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Ho-Chunk talk got action
6:44 PM
7/22/02
Betsy Bloom La Crosse Tribune
indentHO-CHUNK TALK GOT ACTION BLACK RIVER FALLS - Two years ago, the Ho-Chunk Nation stunned officials in the Black River Falls school district by announcing plans to open a tribal school.
indentThe move would have cost the district not only the state aid it gets for about 75 students in grades six through 12, but also the federal funds for educating Indian students.
indentThe plan was shelved when Ho-Chunk leadership changed a short time later. But it was a clear signal to the district of the tribe's frustration with the low test scores and grades seen among Ho-Chunk students.
indentTribal education experts and school officials agree the district has since shown progress in retaining Ho-Chunk students and including tribal history and culture in the classroom. Even if more work is needed, the district and Ho-Chunk seem to be communicating better than before.
indent"I think the willingness is there and it's well-intended," said Barbara Blackdeer-Mackenzie, who in April became the first Ho-Chunk to hold a seat on the Black River Falls School Board.
indent"We've had this synergy," said Superintendent Dennis Richards, "where things have come together and something bigger has happened as a result of it."
indentThis spring, 17 of the 21 American Indian seniors who started classes at Black River Falls High School in September received their diplomas, part of a graduating class of 135. In 2000, only seven of 14 Indian seniors graduated, although four went to other programs, according to district records. Last year, five of 16 Ho-Chunk seniors graduated; seven went elsewhere and four did not finish.
indentIn addition, some Ho-Chunk students took high-profile roles in school last year, such as high school newspaper editor Andi Cloud and Marcus Lewis, recently elected governor of Badger Boys State. He won the honor by a vote of 751 to 93, the largest margin in the program's history.
indentIn the middle school, tribal members were invited to teach Ho-Chunk culture and history classes. It culminates in Native American Awareness Week in early May, in which all the schools study Ho-Chunk traditions and practices.
indent"There are times per year that the focus is really placed on our Native American students and their families and cultures," Richards said. The state, under Act 31, does require lessons on Wisconsin Indian history and treaty rights in the public schools, "but we certainly have gone beyond that," Richards said.
indentWorking with Nehomah Thundercloud, a Ho-Chunk who serves as the school district's Native American student specialist, the district has stepped up monitoring Ho-Chunk students. The tribe and district have coordinated efforts to secure state and federal grants for extra programs.
indentTutoring was increased for Ho-Chunk students in grades six through eight, which "seemed to be an area where student achievement dropped," said Sherri Torkelson, the district's director of curriculum and instruction.
indentThe district and the Ho-Chunk's Education Department have combined with Western Wisconsin Technical College for summer classes that allow Ho-Chunk teens to catch up on credits toward graduation.
indentWhile she applauds the district's efforts, Blackdeer-Mackenzie said they are only a start. She wants Ho-Chunk and other Indian information regularly blended into social studies, history and even science lessons in the schools.
indentThe annual Native American Awareness Week is welcome, but "why is it that teachers aren't incorporating it into their classrooms all 37 weeks?" she asked.
indent"I'm not proposing that it be Ho-Chunk, Ho-Chunk, Ho-Chunk in the curriculum," said Blackdeer-Mackenzie, who has a daughter in Black River Falls schools and a son who will start in the fall. "What I'm saying is in context, the culture needs to be appreciated and celebrated in the curriculum."
indentScience classes, for example, could teach about Ho-Chunk farming practices, and how the native plants and traditional diet might hold some answers on combating the rising rate of diabetes in the tribe.
indentAfter Ho-Chunk students and parents complained that discipline policies weren't being followed, the schools adopted a "zero-tolerance" approach to harassment or racism.
indentShari Pettibone, a Ho-Chunk member who lives in Black River Falls, remembers enduring open taunts and more subtle racism from some faculty members and classmates when she was in school, but she said her children have reported no problems.
indent"I think it's changed a lot since I was in school, for the better," she said. "They haven't gone through what I went through."
indentPettibone said she is encouraged by steps the district is taking with new teachers. Staff orientation now includes a trip to the Ho-Chunk Nation headquarters, where they tour offices, meet elders and administrators, and see the tribal supreme court.
indentThey learn about the extended family system the Ho-Chunk use, in which aunts and uncles play a significant role. "I think people found it very beneficial in terms of understanding (Ho-Chunk) family and kinship," Blackdeer-Mackenzie said.
indentWhen asked about his school, Pettibone's nephew, 13-year-old Leland Bird, talked about playing saxophone in band and being on the football and basketball teams. Pettibone's daughter, Kathleen Funmaker, said seventh- and eighth-grade classes included Ho-Chunk history.
indentNeither had complaints about classes or classmates, though Funmaker suggested the schools could "teach more Ho-Chunk."
indentPettibone, too, said more lessons for staffers and students on Ho-Chunk customs would foster better understanding between the tribe and community. Religious practices, such as keeping Ho-Chunk children home from school for five days after a death in the family, have caused friction with some teachers, she said.
indent"They don't understand our period of mourning, about why we do our traditional ways," Pettibone said.
indentBut talk of a Ho-Chunk school seems to have died down for now. Although she is tribal coordinator for home-schooled children, Pettibone thinks Ho-Chunk students are better off in the public schools than being isolated in an Indian-only setting.
indent"They've got to deal with what's in the real world, which is a mix of races," Pettibone said.
indentThe district's superintendent agreed, saying the mix should be viewed as an asset to the community.
indent"I believe this is an advantage that all of our students have," said Richards. "To go to a school in a culturally diverse environment."
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