Upon returning to the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation in June 2011, I was shocked to hear that there are over 75 Teach for America teachers between Rosebud and Pine Ridge. At first, I did not form any opinion on the fact that many of these teachers are coming in from all over the United States, and that many who work in the high school do not actually have a teaching degree. Aside from the obvious problem that we have another group of government-funded teachers sent out to the Reservation with their idealistic mindsets about "saving the Indian," the larger problem seems to be that there is an actual "Native American Initiative." This initiative, sponsored by Teach for America, has failed to inform the communities they are teaching in, that there is an initiative in the first place. From my first observations, I can see that this is another "Waiting for Superman" moment for our Tribe. I propose that money would be better spent if Teach for America t...
Native American author, fictional and academic. Thoughts, philosophies, and interpretations from a Native Lakota Sioux Woman's Perspective.