Native News Network

Engaging Native American Learners With Rigor and Cultural Relevance

Written by Arizona State University at March 2, 2014

Emery Tahy left his home at age 16 after a high school counselor told him he’d be better off learning a trade since he was failing in school. Now he’s finishing his master’s degree at Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona while working toward his goal of becoming a tribal leader.

Tahy’s journey through life has taken him from the small Navajo reservation community of Westwater, Utah, to Job Corps where he learned the value of working hard and to the university where he discovered a passion for American Indian Studies.

Learning electrician and iron worker skills through Job Corps served him well after high school, but he always felt like there was something missing from his life. Then the bottom fell out of the economy.

“I learned a lot from that experience and I will always have a trade, but I felt that there was a void. There was something missing,” Tahy said.

When construction work dried up during the recession, he worked for Native American Connections in Phoenix that introduced him to research and aiding American Indians in the city.

“I felt like I would have more opportunities if I had a degree,” he added. “I feel like education is the key to being successful.”

Taking classes at a community college began to fill that void as did transferring to ASU to earn his bachelor’s degree in political science with a minor in American Indian Studies.

“I’m really passionate about politics,” he said. “I felt like I was always engaged in what was going on in the world while doing construction, but I felt left out. Education was what was missing.”

American Indian Studies classes taught him about tribal governance and led him to the realization that he could give back to his people and his nation through education. He’ll finish his master’s degree this December.

…

This article:

Student Spotlight: Education Is Key to Future Tribal Leadership

Hi, my name is Taryn Harvey.  I am of the Red House People Clan born for the One Who Walks Around Clan. My maternal grandfather is Irish and my paternal grandfather is of the Bitter Water Clan. I am a freshman at Stanford University and work with an organization called The Phoenix Scholars. Our purpose is to provide assistance and mentorship to low-income, minority, and/or first-generation juniors in high school to guide them through the college application process for their upcoming senior year and throughout their college careers. The Phoenix Scholars was founded by Michael Tubbs, an African American male from Stockton, CA, while he was a sophomore at Stanford. His vision for the organization was for it to primarily be an asset for Black males in the Bay Area.  However, The Phoenix Scholars organization has grown over the years and reached out to a number of minority groups and have made it a primary goal this year to increase the number of our Native American, Alaskan Native, and/or Native Hawaiian applicants.

Thus, every year we reach out to organizations who are actively empowering minority youth to reach higher education. Our goal is to partner with these organizations in order to increase the number of Native American applicants we receive each year and ultimately the number of Native American youth who are attending and succeeding in college each year. If you are interested in learning more about our program and how we help our students access higher education, feel free to contact me through my email: tharvey@stanford.edu.  You can also visit our website:www.phoenixscholars.org.

The Phoenix Scholars looks forward to working with you and establishing a relationship to help accomplish this mission.  This is a great opportunity to help Native American youth receive a college education.

Thank you!

Taryn Harvey

The Phoenix Scholars

http://www.collegeoptions.org/scholarships.html

College OPTIONS mission is to strengthen the college-going culture in tNorthern California by increasing opportunities for students to pursue postsecondary education, and ensuring that all students can make informed decisions about their education and their future.

Happy New Year Everyone!

http://californiatribalcollege.com

The mission of the California Tribal College is to develop and build a tribal college in California that is designed specifically to meet the unique needs of Native American students with a governance structure that provides tribes a leadership role and input in critical decisions and sets forth a system of academic accountability.

Hello Everyone! Please remember that this coming Friday, November 15, Ms. Nicole Lim, Director of the American Indian Museum and Cultural Center in Santa Rosa, CA will be presenting "Engaging and Empowering Native Youth in Educational Programs". The webinar will begin promptly at 10 and last 90 minutes, ending at 11:30.

We will send you the information for the link to the webinar and the powerpoint so that you may download it later this week. Please test your computer for access to WebEx prior to the webinar on Friday.  The link for testing your access is:

Test your ability to access the session PRIOR to the start of the event by clicking on this “Test Meeting” URL. To ensure access to WebEx, please utilize the following link to test your computer today:

http://www.webex.com/test-meeting.html?t=ppuUS

Please contact your tech help if you are not able to connect to the test meeting.

**Note: If you have special access needs (e.g., you have a hearing impairment and need alternative access for the audio), please contact Ms. Anu Advani ataadvani@wested.org ASAP so we can make the appropriate arrangements. 

Again, we will start promptly at 10 am and end at 11:30.

Contact us if you have any questions.

Cordially,

CULTURALLY APPROPRIATE CURRICULUM, TEXTS AND MATERIALS

Compiled by André Cramblit, for any comments or additions please email me at andre.p.cramblit.86@alum.dartmouth.org

http://www.humboldt.edu/itepp/crc.html Indian Tribal and Education Personnel Program: Curriculum Resource Center.

http://www.colorincolorado.org/article/39579/ Tips for Choosing Culturally Appropriate Books & Resources About Native Americans.

http://www2.nau.edu/~jar/AIE/AIEbooks.html American Indian & Indigenous Education Books.

http://www.oyate.org Oyate reviews children’s literature and advocate for Native Americans/American Indians to be portrayed with historical accuracy, cultural appropriateness and without anti-Indian bias and stereotypes.

http://www.ssinar.com/PDFFiles/CultCompetResShort.pdf Culturally Competent Research with American Indians and Alaska Natives.

http://www.nativeculturelinks.com/ailabib.htm “I” is not for Indian: The Portrayal of Native Americans in Books for Young People.

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/how-choose-best-multicultural-books How To Choose The Best Multicultural Books.

http://mycultureisnotatrend.tumblr.com My Culture is Not a Trend: A Dialogue About Cultural Appropriation 

http://www.childrensliteraturenetwork.org/resource/readlist/favnatv.php Best Native American Books for Children and Young Adults.

http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/lesson-plan/native-american-cultures-books-and-resources The Common Core Reader: Native American Cultures Books and Resources.

http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com The American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL) provides critical perspectives and analysis of indigenous peoples in children's and young adult books, the school curriculum, popular culture, and society.

http://www.ailanet.org American Indian Library Association: a membership action group that addresses the library-related needs of American Indians and Alaska Natives.

http://www.lessonplanet.com/search?keywords=American+Indian&type_ids%5B%5D=357917&gclid=CKCbyvKvwroCFUlp7AodIlgAlg American Indian Teacher Resources.

http://www.bloomington.k12.mn.us/node/306489 American Indian Curriculum and Lesson Plans 

http://www.racismagainstindians.org/Education/TeachingAboutIndians.pdf Racism Against American Indians: Teaching About American Indians.

http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~jar/AIER.html Selected Resources on American Indian/Indigenous Education.

http://www.tribalcollegejournal.org/archives/1388 Evaluating Classroom Materials for Bias against American Indians.

http://www.indigenousedu.org Indigenous Education Institute was created for the preservation and contemporary application of traditional Indigenous knowledge.

http://www.books.aisc.ucla.edu/aboutaicrj.aspx American Indian Culture and Research Journal.

http://www.ktjusd.k12.ca.us/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=184867&type=d&pREC_ID=384985 Klamath-Trinity Joint Unified School District’s Title VII American Indian Education Program Curriculum Resources.

http://www.americanindiantah.com American Indian Issues: A Curricular Guide for Educators.

http://www.humboldt.edu/cicd/epa/: Native American Lands: A Cultural Approach to Environmental Studies.

http://www.landlessons.org Lessons of Our California: A Native American Land Curriculum. 

http://www.hanksville.org/NAresources/ Index of Native American Resources on the Internet.

http://www.nccrest.org The National Center for Culturally Responsive Educational Systems.

http://library.sd.gov/LIB/DEV/tribal.aspx American Indian Tribal Library Resources.

http://www.teachingforchange.org Teaching for Change: Building Social Justice Starting in the Classroom.

http://www.nativevoicesbooks.com Native Voices Books, Traditional and Contemporary Native Books.

http://www.schools.utah.gov/fsp/Indian-Education/Resources/Forum-on-Indian-Education.aspx Teacher Resources - Forum on Indian Education

http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/94490-1 The federal role in American Indian Education

http://www.fourdir.com/tfc_toc.htm The first Californians

http://www.oyate.com Native Music and Stories from Over 50 Nations

http://www.pbs.org/mattersofrace/prog3.shtml Matters of Race: a contemporary look at two communities often overlooked in the race dialogue: American Indians and Native Hawaiians.

The circumstances in California during the 1800s which legalized slavery of Native Americans

http://www.californiacultures.org/California_Cultures___A_Monograph_Series/Monographs/Monographs.html California Cultures: A Monograph Series

Top American Indian Board Books for the Youngest Readers: http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/2011/04/top-board-books-for-youngest-readers.html

Baby Learns about Colors, by Beverly Blacksheep.

Boozhoo, Come Play With Us, by Deanna Himango

I See Me, by Margaret Manuel

Learn the Alphabet with Northwest Coast Art

Our Journey, by Lyz Jaakola

Welcome Song for Baby: A lullaby for newborns, by Richard Van Camp

Cradle Me, by Debby Slier

Top 10 American Indian Books for Elementary School:

http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/2010/07/top-ten-books-recommended-for.html

Campbell, Nicola. Shi-shi-etko

Campbell, Nicola. Shin-chi's Canoe

Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. Beaver Steals Fire: A Salish Coyote Story

Harjo, Joy. The Good Luck Cat

Messinger, Carla. When the Shadbush Blooms

Ortiz, Simon J. The Good Rainbow Road/Rawa 'kashtyaa'tsi hiyaani: A Native American Tale

Sockabasin, Allen J. Thanks to the Animals

Smith, Cynthia Leitich. Jingle Dancer

Tingle, Tim. Crossing Bok Chitto (also When Turtle Grew Feathers and Saltypie)

Waboose, Jan Bourdeau. SkySisters

Top 10 American Indian Books for Middle School:

http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/2010/07/top-ten-books-recommended-for-middle.html

Bruchac, Joseph. Hidden Roots. 

Carvell, Marlene. Who Will Tell My Brother?

Dorris, Michael. Sees Behind Trees.

Erdrich, Louise. The Birchbark House

Loyie, Larry. As Long as the Rivers Flow: A Last Summer before Residential School

Ortiz, Simon. The People Shall Continue

Smith, Cynthia Leitich. Indian Shoes

Smith, Cynthia Leitich. Rain Is Not My Indian Name

Sneve, Virginia Driving Hawk. High Elk's Treasure

Sterling, Shirley. My Name is Seepeetza

Top 10 American Indian Books for High School:

http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/2010/07/top-ten-books-recommended-for-high.html

Alexie, Sherman. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Broker, Ignatia. Night Flying Woman: An Ojibway Narrative

Carlson, Lori Marie (ed.). Moccasin Thunder: American Indian Stories for Today

Deloria, Ella C. Waterlily

Kenny, Maurice (ed.). Stories for a Winter's Night: Fiction by Native American Writers

King, Thomas. One Good Story, That One

Ortiz, Simon J. Men on the Moon: Collected Short Stories

Tapahonso, Luci. Blue Horses Rush In: Poems and Stories

Taylor, Drew Hayden. The Night Wanderer

Van Camp, Richard. The Lesser Blessed

Top Resources and Materials on Boarding Schools.

http://americanindiansinchildrensliterature.blogspot.com/2008/02/as-more-resources-and-books-are.html