Washington educators, leaders aim for progress with new tribal curriculum
As part of a 2005 law that encourages Washington school districts to teach the history and culture of Washington tribes, a partnership of the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, tribes and school districts has developed a tribal sovereignty curriculum that will be available to all teachers this fall.
Seattle Times education reporter
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GREG GILBERT / THE SEATTLE TIMES
Native American Randi Purser, standing at rear, with the Suquamish Tribe, tells seventh-graders at Kingston Middle School how she learned to carve. In foreground at right is seventh-grader Benjamin Pirtle, 13, who got to examine one of Purser's works up close.
Selected goals of tribal-sovereignty curriculum
Elementary school:• Understand that there are more than 500 independent tribal nations and that they deal with the United States and one another on a government-to-government basis.
• Define tribal sovereignty as "a way that tribes govern themselves in order to keep and support their cultural ways of life."
• Identify the names and locations of tribes in their area.
Middle school:
• Understand that under the U.S. Constitution, treaties are "the supreme law of the land."
• Understand that tribes are subject to federal law and taxes, as well as some state regulations.
• Understand that levels of sovereignty vary from tribe to tribe and that there are continued threats to tribal sovereignty.
High school:
• Recognize landmark court decisions and legislation bearing on tribal sovereignty.
• Understand that tribal sovereignty works toward protecting tribes' ways of life and toward the development of their nations.
• Explain the governmental structure of at least one tribe in their community.
Source: Since Time Immemorial — Tribal Sovereignty Curriculum
Tribal-sovereignty workshops
In August, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction is offering free teacher-training workshops:Aug. 2: Squaxin Tribe's Little Creek Hotel, Kamilche
Aug. 3: Suquamish Tribe's Kiana Lodge, Poulsbo
Aug. 4: Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe Community Center, Sequim
Aug. 9: Muckleshoot Tribal School, Auburn
Aug. 11: Tulalip Tribes' Administration Building, Marysville
Aug. 16: Kalispel Tribe's Northern Quest Hotel, Airway Heights
Aug. 18: Heritage University, Toppenish
Information
Contact the Indian Education Office at the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, 360-725-6160.
This is part of an occasional series highlighting promising programs, creative teachers and life inside local classrooms.
KINGSTON, Kitsap County — Randi Purser stands before a group of middle-school students, a dozen woodcarving tools spread before her. As she explains why she started carving a few years ago, she interweaves the history and culture of her tribe, whose reservation is just down the road from Kingston Middle School.
She tells the students how Suquamish tribal members once carved everything from totem poles to boxes and tools. How she dives for geoducks to make a living, under her tribe's treaty rights.
Purser's visit isn't just a one-shot glimp