Native American students have consistently scored less than their white peers on high school academic achievement tests, have the lowest high school graduation rates, and have the lowest college enrollment rates. Research has evidenced challenges and struggles Native American children are faced with that negatively effects their success in the…

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…

Among Oklahoma's 2,636-member Wichita tribe, octogenarian Doris McLemore is the sole person who fluently speaks the native language. And Terri Parton, president of Wichita and Affiliated Tribes, says that makes her both a treasure and an imperiled, cultural linchpin. Developing a coterie of community-based American Indians who are restoring,…

After two elections and several recounts and court decisions, the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma has installed a new principal chief for the first time in a dozen years. Unlike his predecessor, Chief Bill John Baker has not opposed descendants of the tribe's former slaves, known as the Cherokee Freedmen, having rights as tribal citizens. That legal…

Although 39 federally recognized American Indian tribes are headquartered in the state of Oklahoma, it comes as some surprise that there were no tribal colleges in the state until this century. During the past eight years, however, tribal colleges have been cropping up throughout the state, including the Comanche Nation College, the College of the…

In this article, the author talks about the experiences of many of the people involved in the Carnegie Project, an effort in the 1960s to establish ties with the "tribal community"--people who spoke Cherokee as their first language and lived in small kin-related settlements spread across five counties in northeastern Oklahoma--and…

A biography for elementary school students presents an account of an American Indian television reporter, Tom Beaver (Creek), and includes a map of Oklahoma showing the location of Indian tribes. A teacher's guide following the biography contains information about the Creek tribe and the history of television, learning objectives and directions…

Academia is the author's second career, and his path to that career was unusual. Oklahoma schools had little to offer, and he had given up on education in the ninth grade because it had long since given up on him. The Vietnam War bought him a position in the Air Force that improved his self-image, and the GI Bill bought him an education. He came…

Designed to capture the rich essence of local Indian culture and to involve members of the Indian community, the guide reflects the story of seven teachers who portrayed in their classrooms the rich culture of the Creek, Osage and Shawnee Indians. Section I introduces the reader to the teachers, the classes they taught, and their initial steps in…

Designed to be combined with the social studies curriculum, this guide promotes awareness of American Indian contributions to Oklahoma's development and cultural heritage. Lessons help students in grades 6 through 9 strengthen powers of critical thinking, practice writing skills, and develop creative expression, while learning about Oklahoma's 34…

The study unit on American Indians in Oklahoma for grades K-6 provides suggested multi-curriculum activities and resources for educators to use as an introduction for all students, Indian and non-Indian. Goals of the multi-curriculum based study unit include: (1) developing an awareness of the origin of Native American culture; (2) making the…