Written by Sia Shekhar
In January, Gov. Tim Walz announced a sweeping education reform plan called Due North, which includes a call for more accurate Native American history in statewide curriculum, in addition to boosting opportunities for Indigenous students and teachers. This push coincides with an ongoing cyclical review of Minnesota’s social studies standards, which happens every 10 years.
“The state sets the standards, and every school needs to do those. They can choose what materials they use in order to teach it,” said Dr. Angie Lawrence, district coordinator for secondary curriculum. “We consider the standards to be the curriculum, and the books and online resources are materials to support the standards.”
The new standards will likely go into place by 2024 or 2025. First, a committee of educators and community members need to complete their review. The committee completed a first draft of recommendations in December. A second draft is expected this spring, with opportunities for public comment to follow.
The first draft places a greater focus on the history and present-day life of Minnesota’s indigenous community. For example, one benchmark requires students to “describe symbols, songs and traditions that identify Minnesota’s Anishinaabe and Dakota tribes and communities, the state and nation.” Another asks to “describe tribal government and some of the services it provides” and “distinguish between United States and tribal forms of government.”
Changes like these will boost overall cultural awareness, said District 833 Cultural Liaison Brittney Amitrano, who is also Native American.
“I hope that these people currently in school take more of an interest in not only Minnesota history but Minnesota right now. You have a reservation, a community right down the road. You have the culture right in front of you and I think you just need to notice it. Hopefully, that will open doors not just for Native Americans but learning about other cultures as well.”
When asked if she believes the current curriculum is as comprehensive as it could be, Amitrano said, “No, not at all. I don't think we should be talking about Native Americans once a year. I think it needs to be at least a monthly thing, because this is the land that we come from, and to not have that be recognized or acknowledged is disheartening.”
For example, schools should not only be talking about Native Americans during Thanksgiving, as it perpetuates a false narrative, she said. In the past, Armitrano said, parents have expressed concern about how Columbus Day is observed and taught in schools, arguing that it is a celebration of genocide. In response, the District changed its focus to celebrating Indigenous culture, renaming it Indigenous Peoples’ Day -- mirroring a nationwide movement.
Schools can also improve Native American representation by weaving it into other subjects, like science and English, where teachers illustrate how Native Americans practiced science or read books written by Indigenous authors, Amitrano said.
“There is better interest and investment from people when they are learning from different cultures… Nobody wants to go to school when they don’t talk about your culture. When you teach those things, everyone thrives, because you feel more connected to everybody.”
