How Native Americans Bring Depth of Understanding to the Nation’s National Parks
On National Park Service Founders Day, the museum looks at the changing relationship between Native Americans and the National Park Service through the eyes of three Native rangers and interpreters: “I think Native interpreters steeped in their own tribal cultures are inclined to go the extra mile to educate the public about other vantage points of an historical event or issue,” writes Roger Amerman (Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma). “I worked extremely hard to tell a complicated story. Even when I was off the clock, I was still thinking of how to add to the story of my park.”
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Returning to School in Indian Country during the Pandemic
As families across the United States begin the new school year amid the coronavirus pandemic, Native people face steeper obstacles than many other Americans. The eight U.S. counties with the largest Native populations have nearly double the national average of confirmed cases of Covid-19, and Native Americans have the highest hospitalization rate of any ethnic group in the country. Many Native families live in multigenerational households or in isolated areas with limited access to public services or the Internet. Many students attend Bureau of Indian Affairs schools administered by the federal government. With all this in mind, the museum asked Native students, teachers, parents, and school administrators across Indian Country to share their concerns about returning to school right now.