Preliminary Report: Comprehensive Study of Education on the White Earth Indian Reservation By Boyd Bradbury, MSUM Professor of Educational Leadership and Project Director Jane Bergland, MSUM Associate Professor of Nursing and Co-investigator James Bergman, MSUM Graduate Assistant and Co-investigator Donna Brown, MSUM Interim Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs Tracy Clark, MSUM Assistant Professor of Social Work Layna Cole, MSUM Associate Professor of Early and Elementary Childhood Leslie Darmofal, MSUM Graduate Student of Nursing Terry Dobmeier, Assistant Professor of Nursing Charles Howell, NIU Department Chair of Education Denise Lajimodiere, NDSU Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership Tracy Moshier, MSUM Graduate Student in Nursing Sue Peterson, MSUM Assistant Professor of Social Work Amy Phillips, UND Assistant Professor of Social Work Becky Williams, MSUMAssistant Professor in the School of Teaching & Learning Tracy Wright, MSUM Associate Professor of Nursing P a g e | 1 Table of Contents Executive Summary .............................................................................................................................. 9 Early Childhood and Head Start ....................................................................................................... 9 K-12 Education ............................................................................................................................... 10 Adult Basic Education and White Earth Tribal and Community College (WETCC) .................... 10 Social Services ................................................................................................................................ 11 Health Care ..................................................................................................................................... 11 Health disparities. ........................................................................................................... 11 Unintentional injury. ....................................................................................................... 12 Substance abuse. ............................................................................................................. 13 Mental health. ................................................................................................................. 14 Obesity and diabetes. ...................................................................................................... 15 Teen Pregnancy. .............................................................................................................. 16 Justice System ................................................................................................................................. 17 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 18 Issue and Needs............................................................................................................................... 18 Rationale for Conducting Study...................................................................................................... 19 Literature Review................................................................................................................................ 23 Dropout Rates ................................................................................................................................. 23 Sanitation ........................................................................................................................................ 23 Poverty ............................................................................................................................................ 24 American Indian Health Disparities ................................................................................................ 25 The American Indian Academic Achievement Gap ....................................................................... 26 Testing............................................................................................................................................. 28 Cultural Factors ............................................................................................................................... 30 Curriculum and Teacher Education ................................................................................................ 33 References……………………………………………………………………………………………38 Implementation Plan of Study ............................................................................................................ 41 Researchers and Roles .................................................................................................................... 41 Responsibility Areas of White Earth Comprehensive Education Study ......................................... 42 Desired Data and the Collection Process ........................................................................................ 42 Time Frame ..................................................................................................................................... 45 P a g e | 2 Historical Overview of the Ojibwe (Chippewa) People, with Emphasis on the White Earth Band of Chippewa ...................................................................................................................................... 46 The Name ........................................................................................................................................ 46 Migration......................................................................................................................................... 48 Clans ............................................................................................................................................... 50 Traditional Ojibwe Education ......................................................................................................... 51 Manoomin (Wild Rice) ................................................................................................................... 52 European Contact ............................................................................................................................ 52 Dawes Act (General Allotment Act, 1887) ..................................................................................... 54 Indian Reorganization Act (IRA).................................................................................................... 55 Termination Era .............................................................................................................................. 56 Relocation Era ................................................................................................................................. 56 Formal education in ojibwe country. .............................................................................. 56 Boarding School Era ....................................................................................................................... 57 Historical Trauma ........................................................................................................................... 59 White Earth Today .......................................................................................................................... 61 Population. ...................................................................................................................... 63 Government services. ...................................................................................................... 63 Churches. ........................................................................................................................ 64 Casino. ............................................................................................................................ 64 Communities. .................................................................................................................. 64 The White Earth tragedy. ................................................................................................ 64 Minnesota Chippewa tribe. ............................................................................................. 65 Contemporary Ojibwe Education. .................................................................................. 65 White Earth Land Recovery Project. .............................................................................. 67 White Earth tribal council. .............................................................................................. 68 References ........................................................................................................................................... 69 Birth-K Education Portion of Study ................................................................................................... 73 Description of Early Childhood Education Services on White Earth Reservation ......................... 73 White Earth Head Start ................................................................................................................... 75 White Earth Child Care Program .................................................................................................... 79 Summary ......................................................................................................................................... 82 P a g e | 3 Additional Research Needed ..........................................................................................................