Indian Education for All

The one hundred delegates of the Montana constitutional convention enshrined in the newly drafted constitution for the state the principle that educational institutions in the state should commit to presenting their students with a curriculum that would expand and fortify students' understanding of American Indian history, both within and without the state of Montana.[1][2]

Nearly three decades later in 1999, this principle found in the revised constitution was embodied in House Bill 528 (MCA 20-1-501), successfully passed into law, which is principally referred to as Indian Education for All (IEFA). This Bill states as its intention that Montana state will recognize the distinct and unique cultural heritage of American Indians, and endeavor to preserve that heritage through its educational institutions; this as a law in accordance with, and fulfillment of, Article X of the constitution.

This Bill furthermore presents a threefold purpose: firstly, that every Montanan, without regard to their cultural antecedents, be encouraged to increase their knowledge and understanding of American Indian culture and history; secondly, that Montanan education agencies and personnel work cooperatively with Montanan tribes when providing instruction with regard to the culture, history, and former and contemporary contributions of American Indians, with an especial emphasis on Indian tribal groups and sovereign governments within the state of Montana; thirdly, that school personnel themselves be provided with such means as would enable them to be educated in regard to American Indian culture, past and present, in such a manner that they will be better able to relate to Indian students and their parents.[3][4]

In the succeeding six years after IEFA had been passed into law, it remained a mandate without allocated funds for its implementation. However, in 2005, as part of a special legislative session, the Legislature appropriated funds for its implementation, including support for staff of the Office of Public Instruction, curriculum materials, direct funding to school districts, and grants for schools. Resources from the Office of Public Instruction were additionally allocated to higher education, for the training of teachers and college and university staff and faculties.[5] This provided more than three million dollars to the Office of Public Instruction as beginning funding to implement IEFA, and appropriated a sum exceeding seven million dollars to local districts in order to assist them in their efforts to implement the law.[6]

The primary goal of IFEA was, and remains, to strengthen the understanding and awareness of Montana State citizens of American Indian culture and history, with the intention that this would have a far-reaching social impact that would encompass such things as preservation of Indian culture, improvement of relations between the differing cultural populations of the state, and an increased knowledge and inclusivity of mindset in the citizenry.[7] Additionally, IFEA exists in order to address the perceived need for an education that does not leave sizable gaps in students' knowledge of the largest minority in Montana State.[8]

Included among the aims of implementation of IEFA is that American Indian children themselves would learn about their own cultural legacy, history, languages and historical personages, which aspects have formerly been neglected in the curricula of Montana State, as an evidence of a wider phenomenon of American education at all levels.[9] For non-Indian students there is the benefit of learning about Montana, the state in which they live.

In the early 2000s, the Montana Office of Public Instruction convened educators from each tribal nation to collaborate with regard to the subjects that should be addressed in the curricula of state educational institutions. Together, they explicated the foundation of the implementation of IEFA in the seven Essential Understandings Regarding Montana Indians. All of the efforts of the state of Montana in developing school curricula designed for the implementation of IEFA are based on the understanding expounded in that work.[10]

These seven understandings are, in summary, as follows: firstly, there are twelve tribal nations in Montana, each one of whom possesses a diversity of language, culture, history and government, in addition to a unique cultural heritage that contributes to contemporary Montana; secondly, American Indians, as individuals, are unique and lie on a continuum of identity, from assimilated to traditional; thirdly, the traditional systems of Indian spirituality persist to the present time, are practiced by American Indians, and are integrated into the manner of their management of affairs; fourthly, reservations are lands that have been acquired by Indian tribes for their own use through treaties, statutes, and executive orders; fifthly, there have been many federal policies throughout American history which have affected Indian people, and much of American Indian history can be understood from these phases; sixthly, history as told from an Indian perspective often conflicts with the accounts of mainstream historians; seventhly, Indian tribes, under the legal system of the United States, possess sovereign powers, which are independent of the federal and state governments, the total extent of which, however, differs for each tribe.[11]

• http://leg.mt.gov/bills/mca/20/1/20-1-501.htm
• Office of Public Instruction: Indian Education for All