During the 1840s and 1850s, members of the Creek Nation rejected schools as a colonial tool and instead experimented with various forms of education to fit their own local and national needs. Diverse individuals and communities articulated educational visions for their nation in conversation with fellow citizens, national leaders, and U.S.…

Five Aboriginal Head Start early childhood educators from a northern Canadian community participated in interviews for the purpose of informing non-Indigenous teachers' classroom teaching. Their observations and experiences highlight the importance of learning from and on the land alongside family members, and of family stability and showing…

In this conceptual piece, we situate settler colonial theory and qualitative inquiry in a discussion about the research(ing) of social studies education. The context for this article includes our visit and conversations with 9th grade Oklahoma history teachers and their teaching and curriculum within Indigneous contexts. Although not focused as an…

For educators to more fully comprehend the issues surrounding the current state of affairs regarding tribal consultation and sovereignty in American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) education, it is necessary to provide a socio-historical context. This brief provides information on the evolution of Native education, from its precolonial roots to…

Navajo Technical University first opened its doors in 1979 as the Navajo Skills Center with the simple intention of training an unemployed workforce and putting people to work. At the time, the Diné were just a generation removed from attempts at forced assimilation, which included unwarranted military action by the U.S. Cavalry during the Long…

As the U.S. Supreme Court prepared to rehear for the second time the case of "Brown v. Board of Education" in 1953, the 83rd Congress passed House Concurrent Resolution 108 and Public Law 280--policies that would terminate federal treaty and trust responsibilities to Native Americans. Even as post-"Brown" desegregation went…

This chapter begins with a brief history of higher education's role in assimilation, oppression, and removal of Indigenous people. A short literature review outlines the progression of higher education literature from deficit focused ideologies to current research that decolonizes and centers of Indigenous Knowledge Systems. "Sharing…

This three-article dissertation specifically examines one challenging element of teaching history to young children: the representation of historical violence and adversity, using fourth grade curriculum and instruction surrounding the topic of Spanish colonization of California as a case study. This era, known as the Spanish mission period in…

This article examines the role of Indigenous knowledges in higher education through an exploration of internationalization at U.S. Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs). We affirm that examining internationalization efforts with historically marginalized and underserved populations provides an opportunity for interrogating inequitable power…

Learning across the disciplines (e.g., mathematics, science, art) can be enhanced for all students by grounding learning in historical and cultural (Western and Native) knowledge and context. The survival of Native knowledge in the United States depends on the leadership and teaching skills of many traditional and non-traditional educators. The…

This "Equity Dispatch" newsletter provides educators, administrators, and community stakeholders with an overview of American Indian education, provisions for Indian Education embedded in Title VI of The Every Student Succeeds Act, and research-based strategies for effectively meeting the unique educational needs of Indigenous students…

In the 1800s and early 1900s, the United States assigned Indian Agents--non-Native employees of the federal government--to coordinate intergovernmental efforts, to encourage the assimilation of Native peoples into European-American society, and to serve as advocates for individual tribes. Although Indian Agents no longer exist in an official…

Middle school social studies lessons about American Indian people often leave the impression that Indians are part of a historical past that has little to do with America's present. Too often, lessons include information about Indian "extinction" due to diseases and warfare without discussing the ongoing resilience of American Indian…

In this paper, I discuss one photograph from a youth who participated in a 12-week arts based educational program I facilitated for Indigenous Young Adults at the Native Youth Drop-In centre in Toronto, Canada. By being able to communicate through their artwork, the youth shifted away from thinking of themselves as victims, and exuded a sense of…

In 2007, the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma amended its constitution to limit membership to only those who can trace lineal descent to an individual listed as "Cherokee by Blood" on the final Dawes Rolls. This exercise of sovereignty paradoxically ties the Dawes Rolls, the colonial instruments used to divide the lands and peoples of the…