Volume 18 Number 1
October 1978

David J. Mathieu

THE South Dakota State Board of Education recently adopted a requirement stating that all new teachers must have three semester hours of American Indian Studies. Though limited in the amount of course work that is required, the development of the requirement and the nature of its accompanying guidelines may serve as a model for other states considering similar requirements.

In tracing the development of the requirement and guidelines, one must begin with the original proposal developed by the South Dakota Indian Education Association. Recognizing the need for teacher training institutions to address the needs of Indian children in the state, the Association worked toward the adoption of a certification requirement in American Indian studies in 1974. In a resulting position paper (see Note 1), the Association recommended that the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, South Dakota Department of Education and Cultural Affairs, adopt a nine semester hour requirement in Indian studies for teacher education programs in the state. The nine hour requirement was to include three hours of methods in the education of the culturally different, three hours of Indian history and culture, and three hours of Indian-related course work in the student’s major or minor field of interest.

Hearings were held in 1975 regarding the certification requirement. The Association was supported in its efforts by many tribal organizations, Black Hills State College, and the University of South Dakota. It seemed to be clear that the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education was in favor of some kind of Indian studies requirement, but was being pressured by the South Dakota Education Association to keep the number of semester hours in the requirement to a minimum. As a result of the hearings, the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education implemented the rule requiring for certification, three semester hours in Indian studies. The original nine hour recommendation had been reduced, but South Dakota became one of few states to adopt such a requirement.

Given the historical and contemporary nature of Indian-/non-Indian relations in South Dakota, the adoption of the Indian studies certification requirement was no small accomplishment. The requirement fell short of the needs, however, in two respects. First, it only applies to those teachers receiving certification after June 30, 1978, and does not apply to recertification. The requirement does little to improve the methods and attitudes of teachers already in the field. The South Dakota Education Association has stated its opposition to a recertification requirement and it is likely that such a rule will not be implemented in the near future. Second, the original recommendation called for rather specific course content given a nine hour requirement. As adopted by the Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, the rule called for three hours of Indian studies without defining Indian studies or specifying the content of such a course.

This lack of definition is important in light of experiences of other states which have adopted similar teacher certification requirements, in particular Minnesota. In 1971, the Minnesota State Board of Education adopted a twelve-quarter credit-hour requirement in human relations for certification effective July 1, 1973. The regulations regarding the requirement were very vague and did not specify course content. The requirement amounted to little more than a request that teachers complete courses to improve their understanding of the various groups within the society. As a result, teachers were taking any course which fell under the broad headings of ethnic studies or human relations, such as arts and crafts courses, and various kinds of independent study. The certification requirement was emasculated by its lack of definition of intent.

The Indian Studies programs at Black Hills State College and the University of South Dakota anticipated this problem and independently designed a course to meet the intent of the South Dakota requirement. With the cooperation of each institution’s education department, the course was recommended to all students in teacher education. The Indian Studies programs at the two institutions realized, however, if their institutional requirement was to be effective, a similar process must take place at the state-wide level.

In November 1976, a meeting hosted by Black Hills State College was called to present this issue to representatives of all the public and private colleges and universities in the state of South Dakota. At this meeting, the Indian Studies programs of BHSC and USD presented the courses developed to meet the intent of the state requirement. Additional input was offered by other institutions and a participant was requested to draw up a course outline which would incorporate the feelings of the group as to the content of a common course which might be implemented at all of the institutions. As it so happened, the group entrusted an anthropologist to write the course outline. When completed and sent to conference participants, it very much reflected the anthropologist’s ideas as to what should be included in such a course and not necessarily the feelings of the group.

Personal experience has also shown that teachers, even after rather extensive involvement in Indian history and culture, find that they are unable to develop strategies which allow them to incorporate this knowledge in the curriculum. This same situation exists with the regard to the dissemination of prepared, packaged curriculum materials. These materials gather dust unless accompanied by training in their use. Unless thoughtful assistance is provided in the incorporation of Indian-related materials into the curriculum, all the time spent on teacher awareness will have little positive effect on the Indian child and his education.

By April, 1977, the representatives approved a set of guidelines which reflected the above concerns. The guidelines were forwarded to the director of South Dakota teacher certification who presented them to the State Board of Education. The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education has since strongly urged that colleges and universities comply with the intent of the guidelines.

The guidelines were the result of a great amount of time and energy on behalf of the conference participants. It is felt that as much as possible has been included in the course to meet the very broad intent of the law. A major section of the guidelines address the very real need for teachers to become somewhat familiar with the area of American Indian history and culture with emphasis on the Sioux, the tribal background of the Indian people of South Dakota. The inclusion of this content knowledge in the guidelines is meant to serve a dual role. It is hoped that some exposure to the history and diversity of cultures of the Indian people of the United States will create an awareness of and a sensitivity to the cultural differences also hoped that this content knowledge will provide a base on which teachers may begin to evaluate curricula and incorporate Indian-related materials into the curriculum.

To better prepare the teacher in the use of Indian-related materials, time is spent in evaluating textbooks, supplemental written materials, and filmforms. It is hoped that experience in evaluation of materials will allow the teacher to make more informed choices in selecting classroom materials or in doing further research beyond the historical and cultural information provided in the course.

Also included in the course under what is referred to as "professional concerns" are certain areas of knowledge which should help the teacher better cope with an Indian school/community situation. Included here is information such as a discussion of traditional Sioux educational and child-rearing practice; discussion concerning the testing and evaluation of Indian students on achievement and personality scales; discussion concerning career education as it relates to Indian communities; the identification and description of the various Indian education organizations that exist in South Dakota and the United States; the identification of the special programs and sources of funding in the field of Indian education.

The most important component of the certification course guidelines, however, is that which relates to the concept of and work in the area of bicultural education.

The evidence pointing to the lack of educational equality in the United States is very convincing, particularly in the field of Indian education. In response to this inequality, many "equalizing" programs have been initiated. The nature of these programs is determined by where blame is laid for the existence of perceived inequalities. Morrison and Goldstein have suggested that those programs are the result of adherence to the perception of inequalities along the line of what they refer to as either the "social pathology model" or the "institutional pathology model." The social pathology model suggests that educational failure is the fault of the student. This model assumes that there exists a lack of socialization on the part of the lower-income students which creates academic failure. They are expected to be aggressive, immoral, and exhibit linguistic and cognitive deficiencies. This perception has inspired numerous compensatory programs designed to compensate for these deficiencies in minority children. Programs such as Headstart and Upward Bound have grown substantially in number and financing in recent years (see Note 2).

The institutional pathology model suggests that the educational institutions themselves are responsible for the failure of minority students to succeed educationally. When failure is perceived in this manner, it is assumed that the institution must be changed. This perception has resulted in the development of alternative schools and increased pressure for greater community control of schools (see Note 3).

The compensatory programs have been criticized because often the cultural background and self-esteem of the child has been denigrated. The alternative and community-controlled schools have been positive additions to the field of Indian education, they do not guarantee that the curriculum will change.

An alternative policy which allows for the criticisms inherent in the above models is the development of bicultural education. Illich has written that most of what an individual learns happens casually outside of the school situation. The role of the school, to a great extent, then, is to organize and fit this obtained knowledge into patterns which correspond to the real world. Illich suggests then that a child’s everyday world is of primary educational value. Monocultural education, when applied to a culturally different group, denies the educational value of that culturally different world (see Note 4). One objective of bicultural education then is to treat minority students and their cultural backgrounds with dignity in order to strengthen their self-image while teaching the necessary skills for success in the dominant society. Ramirez and Gonzalez found that Chicano children participating in a bilingual/bicultural program did significantly better on self-concept measures at the end of one year of participation (see Note 5). Patricia Baca de McNicholas warns, however, that biculturalism should not only be instituted under the pretex of elevating self-esteem, since this attitude leads to the perpetuation of the patronizing attitude of "deficiency education" (see Note 6).

There are other significant benefits of bicultural education. It has shown that if the learning process relates to the real world in which the student lives, then comprehension and understanding are increased. Paulo Freire’s method of teaching people in the third world nations to read is an example of the greater efficiency of learning when placed in the context of reality. His method is that reading can be taught much more effectively if the words that are learned have important political meaning to the students (see Note 7).

Perhaps the most significant aspect of the concept of bicultural education is its appropriateness to a society that is beginning to recognize itself as culturally pluralistic. The implementation of a bicultural curriculum in all classrooms will go a long way toward achieving a general American awareness of cultural differences and an increased tolerance for those differences. If a teacher, when presenting material illustrating a concept, can use illustrations originating in American Indian culture as well as the dominant culture, then awareness of similarities between people in addition to their differences can be attained.

The certification course guidelines includes provisions for instructing teachers in identifying bicultural concepts and in the integration of these concepts in the curriculum. The guidelines also stress the identification and use of parental and community resources in furthering the goals of a bicultural curriculum. It is believed that the inclusion of training in bicultural awareness and skills makes this certification course not only suitable, but most valuable to all teachers whether involved in the teaching of Indian children or non-Indian children.

The passage of a certification requirement in Indian studies in the state of South Dakota and the development of supplemental guidelines was a long, arduous, but rewarding experience. It is believed that the certification requirement in South Dakota is a more realistic and beneficial requirement than those adopted by boards of education in the other states which have such a requirement. Except on the issue of the number of semester hours, the requirement with the guidelines meets the intent of the original proposal submitted by the South Dakota Indian Education Association.

It is believed that the process gone through to obtain a requirement and the observations regarding that process may be of help to other states or local education agencies that may be undergoing similar discussions, and that the accompanying certification guidelines will serve as a model of what such a requirement should include in the areas of content knowledge and skill competencies.

1. South Dakota Indian Education Association, Teacher Training in Indian Studies, 1975.

2. Morrison, James L. and Goldstein, Jerry M. "On Education Inequality," Intellect, 104: March, 452-453, 1976.

3. Ibid., 453-454.

4. Illich, Ivan. Deschooling Society, New York: Harper and Row, 1970, 12-13.

5. Ramirez, M. and Gonzalez, A. "Mexican Americans and Intelligence Testing," La Causa Chicana: The Movement for Justice, M. M. Mangold, Ed., New York: Family Services Associates of America, 1972.

6. Baca de McNicholas, Patricia. "Responsive Bilingual-Bicultural Instructional Strategies: A Prospectus," Childhood Education, November-December, 1976, 113.

7. Carnoy, Martin. Education as Cultural Imperalism, New York: David McKay, 1974, 366.