Post by blackcrowheart on Jul 23, 2007 10:25:05 GMT -5
S.D. lawmakers set up Indian education office
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- South Dakota lawmakers have sent to Gov. Mike
Rounds a plan to give South Dakotans a better understanding of American Indian
culture by making it a permanent priority in public schools.
Both legislative chambers have passed a bill offered by the Republican
governor that would set up an Indian Education Office and an Indian Education
Advisory Council with representatives from each of the state's nine tribes.
The legislation ensures that Indian education will be permanent part of the
state content standards so a future governor can't do away with it, said
Marcia Zephier, a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe who is on the advisory
council and testified for the bill.
"And then it gets the ball rolling in terms of individual school districts
starting programs in their schools," Zephier said.
The measure requires all new teachers from out of state and those who were
certified after 1993 to complete a three-hour course in South Dakota Indian
history and culture.
It also includes a pilot program to offer Lakota language instruction to
teachers, which could be extended to offer Lakota language instruction to Indian
students. And it requires the state Education Department and the advisory
council to establish a curriculum in Indian history and culture.
"The spirit of the bill is to look at the K-12 curriculum and to say, 'What
do we want all students in South Dakota who go to public school to know about
our native population?' Anything dealing with tribes and native people and
history and culture," said Gail Swenson, supervisor of Indian Education in the
Sioux Falls School District.
Keith Moore, state Indian education coordinator, said the academic success
of Indian students does not match that of the general school population.
Indian students' tests and scores are below par, and efforts are under way to
raise achievement levels, he said.
The average ACT college entrance score of South Dakota students is 21.8,
Moore said, but the average for the state's Indian students is 17.5.
Indians are the state's largest minority group and make up 8.4 percent of
the population, or about 63,000 residents, according to the Census Bureau.
Besides helping Indian students academically, the effort also should help
race relations, said Zephier, who teaches the Native American Connections
classes at Roosevelt High School in Sioux Falls. The classes are offered to
students of all races.
"I hope that we can educate not only Indian students but our non-Indian
students about the rich traditions and cultures of our ancestors," she said. "And
hopefully that will help relations statewide between Indians and
non-Indians."
Student Genevieve Gregory, who is part Indian, said the class teaches the
culture from the native perspective.
"It's from our side and it's more in depth," she said. "They don't go into
depth in certain history classes and don't explain why we were mad or
retaliated."
Amanda Larson, who is white, said the class expanded her understanding of
Indian culture, which should be a priority in a state with a high Indian
population.
"We learn about the Germans and all these European people," she said.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- South Dakota lawmakers have sent to Gov. Mike
Rounds a plan to give South Dakotans a better understanding of American Indian
culture by making it a permanent priority in public schools.
Both legislative chambers have passed a bill offered by the Republican
governor that would set up an Indian Education Office and an Indian Education
Advisory Council with representatives from each of the state's nine tribes.
The legislation ensures that Indian education will be permanent part of the
state content standards so a future governor can't do away with it, said
Marcia Zephier, a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe who is on the advisory
council and testified for the bill.
"And then it gets the ball rolling in terms of individual school districts
starting programs in their schools," Zephier said.
The measure requires all new teachers from out of state and those who were
certified after 1993 to complete a three-hour course in South Dakota Indian
history and culture.
It also includes a pilot program to offer Lakota language instruction to
teachers, which could be extended to offer Lakota language instruction to Indian
students. And it requires the state Education Department and the advisory
council to establish a curriculum in Indian history and culture.
"The spirit of the bill is to look at the K-12 curriculum and to say, 'What
do we want all students in South Dakota who go to public school to know about
our native population?' Anything dealing with tribes and native people and
history and culture," said Gail Swenson, supervisor of Indian Education in the
Sioux Falls School District.
Keith Moore, state Indian education coordinator, said the academic success
of Indian students does not match that of the general school population.
Indian students' tests and scores are below par, and efforts are under way to
raise achievement levels, he said.
The average ACT college entrance score of South Dakota students is 21.8,
Moore said, but the average for the state's Indian students is 17.5.
Indians are the state's largest minority group and make up 8.4 percent of
the population, or about 63,000 residents, according to the Census Bureau.
Besides helping Indian students academically, the effort also should help
race relations, said Zephier, who teaches the Native American Connections
classes at Roosevelt High School in Sioux Falls. The classes are offered to
students of all races.
"I hope that we can educate not only Indian students but our non-Indian
students about the rich traditions and cultures of our ancestors," she said. "And
hopefully that will help relations statewide between Indians and
non-Indians."
Student Genevieve Gregory, who is part Indian, said the class teaches the
culture from the native perspective.
"It's from our side and it's more in depth," she said. "They don't go into
depth in certain history classes and don't explain why we were mad or
retaliated."
Amanda Larson, who is white, said the class expanded her understanding of
Indian culture, which should be a priority in a state with a high Indian
population.
"We learn about the Germans and all these European people," she said.