In To Remain and Indian, Lomawaima and McCarty open our eyes to a different way of thinking about the history of Native American education. They push us to consider “power relations at the heart of federal politics” and to see them as “a sociocultural (and therefore ideological) process in which federal authorities appropriate politics to serve particular interests and objectives” (p. xxiii), noting that politics is a “practice of power”. The idea of a “safe zone” recurs throughout the book. This safe zone can be viewed as a moving target of federal policy, institutional practices, and individual Native and non-Native practices that the federal government deems non-threatening (p.10). In this framework, the authors provide many details about the struggle over cultural differences and the desire to maintain traditional educational practices within Native communities. The path of Native American education began when the first Europeans settled in North America. They did not recognize the practices or structures established by many Native Americans to educate their children. Europeans used education to assimilate indigenous people into the dominant culture, and as a result, Native Americans have long been stripped of their cultural identity through education. Settlers and the federal government have long established control over Native American education, and thus, Native American education has been a point of contention for many decades (Chen et al, 2013). Colonial educators created many traditions attempting to control Native American education, and these traditions have been passed down and maintained for over five centuries. In the second chapter, the authors outline the strengths of Native American education that include “indigenous theories… halfway through the document… continue to work toward standardization. Standardization is the opposite of democracy as it marginalizes natives. In the wake of the increasing standardization of practices in the United States, what will Native Americans' pursuit of education look like? Indeed, the educational experiences and outcomes of Native Americans have been disappointing due to inequality, racism, little or no expectations, and little to no cultural relevance in classrooms. To contribute to the vision of democracy that Lomawaima and McCarty write about, it is imperative that we continue to recognize barriers to educational attainment and begin to challenge deeply entrenched structures and operations that promote discrimination against marginalized populations. At the same time, we must offer culturally responsive curricula that respect and accommodate the needs and development of all students.
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