The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the highest unemployment that the U.S. has seen since the Great Depression, with particularly heavy job losses for Black, Hispanic, and Native American workers. In this set of studies commissioned by Lumina Foundation, the authors examine actions that states and community colleges can take to address the needs of…

The United States has boosted attainment rates over the past decade, with the share of young adults with at least an associate degree increasing by 20 percent, resulting in an additional 5 million more individuals earning a college degree. But these gains in postsecondary attainment are not evenly distributed across the country. Of the 218.6…

This study investigated perspectives of social justice activists who directly advocate for eliminating Native-themed mascots, nicknames, and logos. Using consensual qualitative research methodology, the research team analyzed transcripts of interviews conducted with 11 social justice activists to generate themes, categories, and domains within the…

The purpose of this study was to describe and explain the portrayal of American Indians in U.S. textbooks selected for review in Hillsborough County, Florida's 2012 textbook adoption. The study identified which of the textbooks under consideration contained the greatest amount of information dedicated to American Indians. The study then analyzed…

Indigenous scholars such as Seminole/Shawnee historian, Donald Fixico, drew attention to the lack of academic literature about the proactive, planned, and strategic actions of indigenous peoples. Most histories portray indigenous peoples as responding, accommodating, and assimilating to non-Indians and the US government. This article highlights…

This study used oral survey methods to examine first the diversity of Meso-American languages and second the potential language maintenance or loss of these languages among Meso-American language speakers in Wiregrass country (North Florida-South Georgia). Language shift, the process of gradually changing from one first language to another first…

Focusing on student proficiency in reading and math from 2003-04 to 2006-07, this report compares gaps in performance on state achievement tests between grade 8 American Indian and Alaska Native students and all other grade 8 students in 26 states serving large populations of American Indian and Alaska Native students. In response to a request by…

National and regional trends mask important variation among states in the supply of high school graduates. This profile provides brief indicators for Florida related to: current levels of educational attainment, projections of high school graduates into the future, and two common barriers to student access and success--insufficient academic…

The accounts of two men who participated in several Spanish-led expeditions to the New World in the early 1500s document the frequent use of manual signs and gestures in the initial interactions between European explorers and the indigenous peoples of North America. Bernal Diaz del Castillo described the events that occurred during three…

This data report shows the racial profile of Florida's public school teachers, and discusses short and long-term trends, distribution by race/ethnicity and length of service, and distribution by racial/ethnic and instructional categories. In the 2012-13 school year, Florida had 171,868 teachers. Each of Florida's six largest school districts has a…

This applied dissertation was designed to evaluate improving the reading performance of fifth-grade students through an afterschool reading program to determine whether it was effective in teaching Native American and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). This study compared the reading performance of fifth-grade students who struggle…

Florida is in the process of transitioning to new English language arts and mathematics standards that will better prepare students to be successful in college and their careers. Time, effort, and resources must be dedicated to effective implementation in order to realize the promise of these new common core state standards. This paper captures…

The battle over the use of American Indian names and mascots among college and professional athletic teams has a seldom-told economic backstory. It is more than simple alumni sentimentality. Money, influence and power often play a significant role in decisions regarding the use of these symbols. Paraphernalia bearing the images bring in millions…

This paper analyzes the incentives and responses of public schools in the context of an educational reform. The literature on the effect of voucher programs on public schools typically focuses on student and mean school scores. This paper tries to go inside the black box to investigate some of the ways in which schools facing the Florida voucher…

Asserts that gaming on Indian reservations is the most important development in Indian affairs during the past two decades. Discusses political and social issues related to reservation gambling. Concludes that it has improved employment opportunities, boosted morale, and upgraded living standards of many Indian communities. (CFR)