November 2007
A few people have asked me in the short time I've been here about Montana's
Indian Education for All. I thought steering our staff to Montana's OPI site would give insight to their burning questions about Indian Ed for All.
In 1999, Montana legislators passed HB 528 "Indian Ed for All" Recognition of American Indian cultural heritage and to be committed in its educational goals to the preservation of their cultural heritage and education.
Every educational agency and all educational personnel will work cooperatively with Montana tribes or those tribes that are in close proximity, when providing instruction or when implementing an educational goal or adopting a rule related to the education of each Montana citizen, to include information specific to the cultural heritage and contemporary contributions of American Indians, with particular emphasis on Montana Indian tribal groups and governments.
It is also the intent of this part, predicated on the belief that all school personnel should have an understanding and awareness of Indian tribes to help them relate effectively with Indian students and parents, that educational personnel provide means by which school personnel will gain an understanding of and appreciation for the American Indian people.
Documentation related to Indian Education for All can be found at the OPI website at:http://www.opi.state.mt.us/IndianEd/EdforAll.html
Materials were put together for the Fort Peck Reservation and Rocky Boys Reservations that teachers were able to incorporate into their classrooms. It was a "canned lesson plan" that was centered around the calendar. The plan was that each month would feature a different theme that was selected by a local committee. To learn more about the curriculum created see http://www.fullcirclecm.org/index.php.
This is enough for now, I encourage you to visit Montana's Office of Public Instruction's website listed above. It's another resource you can add to your del.ici.us site.
Treasure Hunt:
What is the definition of American Indian?
Who was one of the featured calendar girls in the Full Circle curriculum?
What is sovereignty?
How many sovereign nations exist in Montana today?
Please reflect on your observations!
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3 comments:
You offer very interesting information on Montana, which is a curiosity of mine.
While the idea of a "canned lesson plan" may not at first sound like a good idea, I think it is the only realistic way to assure integration of this content, which is probably new to most teachers.
If you get a chance, take a look at some of the lesson plans, the attempt was to reach as many age levels as possible. The Fort Peck version had to be taken back to a committee for their approval before it was sent out to Montana Schools.
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