2022 Summit
The Institute for American Indian Education (IAIE) hosted its annual Summit on Friday, May 20th, 2022 from 9 A.M to 2:00 P.M at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center.
IAIE’s mission is to support community intergenerational well-being and educational outcomes of Indigenous Peoples by cultivating the quality of educational professionals through community engagement with Native Nations and collaborative partnerships with educational stakeholders. Drawing on what we heard in community forums conducted in Native Nations and communities across New Mexico in 2017 and 2018, we created six guiding principles.
1. Educator Preparation: Commit to culturally responsive educator preparation
2. Leadership: Affirm Indigenous governance and sovereignty in the preparation of educational leaders.
3. Curriculum: Center Indigenous knowledge and skills.
4. Language and Culture: Strengthen Indigenous languages and cultures.
5. Family and Life Preparation: Support families and educators to provide loving, healthy, and caring environments.
6. Individual and Community Health and Wellness: Center community and intergenerational well-being.
Guiding Principles
Indigenous Nations and Peoples across New Mexico have faced challenges brought on by the COVID Pandemic and little or no tangible responses to the Yazzie/Martinez ruling. In the face of these challenges, however, actions to transform education for Indigenous children and youth continue to happen across the state.
This year’s Summit revisited the guiding principles to determine their current relevancy in 2022 and for future years. Your input on the guiding principles is welcome and will guide the work of IAIE faculty and staff as we develop plans to address short- and long-term goals. Your input from the perspective of your community will guide IAIE and inform the formation of projects that the University of New Mexico’s (UNM) College of Education and Human Sciences (COEHS) and the UNM system, including main and branch campuses, should address and which projects should be led or facilitated by IAIE.
Ultimately, we addressed the following questions as they relate to each principle.
- What are your expectations for teachers and school administrators that serve Native students in your community and across the state of New Mexico?
- How should teachers and administrators be prepared to meet the expectations of your communities regarding the education of your students?
- What are next steps for UNM and COEHS to take to address these expectations? And which of these steps should be guided and facilitated by IAIE?
- How can UNM e.g., administrative leadership, program & department leadership, etc. be held accountable for any funding opportunities targeting the Yazzie/Martinez ruling?
Executive Report
