She said she was embarrassed and never wore the shirt to school again. Townsend recalled that the boy said, “‘That’s for Indians’ and then proceeded to mock the Indian war cry – waving his hand over his mouth, hooting.” When she arrived, a student - “I still remember his first and last name and can see his bright blue eyes, his creamy white skin laced with freckles” - made fun of her, she said. “I was so proud of my new shirt and wore it the first day I went back to my grade school classroom.” “During a trip to see my grandmother on the Duck Valley Indian Reservation in Owyhee, Nevada, my parents bought me the most wonderful T-shirt - it was a mustard-gold color with this beautifully painted neckline of a gorgeous native collar-necklace,” she told the board. ![]() Townsend said she did not feel safe at one point. “I think that’s every bit as important.”Ĭlarke said learning about who the tribes are would go a long way to eliminate stereotypes.Ĭeleste Townsend, who lives in Riverside and is president and CEO of California Indian Nations College, which is in the process of obtaining accreditation, said it is crucial for Riverside teachers to get to know students’ cultural backgrounds, show respect for each student and provide a safe learning environment “It’s really important for teachers, I think, to understand not just the history of tribes in California, but understand who the tribes are today,” Murply said. “And, in a lot of ways, American history is the American profile picture.”īutch Murphy, a member of the Pechanga Tribal Council near Temecula, said there are about 110 federally recognized tribes in California. “None of us are as good looking as our social-media profile picture,” he said. ![]() “There is a hunger in the American public to know the truth about our history,” Clarke said.Ĭlarke compared some history courses to a Facebook picture. Ramos said it is important to teach about atrocities exacted on California tribes, including, for example, a monthlong campaign in 1866 to root Native Americans out of the San Bernardino mountains. One of those who spoke to the board was Gerald Clarke Jr., who runs a cattle ranch on the Cahuilla Indian Reservation east of Temecula, serves on the tribal council of the Cahuilla Band of Indians, and teaches ethnic studies at UC Riverside.Īs a professor, Clarke said he presents history that’s often overlooked in high school classrooms. “We also have to look at our day-to-day practices,” she said. Hill said she intends to convene action teams to develop policies. Hill said Monday that Native American culture will need to be reflected more deeply, not only in history, but also in curriculum for language arts, art, music and other subjects. The measures include expanding diversity training to all district employees, collaborating with local tribal representatives, pursuing a federal grant to provide aid for Native American students and ensuring teaching material for holidays such as Thanksgiving is historically accurate and respectful. Assembly Member Sabrina Cervantes, D-Corona, also participated.Įxperts: Court ruling breaks decades of Native American lawĪ little more than a week ago, Superintendent Renee Hill announced steps the district was taking measures to prevent a recurrence. Ramos, a lifelong resident of the San Manuel Indian Reservation in San Bernardino County, is the first California Native American to serve in the state Assembly. “A teacher wore a fake Indian headdress and hopped around a class in a misguided effort to help students remember math principles.” “We’re here because we recently had a sad reminder of the need to increase knowledge of Native American history and culture,” said Assembly Member James Ramos, D-Highland. 19 incident involving the math teacher at North High was captured on a student’s video, which was shared on social media and almost instantly went viral. The meeting was called a few weeks after the Oct. ![]() “And at that meeting, let me just say, I was very underwhelmed with the understanding of ethnic studies by administrators here at RUSD.” “Ironically, on the same day that the incident at North High School took place, I had a meeting with RUSD,” he said. Medina said it is crucial that administrators embrace ethnic studies and pass their enthusiasm along to teachers.
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