Before the South Dakota Department of Education released draft new social studies standards last week, ministry officials removed more than a dozen references to education on the Oceti Sakowin.
“Oceti Sakowin” collectively refers to the Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota peoples who are indigenous to South Dakota and surrounding states.
This is according to a draft standards dated July 26 obtained by the leader Argus. The project was created by a working group of over 50 educators tasked with retooling standards.
Following:South Dakota Department of Education to Change Social Studies Standards after Review
Mary Stadick Smith, deputy secretary of the DOE, said in an email Tuesday morning that the department had made “certain adjustments” before the August 6 draft was released to provide “more clarity and focus” to educators and the public. .
See what was posted by the state’s education department here.
The July 26 draft standards approved by the task force, however, show several grade level standards referencing Oceti Sakowin Oyate, against three references to Oceti Sakowin in the draft released 10 days later.
Following:What will it take for South Dakota to have a culturally appropriate civic and history education program?
Friday’s release of the new standards follows news in July that two Tories have left the task force, but they have not publicly explained why they quit.
Following:Conservatives quit South Dakota social studies standards retooling group
Major deletions of Indigenous subjects
Several of the standards on Oceti Sakowin have been removed completely, including:
- In kindergarten, civic education, discussing the meaning of kinship with Oceti Sakowin Oyate.
- In Kindergarten Geography, discuss the tribal nations of Oceti Sakowin Oyate.
- In grade one civics, the identification symbols of the Oceti Sakowin Oyate including, but not limited to, the star quilt, buffalo, and medicine wheels.
- In grade one geography, recognize the nine contemporary reserves of Oceti Sakowin Oyate on a map of South Dakota.
- In second year civic education, explore concepts of Oceti Sakowin Oyate including, but not limited to, tribal flags, powwows, beads, dream catchers, music and works of art.
- In grade two geography, identify the names and locations of Oceti Sakowin Oyate tribes within our communities and state.
- In the third year of civic education, learn to describe tribal organizational structures (council, president, etc.)
- In third-grade geography, researching the nine tribes of South Dakota
- In the fifth grade, the standards of learning about tribal sovereignty in civic education classes and how natural resources and migration affected the life and culture of Oceti Sakowin were completely suppressed.
- In the story of the eighth grade, an examination of the main cultural traits and resilience of Oceti Sakowin Oyate throughout history
- In eighth grade history, critique important primary sources, including the Oceti Sakowin Oyate treatises, and their impact on the events of this period.
In grade eight civic education, two grade-level standards on Indigenous topics were completely removed, including assessing the evolution of federal policy toward Indigenous Indians and comparing and contrasting the structure. of the US government and sovereign tribal governments.
What were the major revisions?
Several other grade level standards referring to the Oceti Sakowin have been revised, including:
- In Kindergarten Story, students will read or listen to stories from Oceti Sakowin Oyate, such as stories from Iktomi and stories from historical traditions. This standard has been revised to indicate that students will understand that there are different people and cultural groups that make up communities in South Dakota.
- In grade one history, the discussion of the history of Oceti Sakowin Oyate’s creation, including the correct chronological order of the story, has been revised to identify the celebrations and traditions that various cultural groups bring to communities. of South Dakota.
- In Grade Two History, discuss the culture of the Oceti Sakowin Oyate before European interactions were changed to “using multiple sources, investigating the impact of South Dakota, including Native American Indians, on the history of the United States and South Dakota “.
- In Grade 3 history, learning “early establishment and development” was replaced by learning “building communities”.
The standards for the fourth year story changed completely in one section, from the explanation of how the Oceti Sakowin was affected by “the westward expansion, the creation of the reservation system and the US assimilation policies and programs ”, to the description of“ the influences of various cultures on the South. Dakota communities.
Next steps for standards
The proposed standards will be the subject of four public hearings by 2022 until the Board of Education Standards (BOES) submits them for approval by spring 2022.
The work is part of a cyclical review of standards by the DOE on a regular basis, and separate from Governor Kristi Noem’s $ 900,000 effort to create a new civic and historical education program resource specific to the State.
State standards for fine arts and vocational and technical education are currently subject to a similar cyclical review process.
The BOES will hold the first public hearing on these proposed standards at its September 20 meeting at Holgate Middle School in Aberdeen. The hearing will begin at 9 a.m.
The other three hearings will be held throughout the 2021-2022 school year at council meetings in Sioux Falls, Pierre and Rapid City. The board will make the final decision on the proposed standards at the last of these meetings.
See what was originally proposed by the Social Studies Standards Working Group here.
