Work still to be done on American Indian education in Brainerd – Brainerd Dispatch

BRAINERD — Some steps were taken over the last year, but there’s still work to be done on American Indian education efforts at Brainerd Public Schools.

The American Indian Parent Advisory Committee

once again issued the Brainerd School Board a vote of nonconcurrence,

meaning the district is not aligned with the committee’s vision for American Indian education. The annual vote is a requirement under state statute to meet the needs of Native American students.

At the School Board meeting Monday, April 8, committee members issued a new set of recommendations for the upcoming year, after thanking district leaders for the work that has been done and presenting Superintendent Heidi Hahn with a handmade quilt as she prepares to end her tenure with the district in June.

“We appreciate being in positive collaboration towards generating the type of education that nourishes bright futures for all children,” committee member Govinda Budrow said. “We know that there are individual efforts and individual apathy. This fundamentally is about systems change that generates from the roots and is supported from the very top leaves of leadership.”

Committee member Michele Berger, who has two foster nephews who live with her and attend Brainerd Public Schools, said she appreciated seeing tribal flags from sovereign nations on display at the high school.

“My nephew came from a tribal school to Brainerd High School, and upon walking in, for him to see all those (flags), he said he got goosebumps. He got swelled up with pride, and that is the kind of thing we were going for,” Berger said. “So to hear that from him directly was wonderful for me.”

Berger also thanked the board for having American Indian family representation on district hiring committees, for board presence at the group’s committee meetings, for having a full-time indigenous cultural student liaison in the district and for participating in the Dream Catcher Project, which was one of last year’s recommendations.The Dream Catcher Project is a program through the Minnesota Department of Education that trains American Indian staff to work with special educators and allows the schools to make better evaluations and include cultural perspectives in decisions about students.

Committee members then listed four recommendations for the upcoming year.

“We intentionally try to walk into this room with our feet well-grounded in our responsibilities,” Budrow said. “Those responsibilities include the teachings of the grandfathers — honesty, love, courage, truth, wisdom, humility and respect.

“When we come, we have heard for many years that some will view this as a contentious process or take our honesty and truth as individual criticism. We always try to walk with courage and humility to respect and love each of you and each other in this process. We are only sitting opposite you because that’s the way this room is designed, but also how the system is designed, not because it’s opposition in our hearts and minds.”

The first recommendation — to create a welcoming environment — was put forth previously but brought up again this year along with a cultural perspective of what determines a welcoming environment. Committee member Mary Aldridge said the group appreciates invitations to some events being extended to Native community members, but there are still opportunities to improve that inclusion.

One example, she said, is Veterans Day ceremonies at the schools, to which Native veterans should be invited as well, especially with the high per capita service rate of Native American veterans.

Another example is to ensure the community is invited to celebrate when Native students are honored with awards or recognitions.

“We have an achievement gap as a result of undeserving our children that have been subjected to ongoing historical trauma based on educational policies in this country,” Aldridge said. “We need to highlight the children’s successes with welcoming their community into the schools. It helps them to be seen and helps to increase visibility.”

Lastly, Aldridge said, there should be more representation of tribal people in displays across the schools in the district.

“This signals visibility and welcomes our children and families,” she said.

Indigenous staff positions that have been supported through funding based on the district’s Native student population, Berger said, should continue to be supported by the district through encouragement to participate in in-service days and networking and learning opportunities.

Berger said the district should create a retention plan that includes culturally relative practices for a diverse workforce.

“After all, how can a person feel welcome in an environment where there is little to no understanding of their identifying truths?” Berger said.

The district currently employs an American Indian student support liaison and an indigenous education coordinator.

The third recommendation is to support indigenous students transitioning into the district. The group recommends immediate and intentional planning to support the transition for indigenous students. Those transitions should be planned with cultural specificity by inviting cultural liaisons to be involved with the process.

“We recognize many stories of ineffective and unsupportive transitions that have hindered students’ sense of belonging,” Budrow said. “The students’ and their families’ success weighs heavily on well-planned and culturally supportive transitions.”

The last recommendation is for the district to take the initiative to provide holistic and culturally appropriate materials and training for students and staff.

Aldridge said the committee understands an indigenous language and culture course is being developed, but the advisory committee has not been consulted on that work, which she said was a request last year.

“The loss of culture and language was intentionally executed against our communities by government policies disguised as education,” Aldridge said. “The indigenous families and the students would like to see intentional effort to provide an education that is reflective of our original languages and cultures.”

Board members unanimously approved the committee’s vote of nonconcurrence and then has 60 days to respond to the recommendations and send the response to the Minnesota Department of Education.

“I think it feels good to us that we’ve got some celebrations here … and some things that we need to focus on,” said board member Sarah Speer, who liaises with the American Indian Parent Advisory Committee. “I think there’s some good work to be done.”

THERESA BOURKE may be reached at

theresa.bourke@brainerddispatch.com

or 218-855-5860. Follow her on Twitter at

www.twitter.com/DispatchTheresa

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