State Education Leaders Praise New Tool for Incorporating American Indian and Alaska Native Content Into ELA Standards 

January 22, 2025

Last year, American Indian Education (AIE) directors from four state educational agencies (SEAs) had the opportunity to learn firsthand about WestEd’s 2019-2024 Region 13 Comprehensive Center resource Increasing American Indian and Alaska Native Content in English Language Arts Standards: A Tool for Education Leaders. The tool is a user-friendly, interactive resource designed to help SEAs incorporate high-quality, authentic American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) content into their ELA standards review and revision processes to support learning for all students.

Last summer, representatives from Arizona, Nevada, Oklahoma, and Utah participated in the SEA American Indian Education Community of Practice (CoP) facilitated by Western Educational Equity Center at WestEd (WEEAC) Co-Director Niki Sandoval on behalf of the CoP organizers, WestEd’s 2019-2024 Regions 13 and 15 Comprehensive Centers. Dr. Sandoval codirects the WEEAC with Dr. Rose Owens-West.

State AIE leaders expressed interest in using the tool during upcoming ELA standards adoptions: “I see this as a tool to help make our standards not so siloed and make them more integrated”; “The questions are very well stated and hopefully will lead to deep discussions and aha moments.”

The representatives agreed that the tool encourages users to consider how to meaningfully and respectfully incorporate AI/AN content into ELA standards in their states, including how to bring in Native languages, and how to seek input from tribal governments and organizations.

More specifically, participants shared that the tool’s “Authentic Resources” queries—such as “Does literature include realistic portrayals of modern life among American Indian and Alaska Native peoples?” and “Does literature treat retellings or traditional stories with respect as sacred stories (not myths, legends, or folktales)?”—looked useful in the following ways:

• “They will allow for open discussion and probing into some of the missing information.”
• “Multiple people can answer the questions and share with each other.”

“Although the tool [is] aimed at the State leaders,” added one participant, “the Authentic Resources questions are very relevant for district/school level considerations. These would be great questions to share with educators to consider when curriculum planning.”

For more background on how this tool was developed by WestEd, visit Upcoming Resources Will Help SEAs Incorporate Native Americans into English Language Arts (ELA) Standards.