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Online Learning and the Impact on Students – Will Some Students Get Left behind?

I believe that the pandemic created by the coronavirus is causing some significant learning issues at all levels of the education system. Early in my career I was the Director of an Upward Bound program that prepared American Indian students for college. During that time, I learned about students’ learning styles and modalities. I found that it was common for American Indian students to rely on kinesthetic learning as their preferred learning style. American Indian students also learned better in darkened environments and were equally strong as visual and auditory learners. Many students had photographic memories that were geographically based. The most effective strategy we utilized was informal peer teaching. Peer teaching worked because the students were able to communicate with each other more effectively at their level of comprehension. There are a multitude of factors that enhance peer teaching success, including language, cultural backgrounds, cultural norms, ability to interact and understand communicative instruction at various levels and many others. Perhaps we need to learn more about peer teaching strategies given our current crisis.

man holding a baseball batMany of the American Indian students were gifted athletes having exceptional eye-hand coordination. This probably was inherited from a day when they had to survive using a bow and arrow, atlatl or spears. Total geographic recall was absolutely necessary for survival in the environments that they lived in at the time. Back then getting lost would have been fatal in almost every instance. It was very important for us to know the cultural backgrounds of our students and the mode in which they learned best. One approach was not congruent to success given the varied backgrounds or our students. Our approaches to learning styles were individually focused to better help the students maximize their learning potential. Fast forward to today, where there is a considerable body of research that suggests that learning styles are questionable. I am not intimately involved in education as I was 20 years ago, thus my expertise on this matter may be somewhat dated. However, a compendium of research suggests online learning is less effective than face-to-face classroom experiences.

In those early years in Upward Bound the majority of our students were bilingual, speaking their Native language from birth and later learning English when they attended boarding schools. The primary methodology involved writing and reading following the western methodological theories and pedagogical practices which often times created learning challenges for many of the Native students. Many bilingual Native students overcame the educational challenges by creating their own internal cognitive processes and methods. Many of these students mastered both their world of learning and the educational challenges of Western pedagogical approaches. These students excelled in college because they were able to use multiple ways to process and evaluate information within their learning styles and modalities.

This was equally true for American Indian students who primarily followed their natural learning styles. Being able to learn using both methodologies enhanced their cognitive processing skills and generally created a student who was better prepared when they went on to college.

The reason that I have concerns is that almost every college has moved to online learning. This could hinder students who rely on alternative learning modalities, styles and differing world views to be successful in the classroom. Peer interaction is diminished in virtual interactions and the opportunity to socially interact while teaching and learning from each other hurts some students. As educators who have been thrust into a new learning/teaching reality, we must not lose sight of how we can best help our students.

girl at computer pc workplace home officeIt is clear that the coronavirus is not going away soon and it is imperative that we implement strategies and identify new resources to help students who need additional support during this period of time. One of the things that is helpful would be a review of strategies that were developed over the last decade to assist all students with disabilities. For example, the Center for Online Learning and Students with Disabilities has an excellent website with updated information and promising practices that will help our students achieve. If you are a teacher, it is important to be more interactive with your students. Teachers should be looking for behavioral changes, increased frustration and any other indication that the student is being distracted from learning. The website for the National Disability Rights Network is another resource for information to help guide your performance while working with our students with disabilities.

We have to continue to find ways to reach those students who are not learning and growing in this new reality. I know this first-hand as my little 2nd grade granddaughter is struggling and I know she is brilliant, no bias here. She is exactly the kind of student who could face challenges going forward. THINK!

What is an ‘Indian Giver?’

Do you remember during your childhood when someone gave you something but then took it back? The person might have been called an “Indian giver.”

Horses in a field with sunsetThe term was always hurtful for me because I knew firsthand the generosity of American Indian people. At our ceremonies, it has always been a custom to have what we call “giveaways,” a tradition of honoring and respecting others by the giving of gifts ranging from blankets to horses.  Leaders were chosen in our society by how much they gave away to the people, not by how much they owned. It is a high honor to share with others.

The term “Indian giver” originated in the pre-Colonial land transactions involving the entrepreneurial Dutch and Indian landowners. The Dutch had learned to manufacture wampum — small shells used as currency and jewelry among Indian tribes — that was used for land trades. The land was then broken up and the titles were later sold in Europe to future settlers.

Native American wampum money artUpon arrival, the new settlers found Indians unwilling to honor the contracts because they believed that the transactions were only valid with the person involved in the original purchase. They were trying to do the honorable thing.

It was from these confusing first transactions that Europeans came to believe that Indians could not be trusted and therefore forced them from their lands. The Indians were merely trying to maintain the integrity of the original transaction. Hence the term “Indian giver.”

I have never known of an Indian person to give someone a gift and then take it back. All my life I have only seen generosity from people who had very little in the way of material possessions.

Indians gave the ultimate gift to Europeans: their land, which holds vast natural resources that include oil, coal, timber, minerals, water rights and rich farmland. Yet today, American Indians are some of the poorest people in America.

Native American Heritage month logoNational philanthropic support for American Indians falls far short of what is needed. American Indians languish in some of the most remote, untenable areas in the country, where poverty and despair are common. Less than 1 percent of all charitable giving goes to support Indian causes.

The term “Indian giver” is a misnomer. In our community, giving is a way of life … and always will be.

What are your plans to give this year? Natural disasters have decimated entire islands like Puerto Rico and the need to help has never been greater. Pick a good sound organization and give and then give some more.

Richard B. Williams (Oglala Lakota/Northern Cheyenne) is a passionate and committed advocate and fierce champion of Native education in the United States. From 1997-2012, he served as president and CEO of the American Indian College Fund, a national non-profit scholarship fundraising organization for American Indian students attending tribal colleges and universities which provide culturally based education and are run by the tribes. He presently serves as Indigenous Peoples Programs Consultant for the Johnson Scholarship Foundation.

The 5 R’s of Native Culture & Why they Matter to Business

This past month I have had the honor of visiting several college campuses where the Johnson Scholarship Foundation supports Indigenous scholars in their pursuit of careers in business and entrepreneurship. During these visits, I met some of the best and brightest future leaders of Indian Country. The next generation of American Indian business leaders will have to be better educated, more fluent in their traditions, possibly speak their tribal languages, and be comfortable both inside the dance arbor and in a three-piece suit.

students walking along a wet sidewalk

There was a time when being educated meant losing part of one’s Indian identity. There were also negative aspects associated with business in Indian Country. Many of the day-to-day business interactions were not good for our communities and this led to mistrust and the devaluation of anything to do with mainstream businesses. Having an education today – especially in business – means utilizing one’s natural Indian intellect and using that intelligence (braced with a dose of humility) to lead in an ever-more diverse American Indian environment.

Indian Country (and one had better know that is a legal term) is the last frontier in the United States. The most underdeveloped parts of the country are in the heart of Indian country and are ripe for economic development. But unlike in the past, the quintessential innocence that allowed outsiders to take advantage of Indian people and their generosity is gone. Young, well- educated Indigenous people who are savvy, well-grounded, and capable of leading their people through the next millennium are grooming themselves for the future. They are graduating with business and finance skills, and are changing the business landscape of  Indigenous communities. They are changing the negative connotations associated with business, and are negotiating a new, positive way of working in Indian Country.

United Tribes Technical College Spring Graduation on May 8, 2015

To fully develop as new leaders, our young business leaders need an advanced understanding of traditional ways and values. Matthew King, a Lakota traditional leader and perhaps the greatest American Indian philosopher of all time, once said, “Respect is the first law of Indian people.” That single concept is one of the most profound thoughts that can govern a way of life. The philosophy of a basic first law – Respect – for interacting with people is inherently simple but is extremely complex. Respect in this circle of life represents all living things: respecting animals, the earth, and especially each other. When a leader honors and lives by that single value, they will have the potential to be great leader.

Although respect is the core value of a positive symbiotic existence, there is a need to incorporate other values into a business leader’s way of life. These values can serve as guides to developing a good way to manage people.

Sherry, Greg Drummer and students

Close your eyes and using your best introspective powers, try to envision a medicine wheel, with Respect at the center. In each of the four directions, there are four other critical values, beginning with Relationships. The Lakota end their prayers with Mitaku Oyasin (all my relatives). Showing respect, the first law and value of Indian people, helps build relationships with everything in the circle of life. Honoring relationships makes good sense whether in business or in our everyday lives. Respect and Relationships go hand-in-hand.

The next direction on the medicine wheel is Responsibility. A good leader is responsible for both personal behavior and for making good things happen. A leader does the hard work, the follow-up, and will not ask a person to do something that they would not take on themselves. A leader tries not to offend others and must not be easily offended by others. Traditionally, great leaders must have a thick skin and allow themselves to be offended seven times before striking back. And when leaders strike back, they must be respectful, responsible, and considerate of relationships.

Group photo of adults

A great leader is also a great thinker, using Reasoning skills. A leader must listen to the people and use the best analytical skills and natural Indian intellect to guide his or her actions in all of their worldly dealings.

Finally, a great leader is generous. Reciprocity is critical to success. As in the past, the greatest leaders give the most. You should strive to help the neediest in your communities.

man standing next to a painted horse

My grandmothers said, “It is not easy to be an Indian. If you want to be an Indian it is the hardest way to live.” That is still true today for our leaders. They must embrace the traditional values of their people, have a well-rounded education, be blessed with a good heart, be willing to sacrifice, and most importantly, have the ability to make tough decisions in the best interest of their people without bias, malice, or sentiment. Many of our past Indian leaders were born with these values and succeeded through difficult times, albeit oftentimes by trial and error.

The American Indian business leader of the future that chooses to embrace and honor these simple values: The 5Rs, Respect, Relationships, Responsibility, Reasoning, and Reciprocity will serve the people in a good way and will have the potential to be a great leader. I have seen the future on my recent college visits and I have great confidence in our young business leaders.

Richard B. Williams (Oglala Lakota/Northern Cheyenne) is a passionate and committed advocate and fierce champion of Native education in the United States. From 1997-2012, he served as president and CEO of the American Indian College Fund, a national non-profit scholarship fundraising organization for American Indian students attending tribal colleges and universities which provide culturally based education and are run by the tribes. He presently serves as Indigenous Peoples Programs Consultant for the Johnson Scholarship Foundation.

The True Story of Thanksgiving

The real story of that first Thanksgiving although filled with happiness for the Pilgrims was actually a very difficult time for Indian communities.  Many Nations on the eastern seaboard were devastated by diseases such as smallpox and many villages were now uninhabited and the former inhabitants extinct.   Here is a part of the story that is rarely told in America today.

One day in 1605, a young Patuxet Indian boy named Tisquantum and his dog were out hunting when they spotted a large English merchant ship off of the coast of Plymouth, Mass.  Tisquantum, who later became known as Squanto, had no idea that life as he knew it was about to change forever.

His role in helping the Pilgrims to survive the harsh New England winter and celebrate the painting of the first thanksgiving“first” Thanksgiving has been much storied as a legend of happy endings, with the English and the Indians coming together at the same table in racial harmony.  Few Americans, however, know the story of Squanto’s sad life and the demise of his tribe as a result of its interaction with the Europeans.

This year as we sit down to celebrate that First Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims we should also tell the story of Squanto and the fate of the Patuxet tribe.

Squanto’s fateful journey to infamy begins the day that Capt. George Weymouth who was anchored off the coast of Massachusetts, Weymouth and his sailors captured Squanto and four other tribesmen and took them back to England as slaves because Weymouth thought his financial backers “might like to see” some Indians.  Squanto was taken to live with Sir Ferdinando Gorges, owner of the Plymouth Company.  Gorges quickly saw Squanto’s value to his company’s exploits in the new world and taught his young charge to speak English so that his captains could negotiate trade deals with the Indians.

In 1614, Squanto was brought back to America to act as a guide and interpreter to assist in the mapping of the New England coast, but was kidnapped along with 27 other Indians and taken to Malaga, Spain, to be sold as slaves for about $25 a piece.  When local priests learned of the fate of the Indian, they took them from the slave traders, Christianized them and eventually sent them back to America in 1618.

But his return home was short-lived.  Squanto was recognized by one of Gorges’ captains,silhouette of a native american in front of a sunset was captured a third time and sent back to England as Gorges’ slave.  He was later sent back to New England with Thomas Dermer to finish mapping the coast, after which he was promised his freedom.  In 1619, however, upon returning to his homeland, Squanto learned that his entire tribe had been wiped out by smallpox contracted from the Europeans two years before.  He was the last surviving member of his tribe.

In November 1620, the Pilgrims made their now-famous voyage to the coast of Plymouth, which had previously been the center of Patuxet culture.  The next year, on March 22, 1621, Squanto was sent to negotiate a peace treaty between the Wampanoag Confederation of tribes and the Pilgrims.  We also know that Squanto’s skills as a fisherman and farmer were crucial to the survival of the Pilgrims that first year – contributions which changed history.

But in November 1622, Squanto himself would succumb to smallpox during a trading expedition to the Massachusetts Indians.  The Patuxet, like so many other tribes, had become extinct.  The lesson of Squanto and the Pilgrims is not one of bitter remembrance, but rather a celebration of the generosity of Indian people.  Under the guidance of Squanto, the Pilgrims followed a longstanding Indian tradition of offering thanks.  Although we celebrate Thanksgiving as an “American” holiday, its beginnings are Native to the core.

Feasts of gratitude and giving thanks have been a part of Indian culture for thousands of years in Lakota culture, it’s called a Wopila; in Navajo, it’s Hozhoni; in Cherokee, it’s Selu i-tse-i; and in Ho Chunk it’s Wicawas warocu sto waroc.  Each tribe, each Indian nation, has its own form of Thanksgiving.  But for Indian culture, Thanksgiving doesn’t end when the dishes are put away.  It is something we celebrate all year long – at the birth of a baby, a safe journey, a new home.

illustration of a horn of plentySo when you sit down to Thanksgiving dinner this year, remember Squanto and the great sacrifices made by him and his tribe to a people they didn’t know.  That is the legacy of the Indian people of New England – one that we can all enjoy.

It is easy to forget (historical amnesia) about the earliest years of our country.  Yes, there was conflict but there was also mutually beneficial relationships that helped build the foundation of this country.  Thanksgiving Day is one of those special times.

Richard B. Williams (Oglala Lakota/Northern Cheyenne) is a passionate and committed advocate and fierce champion of Native education in the United States. From 1997-2012, he served as president and CEO of the American Indian College Fund, a national non-profit scholarship fundraising organization for American Indian students attending tribal colleges and universities which provide culturally based education and are run by the tribes. He presently serves as Indigenous Peoples Programs Consultant for the Johnson Scholarship Foundation.