IEFA Roundup

 

Honoring Native Veterans

The National Indian Education Association has posted resources collected as part of the "Illuminating the Contributions of Native American Veterans in Montana" project. Honoring Our Native Veterans: Warriors in Uniform materials include oral history excerpts, some videos, and guiding questions. Most of the resources are targeted to high school, but some are designed for as young as first grade. 

Performing a Haka in Protest

Usually, I send links to Montana content but this video of a protest by New Zealand Māori legislators was worth sharing--and a good connection to issues we see in the U.S. vis a vis politics and treaty rights.

Background

The haka is a ceremonial dance that the Māori use to display a tribe's pride, strength and unity.

Approximately 18% of New Zealand's population are Māori.

A bill was proposed in parliament to change New Zealand's Treaty of Waitangi and the way it is interpreted. According to the BBC, the treaty was signed in 1840 and have shaped how the New Zealand government works with the Māori. Per the New York Times, a far-right political party known as Act, wants to narrow how the treaty is interpreted. Act asserts that they want "equal rights for all and that special provisions for people based on their ethnic origin have been divisive for New Zealand society." Many political experts believe that the bill "experts say could severely damage race relations and undo decades of work aimed at redressing historical wrongs against the Māori people by colonizers. It has already stoked racial tensions in the country."  

The lawmaker who led the haka, Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, was suspended for twenty-four hours over the protest. 

Online Professional Development

The Montana Professional Learning Collaborative has over 40 Indian Ed self-paced, online courses, including a new Modern American Indian Life and Culture course.

Our friends at OPI's Indian Education Division are offering online PD the first and third Tuesdays, 4:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

MTHS is taking December off, but will be back with an online PD on the second Tuesday of January, January 14, 4:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m. for a session on teaching Montana's Chinese History. Register.