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ASB 2012-2013 - Learning in the Land of the Lakota: Rural and Native American Education Disparities

Basic Information
Application Process: 
ASB 2012-2013
Trip Name: 
Learning in the Land of the Lakota: Rural and Native American Education Disparities
Trip Location: 
Pine Ridge, South Dakota
Air Travel Trip: 
No
Number of Participants: 
12
Trip Description: 

"The battle for Indian children will take place in the classrooms...The students of today are the warriors of tomorrow." 
-Eddie Box, American Indian Science and Engineering Society

The Pine Ridge Indian reservation faces staggering challenges: fewer than 20% of students graduate high school, unemployment is over 80%, and life expectancy is the lowest in the US. In the face of these challenges, schools and community leaders are striving to empower the next generation of Lakota children with the knowledge, language, and confidence to change these statistics and build a strong tomorrow for the Lakota Nation. Work and learn alongside teachers, students, and community leaders who are committed to this future. 

The course will begin with classroom instruction, guest lectures, and discussions that will expose students to the challenges and promise of Native American and rural education. Students will read about Lakota culture, the history of Native American education, and current challenges and successes in Indian education. Students will formulate plans for communicating and engaging with our community partners in South Dakota. Throughout the course and trip, we will be working with our companion ASB, Rural and American Indian Health, to better understand the interconnected roles of education and healthcare in these rural communities while developing future community projects.

During the week-long trip to South Dakota, we will have opportunities to work with a variety of community partners--both schools and informal education organizations seeking to promote traditional knowledge and language. Students will have the opportunity to work in classrooms, as well as to engage with students, teachers, and community leaders about the present and future of education in the community. Additional projects and collaborations with our companion ASB will provide an in-depth experience that provides greater understanding of some of the major challenges faced by Native American and rural communities today.

Trip Leaders
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Todd Phelps

Hello, my name is Todd Phelps and I am a 5th year undergraduate from Rapid City, South Dakota. I am Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux from eastern South Dakota, but grew up around the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in western South Dakota. I am a Class of 2008 graduate from one of the schools we will be visiting while on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation: Little Wound High School. I am at Stanford studying Native American Studies and Psychology double major with a potential minor in Education. Currently, I am working on constructing a culturally relevant depression scale for youth on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. I have worked with reservation youth at a summer academic program called South Dakota GEAR-UP for the past 5 summers, which has given me a great perception of reservation educational settings.

Shannon Brady

Anpetu Waste! (Good day!) My name is Shannon Brady, and  I am a second year doctoral student in the School of Education. Originally from a tiny town in Montana just south of the Canadian border, I majored in psychology at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, OR. After college, I followed my passions for social justice, educational equity, and small town livin’ to the Pine Ridge Indian reservation where I taught middle school language arts and 3rd grade. (In fact, I was a teacher at the same school that Todd graduated from!) After teaching for five years, I made the hard decision to leave the classroom and come to Stanford. I now study how to use understandings gleaned from social psychology to promote better outcomes for students and people in general--especially those who face additional challenges or stereotypes. I am thrilled, honored, and humbled to co-lead this new trip to the reservation and oyate (people) I love so dearly and who taught me so much.