Guidelines For Educating Students And School Staff About Indigenous People's Culture And History

WHEREAS, there are 574 federally recognized Native American tribes in the country, many of which have unique languages and cultures; and

WHEREAS, there are 326 Native American reservations in the U.S., making up almost 6.7 million people, according to the most recent U.S. census, making up about 2.02 percent of people in the U.S. who are registered to a federally recognized Native American Tribe; and

WHEREAS, many Americans are not registered under a federally recognized tribe, but identify as Indigenous, Native American or belong to a non-federally recognized tribe; and

WHEREAS, less than 1 percent of students (449,000 students) enrolled in public schools in the U.S. identify as Native American when enrolling in the 2023 school year; and

WHEREAS, many people arriving in the U.S. today from the Caribbean, Mexico, South and Central America speak an Indigenous language as their home language and/or identify as Indigenous; and

WHEREAS, many U.S. public schools lack guidelines regarding activities and discussions about Indigenous peoples that are historically accurate and culturally appropriate:

RESOLVED, that the AFT will charge its Native American and Indigenous Task Force to make recommendations on how to ensure that all schools are culturally and academically affirming for Indigenous students; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT will encourage the U.S. Department of Education to work with educators to collaboratively develop guidelines regarding activities and discussions that pertain to Indigenous peoples and their histories; and

RESOLVED, that the AFT will collaborate with our locals to educate teachers and administrators about culturally appropriate practices regarding the teaching of Indigenous people's cultures and their histories.