Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com
Published - Sunday, January 23, 2005
American Indians: What are we teaching our kids about them
Devon Sprain doesn't mind helping her teachers when it comes to her culture.
The 18-year-old Logan High School senior, who is half Ho-Chunk, would rather they get it right than wonder.
"I just wish the teachers were a little more educated on that, so they wouldn't have to ask," she said.
Sprain's request seems in line with public sentiment as expressed by the state Legislature. Wisconsin law requires that teachers learn about the state's tribes before being certified. Students are to be taught about tribal cultures and history. The state's Model Academic Standards call for units on American Indian history twice in elementary school and once in high school.
In the Coulee Region, public schools have worked with the Ho-Chunk Nation on projects ranging from teacher training to diversity days and awareness weeks. Mark White, who coordinates elementary social studies curriculum for the School District of La Crosse, said the main objective is to make sure students know "there isn't just one picture of a Native American."
Despite efforts to educate students about American Indians, stereotypes persist. Some public schools, unintentionally but very publicly, reinforce them, according to people seeking to eliminate Indian mascots and nicknames. More subtly, curriculums, textbook limitations and budget problems contribute to poor understanding, say some education officials.
"(We don't) learn as much as people assume we do (about American Indians)," Sprain said. "... (Textbooks) tend to touch on the bad parts, like the Trail of Tears or us being treated badly. It doesn't touch on current issues. There's not much on what our future is like as Native Americans."
Unintentional lessons
American Indian advocates protested Viroqua High School's plan last year to perform the musical "Little Mary Sunshine" because of the play's portrayals of Indians. Among people protesting was Kent Koppelman, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse who talked to the school board about educational damage done to students in the play.
He wasn't just focusing on the play, he said Thursday. American Indians are also marginalized by history curricula that tend not to deal with American Indians beyond the 19th century and schools using Indian nicknames and logos.
"There's nothing malicious behind this," he said. "(But) it ultimately sends a message that is dangerous and disturbing: They don't have to pay attention to people who say they're Indians."
That reinforces ignoring complaints by American Indians "because we don't think of Indians as current
people," he said.
Viroqua High School's nickname is "Blackhawks." Other public schools in the Coulee Region with Indian nicknames are Prairie du Chien (Blackhawks), Seneca (Indians), Tomah (Indians), and Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau (Redmen).
Keeping the names amounts to a stereotype sanctioned by public schools, said Barbara Munson, a member of the Oneida tribe and chairwoman of the Mascot and Logo Taskforce for the Wisconsin Indian Education Association. She said it can lead to alienation between students.
"It causes a lot of questions because the Indians in the classroom have real Indian relatives," she said. "None of them are like that stereotype. The cultures are living things with real human faces. The stereotypes are stiff."
Mascots have been a high-profile issue. Textbooks and curriculums aren't as visible.
Fabian Carrimon, area homeschool coordinator for the Ho-Chunk Nation, said local efforts to incorporate lessons on American Indians are good. But they're inconsistent.
"I think it is tough for a lot of schools to put something together to make this work," he said.
Carrimon said budget restraints also can limit resources beyond textbooks that often don't provide a Wisconsin perspective. California and Texas are the largest buyers of textbooks, he said, so content usually is tailored to them and their tribes.
Barbara Blackdeer-Mackenzie, executive director of education for the Ho-Chunk Nation, said American Indians wind up in a tough spot in this situation. They can complain, she said, and encounter textbook companies that think they are hard to please.
But if they don't, she said, lessons starting in kindergarten and extending into high school gloss over the fact that American Indians were on the continent before Columbus arrived, placed in the background or not acknowledged at all.
Intentional lessons
State law requires all students to learn about native Wisconsin tribes in fourth, eighth and 12th grades. White said La Crosse public schools have taken steps to further educate teachers because it is "not something that is necessarily common knowledge."
He said training and an inch-thick booklet produced for fourth-grade teachers were provided to help educators create accurate lessons. A fourth-grade assignment might ask students to demonstrate knowledge of an American Indian culture or understand tribal sovereignty.
"We certainly want students to understand that Native American inhabitants were the first inhabitants of our state," he said. "We want students to understand they were here first, and they have tribal rights."
In Viroqua, School District Administrator David Johnston said several things have happened in the wake of the play. Diversity was a theme during a staff development program, and the school district has recognized and sponsored an advisor for a student diversity group. The district also hosted a performance of the one-act play "Kick," which addresses American Indian issues.
Students aren't the only ones learning more. Soon-to-be teachers are required to learn about Wisconsin American Indians to get their certification. Blackdeer-Mackenzie said this is a good step but pointed out that colleges often meet this requirement with diversity classes that crowd American Indian lessons in with other topics, such as what it's like teaching in urban versus rural schools.
"When you learn about Native Americans, you don't really learn the entire truth," agreed Kelley Anne Flynn, a University of Wisconsin-
La Crosse education student. "The details are often left out."
Flynn said she has gained a "deeper insight into how important it is to teach the truth" during a semester tutoring at the study center at the Ho-Chunk Nation Three Rivers House in La Crosse. The 21-year-old plans to use what she learned in future lesson plans.
The Nation's multiple study centers are just one way the Ho-Chunk work to teach pride in their culture. Amanda De Cora-Heintz, center coordinator for the Three Rivers House, said they provide any American Indian student help with anything from school work to cultural enrichment activities. They also stress daily Ho-Chunk language lessons.
"It's been a big effort by almost every tribe in the country. Once your language dies, a part of your culture dies," De Cora-Heintz said. "Stories that are told in Ho-Chunk don't translate the same into English. You lose something when you lose your language."
Perceptions
Blackdeer-Mackenzie said much has been done to improve what is taught about American Indians, but continued perseverance is needed. She cited a University of Wisconsin-Madison study in which elementary students were asked what came to mind when they thought of American Indians. They said teepees, feathers, and bow and arrows. When the same group was later asked in high school, the answers were identical.
But she believes there is hope future generations will improve when it comes to multicultural sensitivity.
"There is always potential. I have to believe that," she said Monday at the Ho-Chunk Nation Headquarters in Black River Falls. "What we have to eradicate is the hate. Hate comes from ignorance and arrogance. ... People have to want to learn or unlearn and relearn to get over the ignorance and arrogance."
Ho-Chunk Nation President George R. Lewis said things have improved since he was a boy in Black River Falls. The 60-year-old said last week he remembers when American Indians could only get their hair cut on certain days and couldn't eat in restaurants.
But he is aware discrimination continues. He thinks many of the stereotypes are due to a lack of cultural understanding and believes accurate education will continue to improve the way American Indians are perceived.
"I think what we need to start doing is start teaching Ho-Chunk 101 or Native Americans 101 and vice versa," Lewis said. "We have to understand the 101 culture of other people. Once we understand each other, we might be able to be at the same level."
UW-L symposium to cover state law
Several student groups at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse will hold a conference Feb. 5 in the Cartwright Center. Titled "Act 31 Teacher Education Symposium," it will focus on the state law that requires Wisconsin American Indian history, both past and present, to be taught in the public school system.
A number of presenters will be on hand, including people from the Oneida, Ho-Chunk, Ojibwa, Cherokee, Menomo-nee, and other tribes. Many elders also will be present, as will booksellers and organizations with resource materials.
The cost is $40 for adults, $10 for students, and scholarships are available. The conference runs from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. For more information, contact Matt Stewart at UW-L (608) 785-8838 or e-mail at wolf.guy@uwlax.edu.
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Kate Schott can be reached at (608) 791-8226 or kate.schott@lacrossetribune.com.
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