Abstract
Statement of the ProblemResearch shows that Native American students’ achievement is affected by teach-ing styles, curriculum, and other societal factors (Pewewardy & Hammer, 2003). Looking into the preferred learning styles for Native students is just one avenue when considering the achievement gap. Another area that alienates Native students is the lack of representa-tion in books and curriculum (Wiltse, 2015). The lack of Native representation in texts and curriculum has created a pipeline of continued erasure through education. This eras-ure is an act of colonial violence against Native students.
Looking at the experiences of Native youth today in school is inauspicious. Native American children and youth are suspended at 7.2%, higher than the state average of 3.5%. For expulsions, Native boys are expelled “4.2 times higher than the state average, representing the highest expulsion rate for any racial/ethnic or gender group” and is still rising (Sacramento Native American Higher Education Coalition [SNAHEC], 2019, p. 1). Although both Native boys and girls are affected by exclusionary discipline, girls experi-ence harsher punishments for minor actions perceived as defiance and disrespect to au-thority at 2% higher than the state average. Aggressive disciplinary actions add to the school to prison pipeline, another barrier to academic and life success for Native youth. Native students are pushed out of their K-12 education, making a college degree more unlikely.
For those who matriculate, the erasure continues into higher education institu-tions. There are few courses offered throughout California’s CSU and UC systems that cater to the holistic identity of Native women. Jean-Marie et al. (2011) explains how our representation is lacking in the scarce amount of Native faculty at universities. Full time American Indian faculty make up less than 1% of college faculty members in the United States. With low Native faculty numbers, we have limited support for Native students at universities.
Purpose of the Project
This project brings attention to the erasure pipeline of Native people in education, and provides a model of acknowledging colonial violence, especially for women because they experienced a severe form of elimination from the Nations narrative and have been used as a colonial tool to validate colonial violence and white supremacy. This project focuses on creating a holistic curriculum on Native women, historical accuracies of Na-tive history, and current issues for students of all identities in higher education
The purpose of this work is to increase visible representation for Indigenous stu-dents, and to expose non-Native people to a different perspective and introduce them in the curricula that has been missing from their previous education. There is not a model curriculum solely for Native American women with an Indigenous feminist lens. I feel it is important to use a feminist lens while structuring the course and curriculum because many Native tribes were matrilineal and even matriarchal. Native ways of existing has also changed, especially the introduction of subservient gender roles, when patriarchal ideology came to our lands. My project will add to the body of knowledge about Native peoples to better understand our experiences and sovereign rights and most importantly the role of Native women in society from pre-colonization to modern day. My goal is to create a holistic curriculum that could be utilized and modified to fit the needs of other Native educators and to introduce future teachers to a culture that they would feel confi-dent teaching in their appropriate portrayal of Native peoples.