Tribal entities discuss future of native education in Bernalillo summit

BERNALILLO — More than 1,300 Native American students attend Bernalillo Public Schools. This fact brought Sandoval County’s tribal leaders together at the Spartan Learning Academy in a two-day summit beginning Nov. 14 to discuss how best to support those students.

Tribal leaders from Cochiti, Kewa, San Felipe, Santa Ana, Sandia, Zia and Jemez pueblos were there to learn from each other and teach each other about their collective and respective education needs. Though these are the entities that BPS works closely with, students represent 19 New Mexico-based tribes as well as several out-of-state ones.

Before discussion began, attendees heard from San Felipe Lt. Gov. Maurice Sandoval for an opening prayer. Sandoval also told the group he looked forward to discussion, saying education opens doors for Native students.

Next, Bernalillo Public Schools Superintendent Matthew Montano updated the group on how things are going for native students in the district.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for us to both learn from each other and find some of the things that we want to do to improve our communication with all of our communities,” he said.

He expressed excitement for the summit, adding that he feels like they are close to changing the school district for the better. He specifically talked about the expansion of teaching native languages and cultures. However, one thing he stressed was the classes are not teaching students “how to be native” but opening the opportunity for them to learn more about their respective cultures.

Montano also said that attendance has been generally better by a small percentage but says there is still work to be done. Grades have also improved in several subjects, with the highest numbers in science.

United National Indian Tribal Youth trainer Sheldon Smith, who represents all tribal entities in the area, says the summit will help with further communication between the leaders and the schools.

“We’re here advocating for the students and to educate ourselves so we can work together in progress with our kids,” he said.

For him, there is a personal interest in the well-being of Native students as well.

“A lot of our Native Americans, I hate to say this, we’re all in poverty level, and that’s where I want to see changes,” he said.

He added that he was able to do better for himself with a decent education and hopes all native students are provided the same or better opportunities.

“I love doing this because I grew up on the the poor side,” he said.

In true classroom style, Indian Education Department Director Francis Vigil led the group over the two days in interactive discussions between tribal leaders, BPS principals, teachers and administrators.

The first discussion had people go up to someone they didn’t know and ask what they hope to gain from the summit. After a few turns of that, each group shared what they discussed.

Overall, the priorities seemed to be themed around community and parent involvement in student academics and futures. Many also said transparent communication between the schools and Native leaders would be beneficial.

The most important theme was how best to incorporate native tradition and language into learning without omiting any tribes or losing the interest of the students.

The Indian Education Department will meet with BPS and tribal leaders monthly to continue the discussion.