Montana's Indian Education for All: Toward an Education Worthy of American Ideals

Abstract

As we move into a century in which all eyes seem to be focused outward and globalization has become a key concept, we shouldn't neglect the unfinished business we have here at home. Ms. Starnes, one of the guest editors of this special section and a Kappan columnist, has put together a selection of articles centering on Montana's Indian Education for All Act. GRADUATING seniors in Montana are like most of their counterparts across the United States. If they have been successful students, they have amassed a large amount of information during their 13 years of schooling. They have learned about life in ancient Greece, about the Crusades, Marie Antoinette, Elizabeth I, and Magellan. They know about Columbus' perilous journey to the New World, Lewis and Clark's exploration of the vast wilderness west of the Mississippi, the suffering of millions during the Great Depression, and the righteousness of American involvement in World War II. They can recite the words of great American patriots asking for liberty or death and admonishing us to ask not what your country can do for you. They know the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock in 1620 and Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492. They know America had a Manifest Destiny to overspread the continent and Texas was once a sovereign nation. They have been taught about the cultures of Australia, China, and other faraway places. And many have learned to speak Spanish, French, or German. And like children across the country, Montana's students have learned about their state. They know gold was discovered in Helena's Last Chance Gulch and there was a struggle between mining moguls for early dominance of the state government. They admire mountain man Jim Bridger and trailblazer John Bozeman. They can locate Yellowstone Park on a map and follow the Missouri River's twisted route as it snakes around and through Montana's mountains, valleys, and prairies. Successful students have learned all of this and much more. Still, there is a prominent gap in their knowledge. And the missing content creates this gap is both significant and telling. Though the students know much about various historic events in Montana's early settlement, most would be unable to locate the state's seven reservations. They know about remarkable men and women, past and present, from near and far, but they know almost nothing about the remarkable American Indian leaders who live and have lived within their state's boundaries. And they know much about many of the world's sovereign nations but probably have no idea eight sovereign tribal governments exist today within their state's borders. And almost none of the graduating seniors realize more than 12 native languages are spoken on reservations and in urban areas throughout Montana. This gap in students' knowledge demonstrates a commonly recognized phenomenon in the world's education systems--that the stories of history are written by those in power. This may be most clearly illustrated by Winston Churchill's response to a question about how he thought history would remember him. expect, he said, that history will remember me well, for I intend to write it. It is not surprising most schools--even schools on reservations--emphasize a history and culture does not include American Indians. That is, except to the extent their inclusion serves the story of the nation's glorious growth from a few austere immigrants who fled England in search of religious freedom through its 200-year rise to the position of ultimate world power. The exclusion of Indians from America's story also excludes them from a prominent place in our collective understanding of the American we. But is not because there is no story of consequence to be told. Quite the contrary. American Indian cultures are filled with great thinkers and doers and with histories at least as complex and exciting as those included in the largely Eurocentric body of knowledge acquired by America's graduating seniors. …