"Is there not something worthy of perpetuation in our Indian spirit of democracy, where Earth, our mother, was free to all, and no one sought to impoverish or enslave his neighbor?"

GETTING STARTED
They came together not to dance or sell crafts at a powwow. They did not come together to squabble over politics or learn of some new government program when representatives of six American Indian organizations in Arkansas met for the first time for a historic meeting for one single reason - the children of Arkansas.

The American Indian Education Task Force was created on April 7, 2001 at Manataka (Hot Springs National Park) to develop a comprehensive education program for all schools in the state. 

Attending the meeting were representatives of the Arkansas Band of Western Cherokee, Manataka American Indian Council (MAIC), Native Americans of South Arkansas, Ocali Nations Intertribal, South Arkansas Native Americans and the Western Cherokee of Arkansas and Missouri.  Together, the organizations represent a total membership of over 40,000.

Tracy and Jack Shepherd, representatives of Western Cherokee Nation of Arkansas and Missouri attended the meeting.   As a school teacher, Tracy Shepherd contributed to discussions and volunteered committee assignments.   "We are proud to be a part of this effort to bring unity to American Indian organizations and teach our children by our example, said Mr. Shepherd.

WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT?
The task force will honor the children of Arkansas by providing access to textbooks, films, CD's, and other teaching tools based on American Indian traditions and knowledge.   The task force, composed of teachers, counselors and people from many occupations, are researching and recommending materials.  Professional instructors will train teachers and perform evaluations. 

Underlying each core curriculum area of study will be instruction on values and respect.   

We live in sad times when security guards and metal detectors are required in public schools.   It is a sad commentary on modern society when teachers cannot teach because of severe discipline problems.   They are finding increasingly difficult to control classrooms.   Violence is rampant.   

Since the courts first began to bar schools from teaching moral values based on religious beliefs, school administrators became fearful of civil lawsuits and ethics and values training diminished in the classroom.  At the same time, incidents of disrespectful behavior and violence have increased.  Where will it end?  Do we wait for another "Columbine" slaughter of your children to happen?   NO.   There is answer. 

American Indians do not have a corner on the values training market.  All cultures developed systems and codes of behavior that encouraged and rewarded good behavior.  But, the ancient American Indian way of teaching and learning has many excellent attributes that are largely ignored by our modern educational system.

For example, American Indians have always placed great emphasis on parental involvement in the learning process.  Grandmothers, grandfathers and other family members were expected to take personal responsibility for the proper upbringing of the children. 

However, schools today do not facilitate the involvement of parents in academic areas of learning. Schools do encourage a degree of parental involvement  in non-academic areas such as sports and band booster clubs, but parents are rarely directly involved in the daily teaching process.  This is a fact in the face of countless studies that show a child learns 45% to 60% more when parents are involved in learning.  Why parents are not involved is not the problem.  Developing ways to get them involved is the challenge.

A unique feature of the AAIE Task Force program will be its focus on parental and community participation. The Task Force will develop ways to encourage parents to get involved and have fun learning along with their children.     

The Task Force will create a program to address this obvious flaw and will integrate values training into existing curriculum in core study areas of science, mathematics, history, art, music, and language.   

Another unique feature of the program will be the process used to evaluate its effectiveness.  Students will not be the only ones tested.  Teachers, administrators, parents and the community will also participate in surveys and periodic reviews.  Behavior in and out of the classroom will be measured.  Long term evaluations of attendance and participation extra-curricular activities will be an important tool to determine results.

Together, we can give our children a gift so many generations before them have failed to receive.  We can bring values and respect back into Arkansas schools.

The Real Work Begins
The AAIE Task Force is currently conducting an exhaustive nationwide search for materials and existing education programs targeted for grades three to eleven.  Members are evaluating and recommending materials (text books, audio and visual materials, computer-related and other educational learning aids) for integration into existing core curriculum areas. 

They will write syllabuses, lesson plans, tests and other evaluation materials.  They will package teaching tools, train teachers, and identify potential schools for pilot programs. 

Members will solicit contributions and support from businesses and individuals to provide seed for the program.  They will determine long term funding sources and prepare grant applications. They will contact educators, administrators, and legislators for advice and participation in the development of the program. 

The AAIETF will not 'challenge' school systems, teaching methods or curriculum.  Rather, members will assist in developing creative choices and suggest materials for use in the classroom to add breadth and depth to available instructional aids.   

OTHER ISSUES TO ADDRESS
Knowledge and understanding of American Indian culture, history and wisdom lacks a foundation of reality and modern ideology in school systems today.  Schools fail to recognize the value of American Indian contributions to science, math, literature, philosophy, history and the arts and thereby deprive students of a large body of learning.  Moreover, the American Indian is often stereotyped, their history is loosely interpreted, and a vast body of learning is relegated to the nether world of modern thought. 

Schools make only cursory attempts to teach about American Indians and what little instruction is available lacks structure, consistency and truth.  Brief and tenuous presentations about American Indians are often but mere entertainment sidelights to the more scholarly pursuits of learning and fail to correctly portray the true nature of the people and their contributions to humanity. 

Government and many private schools contribute to the decline of American Indian culture by systematically denying children a vast body of knowledge, stereotyping a race of people, and participating, even propagating educational euthanasia against American Indians. 

In today's fast paced, complex modern world, public schools concentrate on making children more competitive in a materialistic society.  The ability to compete in the marketplace is a major criteria placed on students by government schools to determinate their success or failure in life.  American Indian philosophy concentrates on the value of individual freedom and not systems or dogmas. 

The future of this nation and the survival and progress of humanity can be enhanced by learning of the age-old truths taught by the indigenous people of this continent.  Failure to embrace the substance and value of the principals found on the Good Red Road is a horrendous oversight made by the dominant culture and its government school systems.

Incentives exist for schools who implement black and hispanic cultural awareness programs.  AAIETF will endeavor to augment and enhance the ability of schools to take advantage of those type of opportunities by offering American Indian study materials.

MISSION STATEMENT
The objective of the Arkansas American Indian Education Task Force is to research and develop a comprehensive, multidisciplinary academic school curriculum for schools to:

More information or volunteer support for this worthwhile program contact:

Education Task Force