The Cheyenne and Arapaho Department of Education (CADOE) functions as a tribal education department (TED) in western rural Oklahoma, situated within a tribal government that has a total membership of 13,212; 3,160 of whom are ages 3-18 years. CADOE has supported and advocated for equal opportunity and access for Cheyenne and Arapaho families and…

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…

This case introduces the current educational leadership context found in the executive branch of the Osage Nation, which is experiencing an era of rapid growth in the wake of a constitutional reform effort in 2004 to 2006. Utilizing a specific narrative that puts an Osage educational leader in charge of developing a 10-year plan that will guide…

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…

From 2004-06, the Osage Nation of Oklahoma reformed its government from a tribal council system to a tripartite constitution. Following this reorganization, through a community outreach effort a 25-year strategic plan was developed to guide the Nation moving forward. Now, a decade into the plan, recent Osage land (re)acquisition across the…

Home to nine Tribal Nations, the northeastern corner of Oklahoma (US) is a place of immense resilience, cultural beauty and attachment to place. Horrifically, however, this same area is also home to massive environmental assaults that have occurred as a result of decades of lead and zinc mining. The improperly managed mine waste that has…

This article foregrounds stories told by Kiowa Elder Dorothy Whitehorse DeLaune in order to distinguish "community listening" from "rhetorical listening" and decolonize community writing. Dorothy's stories demonstrate "transrhetoricity" as rhetorical practices that move across time and space to activate relationships…

What key ingredients are needed to effectively promote the mental health and resilience of young children in American Indian and Alaska Native communities? What should non-indigenous allies know when working with Indigenous communities and partners to support young child wellness? What elements and contexts should be taken into consideration when…

The Food Resource Equity and Sustainability for Health ("FRESH") study is an Indigenous-led intervention to increase vegetable and fruit intake among Native American children. As part of this study, we developed a hybrid (online and in-person) food sovereignty and nutrition education curriculum for the parents of these children. This…

The Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA) has synthesized key data on English learners (ELs) into two-page PDF sheets, by topic, with graphics, plus key contacts. The topics for this report on profiles of Native American and/or Alaska Native English Learners (ELs) include: (1) Largest Percentage of ELs Who Were Native American and/or…

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…

Background: Breast cancer is an important public health issue among American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) women. However, there are very few published studies describing the evaluation of breast health promotion programs among AI/AN women. Purpose: To describe the formative evaluation of a multicomponent intervention to promote mammography…

Between 1889 and 1890, John Wilson and his family were among nearly three thousand African American settlers to enter Oklahoma Territory, where Wilson's two daughters first attended an integrated school. The Wilson family was undoubtedly drawn by the educational and economic opportunities that were present in the fluid space--opportunities that…

Beginning November 2006, and continuing through December 2007, Oklahomans were alerted to the promotions of the Oklahoma Centennial. For Indigenous Oklahomans, this was a problematic marking of a historical event. The Centennial's grand-narrative advanced a story privileging the "pioneers" who "settled the land" as the official…

In the five hundred years of European and American globalization of the world, seldom have Indigenous peoples been invited to a constitutional convention and first legislature to express their perspectives and concerns. Rarely in the five-hundred-year history of the European and American colonization of the world were the rights of the Indigenous…