A Study of State Social Studies Standards for American Indian Education

Abstract

In this study the author surveys social studies standards from 14 U.S. states seeking to answer: (a) what social studies knowledge about American Indians is deemed essential by those states mandating the development of American Indian Education curricula for all public K–12 students? and (b) at what grade levels is this social studies content knowledge mandated in public K–12 schools? Document analysis, open-coding, and constant comparison revealed that the knowledge states standards require can be organized into six themes: identification/classification of tribes, distinct tribal cultures, contributions to mainstream U.S. culture, tribal government, connection to environment, and economics/occupations. The findings also revealed that the majority of standards relating to American Indians are directed to elementary grade levels. Standards in only two states, Maine and Montana, cover a breadth of curricular content and require that content coverage to continue K–12.