Indigenous education experts and advocates are outraged over the state’s draft action plan for improving education, which they say lacks detail and fails to meaningfully incorporate community input.
“We may be stuck with something that is unconscionable” if the Public Education Department doesn’t make changes before it submits the final plan to the court in early November, said Regis Pecos, a former governor of Cochiti Pueblo and co-director of the Leadership Institute at Santa Fe Indian School. “There has been a growing consensus that this is not what we need, and this is not what our children deserve.”
[Editor’s Note: This story was originally published by “New Mexico In Depth “Used with permission. All rights reserved.]
Pecos made those remarks Tuesday during a five-hour gathering attended by dozens of people just north of Albuquerque.
It’s been over seven years since a state judge in the landmark Yazzie/Martinez court case found New Mexico was violating its constitutional duty to provide a sufficient education to Native American and low-income students, English language learners, and students with disabilities.
The plaintiffs went back to court last fall, arguing the state wasn’t complying with the 2018 ruling. In April, another state judge agreed, setting an October deadline for PED to deliver a draft plan.
The 70-page document the agency crafted in response is “dismal,” said Melissa Candelaria (San Felipe Pueblo), education director at the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty and attorney for the Yazzie plaintiffs. The draft, she said, is limited in concrete goals and funding estimates.
It’s so vague that it’s “almost useless,” said Rep. Derrick Lente, a Democrat from Sandia Pueblo who’s considered a champion for tribal education.
Asked for a response to those criticisms, PED spokesperson Janelle Taylor García wrote, “We appreciate the engagement from education experts, tribal leaders, and community stakeholders during this critical period.”
PED is accepting comments on the draft action plan online through Friday.
Any feedback “will help shape the final version of the plan,” García said. The final plan is due Nov. 3, after which the plaintiffs will be able to file objections.
But some education experts and advocates are frustrated that, in their view, the department hasn’t fully integrated feedback it’s received for years, most recently at public meetings held around the state in August.
Tribal communities have long called on the state to carry out the 2003 Indian Education Act, which is meant to ensure students receive an education that connects to their cultures, in part through Native language instruction, following a not-so-distant history of violent attempts at assimilation.
“Where our children spend the greater amount of their time during the course of the day, during the course of the year, that’s where they should also see themselves, their languages, their cultures and their history,” Pecos said. “The survival of language and culture is truly at stake.”
Christine Sims (Acoma Pueblo), an associate professor in the University of New Mexico’s Department of Language, Literacy, and Sociocultural Studies, presented a number of gaps she identified in the draft.
For instance, one of the goals the draft sets is that every community will have access to high-quality programming that leads to literacy in English and a second language, including Native languages.
But the draft doesn’t spell out how schools will provide more Native language classes. It lists “tribal partners” as one of the parties responsible for helping to meet that goal of increased biliteracy, but it doesn’t factor in how districts and schools could collaborate with tribal nations to evaluate existing language programs and design new ones. The draft also doesn’t list specific instructional materials needed for language classes, Sims said, adding that teachers are often left to create such materials on their own.
And aside from one mention of Jicarilla Apache students, the draft does not name the eight Native languages spoken by the 23 federally recognized tribes in New Mexico, nor does it mention tribes by name.
That’s a problem, Sims said, because identifying those languages is the first step in assessing the programs schools offer and what’s needed.
During a presentation focused on well-being and behavioral supports, Chenoa Bah Stilwell-Jensen (Diné), a UNM instructor focused on health education, said a man in Farmington she spoke with was troubled that he and his wife were not contacted about the individualized education program for the grandson they’re raising, who has autism.
Some Taos families have similar concerns, said Glenabah Martinez (Taos Pueblo/Diné), director of the Institute for American Indian Education at UNM. She questions what the state plans to do to make sure special education is culturally relevant.
The draft doesn’t meet nine key components the Yazzie legal team outlined earlier this year, Martinez said. Those components — including developing robust accountability mechanisms — “push the boundaries of what we should do in terms of curriculum, instruction, assessment, policy,” Martinez said.
“We’re this many years in, and we’re still fighting for our children,” plaintiff Wilhelmina Yazzie (Diné) said. “Coming to you as a mother, it’s heartbreaking to see.”
About the Author: “Levi \”Calm Before the Storm\” Rickert (Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation) is the founder, publisher and editor of Native News Online. Rickert was awarded Best Column 2021 Native Media Award for the print\/online category by the Native American Journalists Association. He serves on the advisory board of the Multicultural Media Correspondents Association. He can be reached at levi@nativenewsonline.net.”
Contact: levi@nativenewsonline.net
