Indigenous students in the United States experience disproportionate outcomes in school, including high rates of special education identification, suspension, and chronic absenteeism. Despite the systemic inequities that affect Native students, state educational agencies (SEAs) employ few staff who specialize in the education needs of these…

Federal law defines English learner (EL) eligibility differently for Indigenous, compared to non-Indigenous, students, allowing for broader entry into the EL category, along with its accompanying resources and services. We interviewed EL leaders from 25 state departments of education to learn about their level of understanding of the…

In 2018, the BYU ARTS Partnership Native American Curriculum Initiative (NACI) was developed in response to teacher questions regarding the teaching of Native topics. Despite increased movements towards reconciliation, Native groups continue to be marginalized in Westernized educational settings. Additionally, teachers lack clear guidelines…

Despite the recent anti-CRT (Critical Race Theory) movement within U.S. education, teachings of Native histories and perspectives have never been accurately taught, or even taught. From their perspectives as teacher educators in predominantly white institutions (PWI), the authors share counterstories from their existing IRB-approved research…

In this story collected and shared as part of the OurStoryBridge online short-form oral history project from the Tremonton City Library in Tremonton, Utah, Parry recalls learning Shoshone history and culture from stories that his grandmother, Mae Timbimboo, told him. Parry recounts his excitement in elementary school when he heard that Shoshone…

The Ute community of White Mesa, comprised of approximately 315 people, sits in the corner of southeastern Utah, eleven miles outside of Blanding. The residents, primarily of Weenuche Ute and Paiute ancestry, enjoy a cultural heritage that embraces elements from plains, mountain, and desert/Great Basin Indian culture. Among their religious…

The West Comprehensive Center (WCC) is working with the Arizona Department of Education (ADE), the Nevada Department of Education (NDE), and the Utah State Office of Education (USOE) to assist districts and schools that are implementing activities to improve outcomes for Indian students. As a first step, WCC staff reviewed state and national law,…

A unique attempt made in San Juan Country, Utah, to resolve conflict over service delivery is examined and an outline of the conflict resolution process is presented and the contemporary relationship between tribes and states is described. The impact of the county division proposal and the way it fits into the larger framework of conflict…

This directory provides brief descriptions and contact information for indigenous education resources in four Western states: Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah. The first section lists national associations, organizations, clearinghouses, and centers concerned with American Indian education and based in one of the four states. Sections on each…

This unit focuses on the Paleoindian migration into the American continent, with a special focus on those who became the Native Americans of Utah. The unit is divided into specific archaeological periods. The first period studied is the Paleoindian from 10,500 BC to 6500 BC. The Archaic Man Period extends from 6500 BC to 0. The Formative Period…

This unit examines early life in Utah from about 10,500 BC until 1550 AD. Early human culture and changes in lifestyle during the Paleoindian, Archaic, and Formative periods are foci of the unit. The first period studied is the Paleoindian when humans first came to the North American continent and then to Utah and covers the period from 18,000 BC…

This book presents Navajo history in two aspects--traditional stories that describe the ancestors of the Navajo and explain how the Earth-Surface World was changed from monster-filled chaos into the well-ordered world of today, and historical events from 1525 to today after the Navajos had settled in the Southwest. Events described include…

Rapidly increasing Navajo enrollment in San Juan County, Utah, public schools in the 1960's forced the rural school district to improve educational services to a sizable Navajo population while attempting to preserve local control in the face of changing Indian self-determination policy. The district implemented a Curriculum Development Center, a…

The House Select Committee met to hear testimony of six witnesses from tribes in the Phoenix, Arizona area concerning the status of Native American children and their families. General topics were the nature of existing human service programs, adequacy of federal funding, and magnitude of health and welfare needs. Tom White of the Gila River…