In the years 2017-2019, Oregon’s tribal education leaders worked to form and pass Senate Bill 13, which requires Oregon to develop a statewide curriculum relating to history and experiences of Native American tribes in Oregon. The bill will go into effect in January 2020.
The tribal history curriculum has nine central themes: history, language, tribal government, genocide, and treaties with the US government.
“Each nation has a distinct origin story, worldview, and timeline of their history and contemporary context. However, much of that information has been presented to the general American public from a non-Native American perspective, filled with clichés, misconceptions and falsehoods.” says April Campbell, American Indian advisor. The Oregon Senate intends to change that with Senate Bill 13.
In May 2018, the Oregon Department of Education and Education Northwest convened a meeting of representatives appointed by nine state-recognized tribes here in Oregon The result, the first rough draft of the new “Essential Understandings” regarding Oregon Native Americans. In June of 2018, they convened another two day meeting to gather input from higher education in child/teen studies, like the Parental Advisory Council, urban Native American organizations and others.In August 2018, the department brought together all tribal representatives and higher education to finalize an “Essential Understandings” curriculum and begin to build lesson plans.
“This new curriculum is about more than cultural preservation—over time, we hope to see these lessons foster a greater understanding around equity and inclusion in our schools for all Oregon’s students.” said Charles Boyle, Press Secretary for Oregon Governor Kate Brown.
The lesson plans are scheduled to debut in classrooms across Oregonin January 2020.
