Professional Learning & Resources

Becoming a Native American Language Teacher

The Native American Language Certification Policy R7-2-614(J) was unanimously adopted by the Arizona State Board of Education on August 27, 2012 and went into immediate effect at the Arizona Department of Education (ADE). 

This policy allows for individuals with Native American language proficiency, whose proficiency is verified by tribal assessments, to apply for a Native Language Teacher Certificate at (ADE). This policy is an avenue for non-degreed language experts to teach only Native languages to students in Arizona schools. 

In 2009, the Native American Language approved area was also passed for those meeting all other requirements for a regular teaching certificate. 

Native Language Teacher Certification Brochure

Resources for Culturally Responsive Classrooms and Schools

Changing the Narrative: Challenging Misconceptions of Native Americans  

• IllumiNative is a new nonprofit initiative, created and led by Native Americans, to increase the visibility of – and challenge the negative narrative about – Native Nations and peoples in American society.
• Reclaiming Native Truth’s Changing the Narrative About Native Americans: A Guide for Allies was put together by a group of diverse Native and non-Native stakeholders from across the country who conducted unprecedented research and developed a strategy to change this narrative as part of an initiative called Reclaiming Native Truth. This initiative is designed to eradicate harmful and toxic narratives, stereotypes, structural and institutional racism, dehumanization, and the invisibility of Native Americans. It aims to increase access to opportunities and rights and to ensure that Native Americans live in a society where they are celebrated as a vital part of the fabric of the United States as both leaders and key contributors.
• TEDx Talks: Changing the Way We See Native Americans 
• Macaroni Kid: Land Acknowledgment: How to Teach Our Kids About Native Americans 

Understanding the History of American Indian Boarding Schools 

• The Heard Museum's Away From Home: American Indian Boarding School Stories exhibit gathers stories and firsthand accounts of the Indian Board Schools and the US Government's ill-conceived attempt to assimilate American Indian children into “civilized” society by placing them in far-away boarding schools. Children were taken from families and transported to far-away schools where all signs of “Indian-ness” were stripped away. Students were trained for servitude and many went for years without familial contact—events that still have an impact on Native communities today. The Heard Museum has worked diligently to represent different perspectives and varying experiences at American Indian boarding schools.
  • The Heard Museum has a dedicated educator page for this exhibit where you can find information on booking a class field trip to this exhibit, access to the Away from Home Curriculum for high schoolers, and recommended resources for teachers and students.  

Classroom Materials and Resources  

• Native Everyday is a resource for teachers in grades 4-12 to share more about the diversity in language, culture, histories, and governments among American Indian tribes. 
• Colorín Colorado is a national multimedia project that offers a wealth of bilingual, research-based information, activities, and advice for educators and families of English language learners (ELLs).
• Colorín Colorado Books & Author's booklist include some of their favorite titles for children and young adults, representing a wide range of cultures and languages. 
• Share My Lesson is a destination for educators who dedicate their time and professional expertise to provide the best education for students everywhere.  
• American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL) provides a list of their Best Books in 2020 that meet their critical analysis of Indigenous peoples in children's and young adult books. 
• Library of Congress Classroom Materials to teach about American Indian History.  

Professional Development and Learning Opportunities  

• Native Voices Arts Academy

Articles 

• Edutopia: Lessons Learned in Teaching Native American History
• New York Times: What’s Wrong with this Diorama?
• History Channel: Government Boarding Schools Once Separated Native American Children From Families

Resources for Native American Students

Preparing for College  

• Ensuring Tribal Enrollment for the purpose of tribal scholarships 
• ADE Post-Secondary Education Resources
• Native Pathways: A College-Going Guidebook
• Best Colleges keeps a regularly updated list of college campuses in the United States that will require a COVID-19 vaccine. 
• Saving for College: Any person who desires to save for qualified higher education expenses, even for oneself, can open a 529 Arizona Education Savings Plan. Once an account is established, anyone can contribute to that account.

Scholarships 

• American Indian Graduate Center offers funding opportunities for undergraduate students including AS, BA, and BS degrees in all majors, with special scholarships for STEM majors. High School Students and Graduate Students can find additional scholarship resources on our website.

Tribal College Dual Enrollment  

The Tribal College Dual Enrollment Program provides thousands of Arizona’s Native American high school students the opportunity to take college courses for both high school and college credit. A student’s Personally Identifiable Information (PII) must be protected. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records.

More about Tribal College Dual Enrollment

General Resources for Native American Communities

National Indigenous serving organizations 

• Becoming Visible Report is an analysis of the landscape of current state efforts to bring high-quality educational content about Native peoples and communities into all kindergarten to 12th grade (K-12) classrooms across the United States. 
• Bureau of Indian Education's (BIE) mission is to provide quality education opportunities from early childhood through life in accordance with a tribe’s needs for cultural and economic well-being, in keeping with the wide diversity of Indian tribes and Alaska Native villages as distinct cultural and governmental entities.
• National Congress of American Indians, founded in 1944, is the oldest, largest, and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native organization serving the broad interests of tribal governments and communities.
• National Indian Education Association (NIEA) advances comprehensive, culture-based educational opportunities for American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians.
• American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) provides leadership and influences public policy on American Indian and Alaska Native higher education issues through advocacy, research, and programmatic initiatives; promotes and strengthens Indigenous languages, cultures, communities, lands, and tribal nations; and through its unique position, serves member institutions and emerging Tribal College and Universities (TCUs). 
• National Museum of the American Indian, part of the Smithsonian Institution, is the world's most expansive collection of Native artifacts, including objects, photographs, archives, and media covering the entire Western Hemisphere, from the Article Circle to Tierra del Fuego. 
• First Nations Development Institute improves economic conditions for Native Americans through direct financial grants, technical assistance & training, and advocacy & policy.
• Native American Rights Fund provides legal assistance to Indian tribes, organizations, and individuals nationwide who might otherwise have gone without adequate representation.
• Indian Law Resource Center provides legal assistance to indigenous peoples of the Americas to combat racism and oppression, protect their lands and environment, protect their cultures and ways of life, achieve sustainable economic development and genuine self-government, and realize their other human rights.
• Reclaiming Native Truth Project is a national effort to foster cultural, social, and policy change by empowering Native Americans to counter discrimination, invisibility, and the dominant narratives that limit Native opportunity, access to justice, health, and self-determination. 
  • Research Data
  • Research Findings Compilation

Local Indigenous Serving Organizations

• Phoenix Indian Center provides a safe, supportive environment for American Indian people looking for an opportunity in this dynamic but unfamiliar and often challenging urban setting.
• Native Health strives to provide the best health care available for urban American Indians, Alaska Natives, and other individuals who generally experience barriers to holistic, patient-centered, culturally sensitive health and wellness services.
• Native American Connections owns and operates 21 sites throughout Central Phoenix offering a continuum of affordable housing, health, and community development services that touch and change the lives of over 10,000 individuals and families each year.

Resources

• American Indian and Alaska Native students are eligible to receive unique educational supports from a variety of programs. However, many Native students do not receive the services they need and qualify for—simply because they are not identified as Native. This REL Northwest video explains the importance of properly identifying Native youth to ensure appropriate program funding, uphold treaty obligations, and track student achievement. It also suggests how to create school- or district-wide engagement plans for reaching out to Native families and caregivers. The companion family resource guide, Native Youth Count can help clarify the circumstances in which Native students are eligible for different services.
• The Arizona Department of Education's Educator & School Excellence unit provide resources for community and family engagement. 
   

Communicating to Tribal Nations 

OIE recommends adding radio stations that broadcast on Tribal Nations to your communications toolbox when working with or promoting resources to Tribal Nations. Find a complete list of radio stations that serve Tribal Nations in Arizona HERE. 

Boarding School Resources

Literature

• Beyond the Mesas by Matthew Sakiestewa-Gilbert
• Boarding School Seasons: American Indian Families, 1900-1940 by Brend J. Child
• Education for Extinction: American Indians and the Boarding School Experience, 1875-1928 by David Wallace Adams
• Pipestone: My Life in an Indian Boarding School by Adam Fortunate Eagle
• They Called it Prairie Light: The Story of Chilocco Indian School by K. Tsianina Lomawaima
• To Remain an Indian: Lessons in Democracy from a Century of Native American Education by K. Tsianina Lomawaima & Teresa McCarty

Websites

• Away from Home: American Indian Boarding School Stories - Heard Museum Interactive Exhibit
• The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition