Okay-12 leaders see instruments for brand new North Dakota Native American research requirement | Training
Prior to the bill, many but not all schools in North Dakota had Native American studies, Baesler said. The passing has raised awareness of resources available to teachers such as the State Historical Society of North Dakota and the State Department of Public Instruction, she said.
The scope of the curriculum is left to the teachers, so Baesler.
“We hope it’s built into the lessons they’re already doing, into the subjects they’re already teaching,” she said.
Rep. Ruth Buffalo, D-Fargo, a citizen of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara nations, said the bill was “a vehicle to move the needle toward progress and involve students, staff, faculties and communities.”
Rep. Ruth Buffalo, D-Fargo, delivers a keynote address on Friday afternoon at the 7th annual ND Indian Education Summit in Bismarck.
She recalled being asked to speak about her tribal nation in her US history class in high school and that she was nervous about giving the presentation to her peers.
“It was a good experience. My classmates were very receptive,” said Buffalo. She was asked to give presentations in other schools in other cities.
Scott Simpson, co-director of the Essential Understandings project, said he was happy with the bill, which he hoped “won’t get a check box”.
“We want to make sure that the culture of this is, ‘OK, what’s the bottom line? Well, let’s make sure we do that, ‘and that’s our starting point now. Let’s go way beyond that, ”said Simpson.
