CT To Develop Native American Curriculum Collaborative With Tribes

CONNECTICUT — The Connecticut Department of Education is partnering with the state’s recognized tribal nations to create a new Native American studies curriculum that focuses on the history of Connecticut’s tribes through the voices of tribal members.

A law that passed last year requires school districts to include Native American studies as part of social studies curriculum beginning in the 2023-2024 school year, including a focus on the tribes of Connecticut. The law doesn’t mandate that schools use the state-developed curriculum, but some form must be taught.

Some schools already have Native American curriculum developed in conjunction with tribal officials.

Mohegan Tribe of Elders Vice Chair Beth Regan worked with her tribal elders and Tolland High School where she worked 20 years ago to develop Native American curriculum that included native voices. Students want to learn about Connecticut tribal history and teachers want to teach the material, and the new initiative will help with the needed resources.

“Now all Connecticut students can learn about our roots through the voices of our people,” Regan said at a new conference.

SDE is aiming to have the curriculum widely used in schools by January 2024, Chief Academic Officer Irene Parisi said.

“We expect that teachers will use this with confidence and now be able to share these stories,” she said.

Less than half of the 35 states with federally recognized tribal nations require that Native American curriculum include information specific to the tribal nations in their state, according to a 2019 study by the National Congress of American Indians.

“We are just excited to share with you all our culture and our history, and we thank everyone for their participation and efforts, it does not go unnoticed,” said Latoya Cluff, vice chair of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council.

Gov. Ned Lamont also celebrated the inclusion of native voices in the planned curriculum.

“We all have our own stories to tell, every culture has its own story and I think it’s important for young people of different backgrounds to know what that history was,” he said.

Connecticut recognizes five tribes: Schaghticoke, Paucatuck Eastern Pequot, Mashantucket Pequot, Mohegan, and Golden Hill Paugussett. The Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes are federally recognized.