This week on Minnesota Native News, reducing recidivism among American Indians involved in the corrections system, and a new report examines best practices for community driven education for urban Native youth.
Transcript
STORY #1 - REDUCING RECIDIVISM AMONG AMERICAN INDIANS
HOST: Some tribes in Minnesota and the state Department of Corrections are beginning to work more closely together to keep Native offenders from relapsing into criminal behavior, and returning to prison.
American Indians are more likely than non-Natives to return to prison within 3 years of their release.
James Cross is an advocate for Natives involved in the prison system.
CROSS: When you come out from prison and you know what you got to do to stay out here and stop that recitivist rate. You want to go to get a job, you want to go to a half-way house that gots culture. There aint nothing out here. There really aint nothing out here. So guess what, they are going back to prison.
Department of Corrections officials say they need a better handle on what programs exist and where needs are not being met. Ron Solheid is Deputy Commissioner of the Community Services Division of the Department of Corrections.
SOLHEID: What we wanted to do is really have those meetings at the local level and meet with tribal resources and look at what they have available to make sure that we are getting people who are eligible to them and signed up for those types of services.
Solheid says in cases where there aren’t enough resources for programs, he could help.
SOLHEID: We do have some funds that go out on a grant basis to the tribes. If we feel there are some interventions that might be available in the community, we could advocate for funding with the legislature.
Solheid and Cross agree these are just the first steps in building a system to better support American Indians involved in the incarceration system.
STORY #2 - NEW REPORT FROM NATIONAL URBAN INDIAN FAMILY COALITION
HOST: American Indian youth attending Minneapolis Public Schools have a 52% attendance rate overall. That is - on average Native students are absent from school nearly half the year. By 11th grade, statistics show that none of the Native students have achieved math proficiency on standardized tests. But in the alternative schools tailored toward American Indian students, attendance is nearly double and achievement rates are also higher.
A new report from the National Urban Indian Family Coalition highlights the work of these “indigenized schools.” Reporter Melissa Townsend tells us more.
REPORTER: Dr. Joe Hobot says it is no wonder traditional public schools are failing American Indian students. In his report Hobot outlines the role traditional schools have played in the genocide of Native people in North America.
HOBOT: It’s a pretty hard history full of a lot of trauma, a lot of overt genocidal practices to deconstruct or overall eliminate our traditional cultures and practices.
Hobot, who is CEO of the American Indian OIC in Minneapolis, says education administrators mistakenly blame failure on Native students.
HOBOT: So often we hear that these students are failing within the system. The reality is quite the opposite. Our American Indian student are just fine, they are powerful people and they are coming up on their own. And the reality is the system has failed them. … It was never designed to empower our people or our culture.
In a new report, Hobot highlights 7 schools located in urban areas around the country that serve Native students with a more culturally sensitive approach. From Seattle, Washington to Minneapolis, Minnesota – Native community leaders have founded schools that are alternatives to traditional mainstream education institutions: The results speak for themselves.
HOBOT: When we looked at the schools that we examined, we looked at graduation rates that were double the K-12 system’s numbers. So obviously those data points suggest that things are working.
Hobot’s report identifies 7 key areas that help Native students succeed… like integrating traditional cultural outdoor activities.
HOBOT: Beyond that, redefining what the learning space looks like, sitting in rows within classrooms, a lot of that was tossed out the window. Um, learning across generations, there is an emphasis on bringing in community elders and youth, disavowing the regimentation of isolating age groups.
Hobot says he wants this report to challenge urban public school districts… so they open the doors to community leaders who can develop schools that better serve Native youth.
For Minnesota Native News, I’m Melissa Townsend.