A school where students can be 'unapologetically Indigenous'

' The Oceti Sakowin Community Academy is allowing youth to reclaim knowledge and culture taken from their ancestors.

The faces of over a dozen first-grade students light up as they’re asked to sing the ABCs in Lakota, eager to show off the language skills they’ve learned at the Oceti Sakowin Community Academy.

At this school, Lakota language and culture aren’t an afterthought or addition to the school’s curriculum, it’s what the curriculum revolves around. Now, as the school makes its way through its second year, staff and administrators continue to Indigenize learning.

The Oceti Sakowin Community Academy first opened its doors September 2022, marking itself as Rapid City’s first Indigenous-led school. In addition to lessons in math, social studies, and reading, students learn Lakota stories, many of which were almost forgotten after the boarding school era. . .

Oceti Sakowin Community Academy is part of a larger network of schools, the NACA (Native American Community Academy) Inspired Schools Network. A majority of schools are in New Mexico. Local community members such as Bowman wondered how this initiative could be brought back to Rapid City.'>>>

https://ictnews.org/news/a-school-where-students-can-be-unapologetically-indigenous?