Minnesota education commissioner visits Yellow Medicine East to observe college course on Indigenous nations - West Central Tribune

GRANITE FALLS — A radical of precocious schoolhouse students successful Granite Falls are learning the authentic communicative of the state’s Indigenous nations portion taking a caller people astatine Yellow Medicine East High School.

Minnesota Education Commissioner Heather Mueller and members of her unit visited the schoolhouse to observe the people this week, portion of a authorities authorities effort to grow relationships and knowing with Minnesota’s indigenous communities.

A full of 17 students are enrolled successful Introduction to Indigenous Nations. Students who implicit the people volition gain some precocious schoolhouse and assemblage credits.

Taught by Adam Savariego, the students are learning the antithetic views done past of however Indigenous radical came to beryllium successful what would aboriginal beryllium the United States.

Savariego formerly taught astatine Southwest Minnesota State University. and is present connected the module of Minnesota West Community College successful Granite Falls. He is besides a committee subordinate of the Upper Sioux Community adjacent Granite Falls.

During a people play this week, Savariego talked with the students astir the antithetic stories astir however the Dakota came to what is present Minnesota.

“There person ever been non-Indigenous radical penning Dakota root stories,” helium said.

Instructor Adam Savariego talks with students during the Introduction to Indigenous Cultures people Oct. 25, 2022, astatine Yellow Medicine East High School successful Granite Falls. Students successful the first-time people volition gain some precocious schoolhouse and assemblage credits connected completion.

Linda Vanderwerf / West Central Tribune

He talked to them astir however researchers dug up Dakota burial mounds to bash probe opening successful the 19th Century. That continued for astir 100 years, until the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act went into effect successful the 1990s.

Mounds that stay are protected and are not to beryllium disturbed, helium said.

Savariego talked astir the roles some sexes played successful Dakota civilization and explained the symbolism related to the roles.

For example, lone women acceptable up a tipi. It begins with 3 poles, symbolizing mother, begetter and children, “the instauration of the location itself,” helium said.

Four poles are added next, and the buffalo robe oregon wrapper is added, symbolizing unconditional emotion of grandparents.

Students successful the people said they person enjoyed it.

“I wanted to larn much astir my history,” said elder Nevaeh Chaparro. “All this is important cognition that we should cognize but were ne'er taught. When this people showed up, I knew it was the time.”

A batch of radical should instrumentality the course, said elder Atrinity Tipton.

Studying the civilization “opens your caput to different things you ne'er knew,” she said. “I thought I knew a bully chunk of my history, but I didn’t.”

Leah Schueler, the district’s occurrence manager and integration coordinator, said the people offers a college-provided teacher successful Savariego and gives students a archetypal measurement toward college.

“We worked hard to bring it to YME,” said Berta Bjerkeset, the district’s Indian acquisition director.

Superintendent Rich Schneider said the territory had been looking for much opportunities to present students to higher education, particularly for those who would beryllium the archetypal procreation successful their families to be college.

The three-credit people is paired with a one-credit freshman seminar, a people that covers survey skills and different accusation that tin assistance students marque the modulation to college.

The courses supply the equivalent of 1 precocious schoolhouse recognition successful societal studies for the students. It meets for 2 hours 3 days a week. The freshman seminar meets 1 time a week.

Bringing assemblage courses to the precocious schoolhouse eliminates the request for proscription to the Minnesota West field connected the different broadside of town, which is not applicable astatine times, Schneider said.

Mueller said courses similar Introduction to Indigenous Nations are important to prosecute Indigenous students and grow entree to the accusation for each students.

“The quality to grow entree means that much students person the accidental to participate, not lone our students who are Dakota oregon Ojibwe,” Mueller said, “but besides our students who are non-native students, who request to beryllium capable to larn not lone the humanities but the existent discourse of the tribal nations successful the state.”

Mueller said it’s important for the authorities to “make a purposeful decision” to beryllium definite that the state’s tribal nations person their histories beryllium recognized and beryllium taught accurately.