FHBC members attend Idaho Council on Indian Affairs
By ROSELYNN YAZZIE
Office of Public Affairs
BOISE – The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes presented two topics at the Idaho Council on Indian Affairs (ICIA) meeting on January 23.
The first presentation voiced the Tribes’ opposition to the Idaho Department of Education's approval of the PragerU curriculum in Idaho’s K-12 classrooms. It was brought forth by Jessica James, the Tribal Education Program Manager, and Michael Steele, the Tribe’s Policy Analyst.
PragerU is a non-profit organization founded by syndicated talk show host Dennis Prager. Through 2024, eight states have authorized the material for use in the classroom. Concerning to the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes are lessons that teach the impacts of Europeans on Indigenous cultures, interactions between European colonists and established societies in North America, and various other lessons to include inaccurate or biased perspectives on Christopher Columbus and Thanksgiving.
Of concern, before the October 2024 announcement of it being an option for Idaho schools, the Department of Education did not consult with Idaho’s tribes to validate the materials, although holding Tribal consultations is mandated by federal statutes as a condition to receiving federal funds to support educating Native children in public schools.
During the presentation, the audience viewed a lesson titled, “Are we living on stolen land?”, https://www.prageru.com/video/are-we-living-on-stolen-land and pointed out the inappropriateness for Native students as well as non-Native students, to view the material.
James also referenced a December 2024 letter to the Idaho Indian Education Committee and called on it to ensure that Tribal consultation through the government-to-government process takes place.
Furthermore, James offered the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes and other federally recognized Tribes of Idaho as a resource to the Idaho Department of Education for collaboration to tell the American Indian story in a non-discriminative and accurate way that meets Idaho education standards.
Also expressing their opposition to PragerU were the Shoshone-Paiute Tribe, Kootenai, Coeur d’Alene, and Nez Perce Tribes. Resulting from these efforts, the ICIA drafted a letter to the Idaho Department of Education expressing its concerns regarding the offering of this material to school districts, and the Idaho Department of Education scheduled a consultation in March of this year.
The second topic presented to the ICIA by the Tribes was an amendment to the Idaho Safe Haven Act. Passed by Idaho’s legislature in 2001, the Safe Haven Act authorized safe locations at hospitals and fire stations for parents to surrender a newborn baby for adoption. This act did not incorporate provisions to apply the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) if the child is Indian.
Presented by Blake Youde, the Tribe’s legislative advisor, the Tribes highlighted additional proposed language that would require the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare to adhere to ICWA in the event an Indian Child is surrendered by a parent for adoption. The amendment was introduced to the senate on February 5 and is currently in the state senate’s Health and Welfare Committee for debate.
Earlier that day there was the Five Tribes of Idaho Meeting at the U of I College of Law in Boise. They received an update on the Native Law program, which includes Shoshone-Bannock student Dosa Nappo. Plans for a future law clinic that will allow a student to practice under an attorney, further details will be announced soon. In addition, during the meeting, Idaho’s Tribes agreed to begin efforts to establish a Tribal Education Committee to address K-12 education concerns.
From February 10-13, Fort Hall Business Council Vice Chairwoman Donna Thompson and Sergeant at Arms Ronald Todd Appenay are attending the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) Winter Session. The common messages shared at the event is that Indian Tribes are political entities, and not racial classes. Thus, Indian Country must fight to ensure the U.S. Government fulfills its Trust and Treaty responsibilities to Indian County by providing advanced and non-discretionary appropriations to Tribal Nations.
They are also scheduled to meet with the Idaho delegations to relay this message and share concerns and impacts if the Federal Government disrupts funding to the Tribes’ healthcare, law enforcement, social services, education, and economic development programs.
On February 24 and 25 FHBC Chairman Lee Juan Tendoy will testify to the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, the committee responsible to fund the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and other agencies that support Tribal programs, in addition to continue meetings with Idaho’s congressional delegation.
