American Indian Education

2024-2025 California Indian Education for All Calendar of Events

The SDCOE and CIEFA invite PK-12 educators, administrators, Title VI committee members, Tribal Education staff, college/university faculty, school board members, and tribal community members to attend events on our 24-25 CIEFA calendar. Presenters and participants will share resources and programs related to American Indian Education, place-based learning, CA Native American Studies model curriculum, culturally responsive literacy, Native Youth Leadership, Native family and tribal community engagement, and improvement strategies to facilitate Native community leadership and agency in schools. We welcome those who share a commitment for improving belongingness, access, opportunities, and support to allow American Indian students to thrive in school.

Native Ways of Knowing Webinars and Book Club

The SDCOE and CIEFA are hosting a free, year-long Native Ways of Knowing Webinar Series on select Thursdays from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. TK-12 educators and leaders are invited to learn from several renowned Native American professors, scholars, and change makers. Participants will access free culturally responsive resources to improve representations and classroom climates for teaching and learning about California's First Peoples.

Scheduled 2024-2025 Native Ways of Knowing webinars and book clubs:

• Sept. 12 - Selecting and Using Children's Books about Boarding Schools, Debbie Reese, Ph.D. from American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL)
• Sept. 26 - NWOK Book Club California as Slave State with Jean Pfaelzer
• Oct. 17 - NWOK Book Club We are Still Here, Native American Truths Everyone Should Know, Being Home, and Contenders with Traci Sorell
• Oct. 24 - NWOK Book Club We Still Belong, The Sea in Winter, and I Can Make This Promise with Christine Day
• Oct. 31 - Children's Books about Native Youth and their Hair, Debbie Reese, Ph.D. from American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL)
• Nov. 7 - NWOK Book Club Forever Cousins, Rock Your Mocs and She Persisted: Deb Haaland with Laurel Goodluck
• Dec. 19 - NWOK Book Club Hearts Unbroken, Jingle Dancer, and Sisters of the Neversea with Cynthia Leitch Smith

• Jan. 16 - NWOK Book Club Berry Song, Remember, We are Water Protectors, and Being Home with Michaela Goade

• Jan. 23 - NWOK Book Club Bad Indians: A Tribal Memoir with Deborah Miranda

• Feb. 13 - NWOK Book Club We are Dancing for You: Native Feminisms and the Revitalization of Women's Coming-Of-Age Ceremonies with Cutcha Risling-Baldy, Ph.D

• Feb. 20 - NWOK Book Club California through Native Eyes: Reclaiming History with William Bauer, Ph.D

• Feb. 27 - NWOK Book Club We Are the Land: A history of Native California with William Bauer, Ph.D

• Mar. 13 - Children's Books about Native People in the Sciences, Debbie Reese, Ph.D. from American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL)

• Mar. 20 - NWOK Book Club Understanding Stereotypes about Native Americans - Part One: Master Narratives about Root Myths with Dr. Dina Gilio-Whitaker

• Mar. 27 - NWOK Book Club Understanding Stereotypes about Native Americans - Part Two: Modren Myths with Dr. Dina Gilio-Whitaker

• April 17 - NWOK Book Club We are Water Protectors, My Powerful Hair, and Autumn Peltier: Water Warrior with Carole Lindstrom

• April 24 - NWOK Book Club My Heart Fills with Happiness, When We are Kind, and You Hold Me Up with Monique Gray Smith

• May 8 - NWOK Book Club Fierce Aunties & Too Much: My Great Big Native Family with Laurel Goodluck

• May 14 - To Be Announced

• May 22 - To Be Announced

• Jun. 5 - Learn about New Children's Books by Native People, Debbie Reese, Ph.D. from American Indians in Children's Literature (AICL)

Native Ways of Knowing Book List

To help educators and parents choose high-quality Indigenous authored books, the SDCOE and CIEFA have designed this Native Ways of Knowing Book List: Decolonizing and Indigenizing Classrooms and Libraries. These books have been vetted by Native American scholars, CIEFA, and SDCOE staff. Please consider adding these insightful and vibrant Indigenous authored books to your school, classroom, or home library. Adding these books to your classroom will help teach young readers empathy, courage, resilience, sovereignty, and Native Ways of Knowing. These suggested Indigenous authors and illustrators utilize Indigenous storytelling and convey the breadth of Native cultures and sovereignty.

2024/25 Tribal Community-Responsive Programming Community of Practice

The SDCOE and CIEFA have a newly designed 2024/25 Ensuring Excellence and Equitable Learning for All American Indian Students Training Series. All trainings and resources are aligned to the SDCOE Equity Blueprint for Action. We will gather to learn from American Indian Education experts to learn and share effective practices to improve attendance, college and career readiness, and social emotional supports for Native American youth. This series will provide resources that are tribal community-responsive practices. This Community of Practice will share resources
and programs in K-12 education related to improvement strategies to reduce chronic absenteeism, improve college and career readiness, and expand culturally responsive social emotional supports for Native youth. This Community of Practice will share mindsets for acknowledging and addressing the historical trauma of settler colonialism—including land theft, reservations, broken treaties, the attempted cultural and linguistic genocide during the boarding school era, and the enduring impacts of Indian termination policies. Tribal attendance promising practices from Oregon and Washington will be shared that will support educators, school, and district leaders to critically assess their systems, structures, policies, and beliefs within their intricate K-12 environments. We welcome those who share a commitment for improving access, opportunities, and support to allow American Indian students to thrive in school.

Facilitators and guest speakers will share resources to:

• Create school-wide initiatives focused on reducing chronic absenteeism of Native American students;
• Foster increase of American Indian/ Alaska Native student success outcomes;
• Increase graduation rates, increase attendance and enrollment, and increase academic achievement by addressing the systemic inequities created by inequitable environments;
• Address disproportionate discipline; and
• Improve school climate and expand restorative practices.

2024-2025 California Indian Educational Leader Pathway Cohort: American Indian Studies Certificate for California Ethnic Studies

K-12 educators, counselors, administrators, and tribal education staff will have access to the California Indian Education for All Leadership Program through our U.S. Department of Education's Office of Indian Education NYCP Grant. The San Diego County Office of Education and California Indian Education for All are collaborating with UC Berkeley's Joseph A. Myers Center for Research on Native American Issues, California Indian Museum and Cultural Center, and CSU San Marcos, American Indian Studies faculty to offer this unique professional learning and certificate program. We welcome you to submit your interest to participate in a 9-month cohort to learn cultural competency leadership skills and design asset-based schools that will promote American Indian student achievement and success.

For more information:

California Indian Education for All Community Updates

We invite PK-12 educators, administrators, librarians, Title VI committee members, Tribal Education staff, college/university faculty, parents, and tribal community members to access the SDCOE and CIEFA community updates and newsletters. Participants are able to learn about upcoming events, trainings, and resources available to the public. Almost all trainings, institutes, and webinars are free, because they are funded from our Native American Education grants. 

2024 CIEFA Summit Registration

The 2024 CIEFA Summer Summit provides resources to improve the educational programs for Native youth and families to expand indigenous language offerings and culturally responsive education resources. Information was shared about American Indian Education, place-based learning, CA Native American Studies model curriculum, culturally responsive literacy, Native Youth Leadership, community engagement, and improvement strategies to facilitate Native community leadership and agency in schools.