The State Tribal Education Partnership Team participated in the National Indian Education Association’s Week on the Hill in Washington D.C. last month. Team members met with legislators, leaders, and federal education employees to effectively communicate the needs of our native students, and current challenges and work towards unified solutions for a healthier, educated future for our native children.
The team learned more about the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, which currently has legislation on the table S. 2907 and H.R. 5444, that aims to develop this federal commission to locate and analyze the records from the 367+ known Indian boarding schools operated in the U.S.
The STEP team is currently educating public school educators and advocating for Native youth through capacity building on how to better serve our native students for a more equitable learning experience. The history of our people and the formation of the United States contributes to the rippling effect of intergenerational trauma that challenges students within the current public school system.
It was not only a great learning and networking experience for our team, but it also gave us more tools and resources in pushing our initiatives as a tribal nation forward.
The team is also analyzing the Massachusetts history frameworks to identify where accurate Native American history components should be presented.
We are currently working with Falmouth and Mashpee Public Schools to integrate supplemental information into their curriculum. With that being said, we will be calling the community for historical and cultural expertise to prepare these supplements and professional development for the teachers. If you have expertise in a particular field that you would like to help contribute, please get in touch with the Education Department to be added to the Department’s ongoing Speakers Bureau. We will be looking to bring educators together in the near future to develop this project.
Contact Communications Coordinator, Talia Landry, Talia.Landry@mwtribe-nsn.gov, ext. 166; or, Outreach Coordinator, Darius Coombs Dairus.Coombs@mwtribe-nsn.gov ext. 162.
