1. Comparing Wyoming and Bolivian Indigenous Education Policies and Practices Burnett Whiteplume Carie Green Social Justice Research Grant
2. First Encounters Airport exchanges Different Perspectives Apparent Separation
3. Problem Statement: In Bolivia and Wyoming Indigenous students are struggling in culturally-irrelevant classrooms. Policies and practices are evolving to address this.
4. Methodology Diverse Perspectives Co-constructed Narratives (Ellis, 2004) Site Visits Bolivia – three schools WY – two schools Preliminary Findings
5. Preliminary Study Language and Cultural Barriers Initial contacts Building relationships Developing trust Time constraints
6. Gaining Access Indian Congress of Indigenous Peoples Technical Assistance White Pre-service Teachers
7. Politics in both countriesA Brief History Bolivia Gained Independence in 1805. All citizens were considered equal. Wyoming Wind River Reservation (home of the Arapaho and Shoshone Tribes) established in 1868. American Indians recognized as citizens in 1924.
8. Bolivia Department of Education Nine states of Bolivia School Districts in States Local Schools
9. Wyoming Indian Schools Tribes School District Local School Public Education U.S. Wyoming School Districts Local School
10. Traditions & Customs Bolivia All equal Indigenous epistemologies interwoven Absence of Legal and Political basis Anyone can file a claim Wyoming Indian Removal Indian epistemologies suppressed Legal and Political basis Land is owned by Indians
11. Constitutional AmendmentEvoMorales Implementation of second language acquisition for government officials (teachers) Passed 2009 Normal School policy of language instruction Resistance Insufficient funding
12. Language and Culture Bolivia Wyoming Spanish Aymara Quencha Policy Have to English Arapaho Shoshone No Policy Want to
13. New Bolivian Education Policy AvelinoSiñani Passed December 2010 “Decolonizing, liberating, anti-imperialist, revolutionary and transformative.” Emphasis on early-childhood education Opposition Church- deny parents the right to choose religious education Teacher training state instituted
