much groundwork for growth and change but it also has not been all progressive. At the beginning of the 19th century, the start of attempting to guide native americans in education was gone through so much. Residential schools were first to this system. They were led by religious organizations and made native american children to attend no matter what. These schools focused on deculturalization of native american children, stripping their language, culture/traditions, and behaviors from native american customs. After, a series of reforms were attempted by the U.S government to fix the misleading policies of the Indian Act. Native Americans received official citizenship in the United States in 1924 according to the Indian Citizenship Act. The Committee of One Hundred was established by The Institute for Government Research in 1926, and it looked into Indian problems. The Meriam Report was a 1928 document issued by this organization. The Meriam Report detailed the operational issues with residential schools as well as Native Americans' destitution and ill health. It demanded a more extensive curriculum, improved facilities, and qualified teachers. The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 granted the sovereignty of tribal self-government. The Johnson O’Malley Act passed as well, which was states having the responsibility of education for Native Americans. Though little progress was made toward coming up with a workable solution to the Native American educational crisis as a result of the continued coercion of these policies without consulting Native American tribal governments, the problem still exists today.

The connection I have with this article is that I do recognize and understand what was done and wasn’t done for the educational system for Native Americans. I had personal experience with the way education is now today and it is still a problem. My grandma experienced residential schooling and so has her parents and grandparents. This whole article is in relation to me and why I chose my SHP topic. It is to better the future generations and give them what they need to succeed in life.

Lynch, Matthew. “The Sobering History of Native American Education in the 19th Century,” The Ed Advocate, 2 September, 2016, https://www.theedadvocate.org/sobering-history-native-american-education-19th-century/. Accessed October 26, 2022.

"The U.S. History of Native American Boarding Schools"

In order to integrate Native American students into mainstream American society, the U.S. government built Native American boarding schools. This was part of an effort to eliminate Indigenous culture and kill, obliterate, or assimilate Native Americans. They were also a component of the US government's overarching strategy to exterminate Native Americans. From 1860 to 1978, Indian Boarding Schools were in operation. Over 60,000 local pupils were accommodated in about 357 boarding schools that ran in 30 states. In addition to federal employees, Christian missionaries ran one-third of these residential schools. Numerous thousand kids were housed in these boarding institutions. Compared to non-Native pupils, Native students are 1.2 times more likely to fall behind in reading and arithmetic in the eighth grade. They are also 2.0 times more likely to drop out of high school, 1.8 times more likely to attend a high poverty school, and 1.5 times more likely to commit suicide or commit homicide.

The interpretation with this article is that over the years, not much has been done or changed about education for Native students, especially for the schools on the reservations or tribal communities. These schools developed by the white people were used to destroy and not make our people successors. The problem is that these numbers of data need to lower and not put us ahead of being “more likely” to fail.

Meija, Melissa. “The U.S. history of Native American Boarding Schools.” The Indigenous Foundation, 2 September, 2018, https://www.theindigenousfoundation.org/articles/us-residential-schools. Accessed November 9, 2022.

“The US Government’s Education of Native American Children."

Treaties between the US government and Native tribes guaranteed Native American children an education. The educational experience was frequently difficult, especially for the younger children who were isolated from their families. Looking back at what happened when the US government promised an education for Native Americans, we learned it was torture. Many children experienced hate and discrimination, name calling and discipline. These “schools” taught nothing but traumatized the native students and it ruined the survivors' lives to this day. Some of the survivors feel guilt and regret when they should not because it’s not their fault. The de-indianization method took away their faith and connections with their families, culture, and traditions.

The shape that was produced by the history of Native American education has affected what is going on in the present. The torture of the past carried on to my generation as nothing was done to fix it. We might think that something was done but in reality, it really hasn’t. We still experience unfairness, racism, discrimination and white wash. They don’t teach the real history in public schools, the real history about Native Americans. The government gives schools on reservations inequity resources and opportunities where they have nothing to help them succeed. It’s important to learn about history because it’s what makes today the way it is.

American Experience: “We Shall Remain: Wounded Knee.” Written by Marcia Smith, directed by Stanley Nelson, PBS, 2009. https://nm.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/arct.socst.ush.wounded12bschoolsb/the-us-governments-education-of-native-american-children/. Accessed November 20, 2022.

“Native American Students Face Ongoing Crises in Education”

Since 2008, graduation rates have been declining. Native Americans live off reservations in 78 percent of cases, with 70 percent living in cities (US Census 2010). Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz investigated the demeaning beliefs and prejudices that harm Native American pupils. Native American students drop out at a rate ranging from 29 to 36 percent. The education system is important to the erasure of Native Americans. Learning problems, autism, and other forms of disability are among the most troubling challenges. Disability is underdiagnosed or misdiagnosed in Natives due to the same systemic racism. The Native mother* of a 9-year-old kid with ADHD described her pain at her child being the target of racism and ableism by white teachers and administrators.

The cause of the educational crisis has been going on for years and still is in the present. We see racial discrimination, judgement and inequity. I could say I have experienced one of these things and it tells me that it’s not getting any better if nothing is done about it. Many native students face these problems in the education system and in society as well. The reports of students failing, dropping out, and not succeeding in the classrooms are all facts and statistics and evidence.

Ellwood, J. Lisa. “Native Americans Students Face Ongoing Crises in Education,” Indian Country Today, 10 July, 2022, https://indiancountrytoday.com/archive/native-american-students-face-ongoing-crises-education Accessed November 15, 2022.

“New Study Details Challenges Facing Native Students, and How to Address Them”

According to one study, college affordability, rather than academic competence, is the biggest barrier stopping Native people from obtaining a degree. According to Albert (2022), in 2014, 36% of Indigenous undergraduates enrolled in four-year colleges and universities earned their degrees in six years. The report includes extensive data as well as personal narratives that shed light on how Native students pay for college. The conclusions of the paper have the potential to inspire schools and institutions to take a different path. Secondary schools should also do more to prepare Native kids for the high expenditures of higher education.

Financial problems play a big role in one of the current issues Native students face in the educational crisis. I believe that not that much is taught about how to prepare for financial prepping for school or in general. There are students out there who don’t know how to do or what to do when they want to pursue college. They have to choose whether to have a home or to go to college being homeless at the same time. There is FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) that some people don’t know about but also the students who do know apply every year but may not get approved. I think that there should be more teachings about financial aid because I myself did not know as well.

Albert, Angelique. “New Study Details Challenges Facing Native Students, and How to Address Them,” The 74, 14 November, 2022, https://www.the74million.org/article/new-study-details-challenges-facing-native-students-and-how-to-address-them/ Accessed November 16, 2022.

“Indigenous students can face large education gaps. Here’s how one school is trying to close them.”

Noli Indian School in Riverside County kids Anthony Contreras, Abbie Nevarez, Iyana "Tot" Briones, and Faith Vega are members of the Luiseno Soboba Band of Indians. Native American kids are among the least likely to complete high school or achieve university entrance criteria. In English, around 38% of Native American pupils met or exceeded the state standard, but just 27% met or exceeded the state standard in arithmetic. Because Noli is not a public school, it is not included in this data.

The purpose of the school is to close achievement gaps by the time pupils reach high school. The California Department of Education stated that it is dedicated to addressing achievement and opportunity gaps for all student groups, including Native American students. The mission of the AIEOC (American Indian Education Oversight Committee) is to foster educational and cultural understanding while also coordinating tribe consultation, cultural norms, and curriculum resources. "It is critical for Native American/Indigenous students to see themselves reflected," according to the statement.

Schools that are runned by the BIE and are underfunded take opportunities away from Native students. What students are facing is inequity which means, lack of fairness or justice. What do public schools have that Indigenous schools don’t? Why are these numbers the way they are? I feel that these students who attend BIE schools are robbed of their education. They are to be seen as not smart or top tier as white students. These students need many and better resources for their education in order to succeed. I also see that when students leave the underfunded schools on their tribal lands to go to public schools, they experience the same amount of unfairness. The lack of cultural needs in public schools contribute to this problem as well. The less effort put into our indigenous students lead to dropout rates going high and less pursuing their dreams.

Cordero, Christiane, Manthey, Grace. “Indigenous students can face large education gaps. Here’s how one school is trying to close them,” ABC 7 News, 23 November, 2021, https://abc7.com/native-american-education-indigenous-students-achievement-gaps-school/11263264/ Accessed November 21, 2022.

Action Plan 1: Speaking to the Youth!

On Saturday, November 12, 2022, I talked to a group of 3rd to 5th grade elementary students about the importance of education. Many parents and coaching staff were also present as it took place at a basketball meeting/practice session at the Pine Hill School.

“Great job, Jordyn! Good luck with your SHP and your senior season.”

-Bobbi Nez, Pine Hill Superintendent.

I heard a large amount of students, especially ones that play sports are failing, lacking, and not attending school. I hoped to have spread a positive and motivating message about doing better in school.