Best Practices for Native Students Professional Development Thursday, June 12 th 2014 Presented by...
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Transcript of Best Practices for Native Students Professional Development Thursday, June 12 th 2014 Presented by...
Best Practices for Native Students Professional DevelopmentThursday, June 12th 2014
Presented by Deanna StandingCloud, MPS Indian Education
HISTORICAL TRAUMA & FAMILY
ENGAGEMENT STRATEGIES
Objectives
• Become acquainted with the boarding school era & the history of Indian Education.
• Understand the impact of Historical Trauma on student learning.
• Learn strategies to engage Native students & families in our schools.
Disclaimer• We tell you about the boarding schools, and other important historical events NOT to blame, guilt or further
victimization through lateral violence BUT SIMPLY for others to hear the truth.• We do not have a magic formula that will engage Native students & families. These strategies are recommendations.
The idea is to be consistent, patient & respectful
• We do not have a magic formula that will engage Native students & families. These strategies are recommendations. The idea is to be consistent, patient & respectful.
P.S. Do not try this at home…..
• We tell you about the boarding schools, and other important historical events NOT to blame, guilt or further victimization through lateral violence BUT SIMPLY for others to hear the truth.
…..but go ahead in your classroom!
Original Education
Babies are traditionally considered sacred gifts
from the Creator.
Before contact, Indigenous
people honored children
through teaching. Children at a
very young age played an
important role in the
community. Learning by
observation, storytelling, and
contributing, children received
consistent and communal care.
1492Christopher Columbus arrived in the Caribbean on October 12th 1492 to encounter a diverse Indigenous population. Columbus had an uncontrollable lust for gold. He enslaved thousands of Taino people, launching an insidious genocidal campaign.
“…they were well-built, with good bodies and handsome features....They would make fine servants....With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.“-Christopher Columbus
Extermination
By 1496, 4 million Indigenous people had died by slavery, torture, murder, disease, and terrorism.
"The destruction of the Indians of the Americas was, far and away,
the most massive act of genocide in the history of the world."
~David E. Stannard.
By 1535, an entire culture was decimated. An estimated 8-10 million people dead.
What is Genocide?
The systematic killing of all the people from a national, ethnic, or religious group, or an attempt to do this.
United Nations Convention on Genocide in 1948 defines characteristics of Genocide:
• Killing members of the group causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group
• Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part
• Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group
• Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
Historical Trauma
Cumulative emotional and psychological wounding over the lifespan and across generations, emanating from massive group trauma.
- Dr. Maria YellowHorse-BraveHeart
Traumatic Events• Warfare/Biological Warfare
• Loss of land base & resources
• Ongoing treaty violations
• Relocations/Removal
• Reservation confinement
• Prohibition of spiritual & cultural practices
• Forced sterilization
• Community massacres
• Indian mascots
• Boarding schools/Assimilation
Historical Timeline 1616 – Smallpox decimates Native population in New England
1831 – Supreme Court Case between Cherokee Nations vs. Georgia
1851 – Fort Laramie Treaties were signed
1853 – Extermination of tribes in California
1862 – 38 Dakota hung in Mankato
1876 – Battle of Little Big Horn
1877 – U.S. Govt. seized the Black Hills in violation of treaty
agreement
1887 – Dawes (Allotment) Act
1889 – Ghost Dance Movement begins
1890 – Over 300 Lakota were massacred at Wounded Knee, South
Dakota
1893 – Boarding School Policy
1917 – More than 17,000 Indians enlist in military during WWI
1924 – American Indians are granted citizenship
Historical Timeline 1928 – Meriam Report published illustrating dire situation of
Indians
1934 – Johnson O’Malley Act established
1944 – National Congress of American Indians established
1953 – Termination & Relocation Era
1968 – American Indian Movement & Women of All Red Nations
1972 – Indian Education Act
1978 – Indian Child Welfare Act
1978 – Indian Religious Freedom Act
1990 – Native Language Act
1996 – Clinton declares Nov. National American Indian Heritage
Month
1996 – Colbell vs. Salazar was filed
2005 – Red Lake School Shooting
2006 – Minneapolis School Board signs historic Memorandum of
Agreement
Boarding School Education
•Mandatory attendance
•Military style regiment
•Speak only English
•Become Christian
•Learn farming, a trade, or service skill
•Shame of culture and cultural practices
•Assimilation
Trauma & Brain Development
The human brain is remarkable organ capable
of absorbing & storing more bits of information than any
other species.
When a developing brain processes consistent violence or trauma:• Neuron receptors cannot
make healthy connections
• Increases heart rate & develops cardiovascular abnormalities
• Programs the brain to signal body to respond in a hyper-vigilant & unpredictable pattern
Learned Helplessness1967 experiment by Seligman and Maier on dogs showing that for the group originally given no way out, most will fail to escape future shocks even when shown how to escape.
Seligman later equated this to depression in humans.
You believe you are no longer in control of your environment, so you stop trying.
Symptoms of Trauma • High suicide rate• High mortality rate• High alcoholism/substance
abuse rates• Domestic violence• Child abuse• Low self-esteem• Anxiety/Stress related
illnesses• Anger• Shame• Fear/Distrust• Loss of concentration• Isolation• Loss of sleep• Uncomfortable in institutions • Gang activity• Hypersensitivity• Hypervigilent• Fetal Alcohol Syndrome• Poverty
Trauma & Student Learning
Symptoms of trauma that are not compatible to student learning include:• Poor sleeping & eating habits• Irritable, hypersensitive &
aggressive behavior• Extreme temper tantrums• Exaggerated startle response• Problems with concentration
or memory• Socially withdrawn• High anxiety• Misinterpretation of verbal &
non-verbal cues• Impulsive actions• Poor self regulation & time
management
Cultural Identity
Acculturation is a TEMPORARY state.A process by which an individual or group socially adapts to a new situation.
Assimilation is a PERMANENT state. A process by which an individual or group is absorbed into another group or culture.
First degree relatives of those with PTSD have a higher rate of anxiety and substance abuse
If we didn’t experience the trauma, how could we have symptoms?
Children of substance abusers attempt suicide at a higher rate
Children from parents with anxiety or depression have an increase risk of developing similar mood disorders.
Velma Little Eagle-Balderas
Standing Rock Sioux TribeRetired Lakota Language & Culture Teacher
“I am a grandparent with legal custody of five of my grandchildren. I was an educator for 19 years and worked with grades K-12. I am the oldest of 13 children.”
Guest Speaker & Respected Elder
Strategies to Engaging Native students
• Be respectful with students• Build trust by showing
kindness, honesty & openness
• Get to know student• Create a positive
environment• Be fair and sincere• Provide options or choices
in assignments• Teach units that reflect
Native American culture & history
• Make students accountable & require them to do the work
• Have a sense of humor! • Use hands on activities• Utilize a softer tone of voice• Play music & provide
creative opportunities
• Find experiential learning opportunities to fulfill academic standards
• Use Ojibwe/Dakota words when possible
• Build upon student strengths & interests
Hit the road, Chris!
On April 25th 2014, the City of Minneapolis declared the second Monday of October as INDIGENOUS PEOPLE’S DAY!
…..and don’t cha come back no more, no more, no more, no more!
Further Resources• “The Canary Effect”, a 2006 documentary by Robin
Davey & Yellow Thunder Woman
• “Beloved Child: A Dakota Way of Life”, a 2011 book by Diane Wilson
• “Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask”, a 2012 book by Dr. Anton Treuer
• “Kill the Indian, Save the Man”, a 2003 book by Ward Churchill
• “American Holocaust”, a 1992 book by David Stannard
• “In the White Man’s Image”, a 2007 PBS film hosted by David McCullogh
• “Rethinking Columbus”, a 1996 book for teachers edited by Bigelow & Peterson
Contact Me!
Deanna StandingCloudMinion on Special Assignment &Family Engagement CoordinatorMPS Indian Education1250 West Broadway Avenuewww.indianed.mpls.k12.mn.us612.668.0612Deanna.standingcloud@mpls.k12.mn.us
Getebiikwe says, “Miigwech Bizindawiyen! Gigawaabamin!”
Acknowledgements• Sorkness, Harold L., and Lynn Kelting-Gibson. "Effective Teaching Strategies for
Engaging Native American Students." (2006): 1-16. Web.
• Our Spirits Don't Speak English: Indian Boarding School. Dir. Chip Richie. Perf. Grace Thorpe. 2008. DVD.
• "History of Indian Education - OIE." History of Indian Education - OIE. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 June 2014.
• "Indian Education Department." Indian Education Department. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 June 2014.
• Beardslee, WR & Wheelock, I.(1994). Children of parents with affective disorders: Empirical findings and clinical implications. In W.M. Reynolds & H.F. Johnson (Eds) Handbook of depression in children and adolescents (pp.463-479). New York: Plenum.
• Segal, B. (in press) Personal violence and historical trauma among Alaska Native pre-teen girls, and adolescent girls and women in treatment for substance abuse, in Brave Heart, DeBruyn, Segal, Taylor, & Daw (Eds) Historical Trauma within the American experience: Roots, effects and healing. New York: Haworth Press.
• Brave Heart, M.Y.H.(2003). The historical trauma response among Natives and its relationship with substance abuse: a Lakota illustration, Journal of Psychoactive Drugs, 35(1), 7-13.