Reinterpreting the Indigenous Story

When considering what education looked like for members of Native Tribes of North America, the conversation falls along the timeline of pre- and post-colonization. Prior to Westward Expansion, young children primarily learned by observing elders, through rituals and oral histories and always in community. As we know, however, those communities were decimated or displaced.

In the case of the Cherokee Nation, the forcible removal from their homelands in the form of a forced march of more than 1,200 miles, concluded in an unfamiliar landscape, with thousands dead, and survivors facing deep political and social divisions. One shared conviction remained: that education would be essential to building a stable and successful future. The Cherokee Public Schools Act of 1841 established a public school system serving students of all ages. Today many tribes, as sovereign nations, have education departments, laws, codes, standards, language reclamation projects and, in the case of the Navajo, independent curriculum that includes a dual-language program.

The Wampanoag Tribe, from which Tisquantum (better known as Squanto) emerged to help settlers from The Mayflower, has occupied the land around Drewicz Elementary School in Lynn, MA, for 12,000 years. Honoring this heritage, and also the heritage of her first-generation third graders, has become a passion of Kaylin Gangi and, consequently, was the focus of her Fund for Teachers fellowship this summer.

Today we learn from Kay Gangi, a relatively-new teacher and first time Fund for Teacher grant applicant, fresh from a tour of Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park in Kayenta, AZ. Kay was in the middle of her cross country road trip -- convening with major Indigenous Nations and experiencing museums and cultural centers. But she was 100 percent energized from her learning to date and excited to share about it why she believes it is her responsibility to curriculum to more authentically teach students about the Indigenous Peoples whose histories have shaped the land and communities in which we live today.

Learn more about Darius Coombes, Kay's friend and colleague from the Wapanaog Tribe, here.

Fund for Teachers is grateful for the Maxwell/Hanrahan Foundation which funded this particular fellowship.

Learn more about Fund for Teachers on our Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn pages and apply for YOUR self-designed fellowship at fundforteachers.org.

Music on podcast: Scott Harris: Clear Progress