This book is the product of a study that explored the conflicts between the Mohawk community at Akwesasne and the non-Native bordertown communities during the process of creating and implementing a cultural competency teacher-training program. The work contributes to the growing scholarship on the importance of culturally relevant pedagogy by offering a comprehensive, system-wide approach engaging educators at the district level. The research focuses on the process of intercultural dialogue and relationship building between school districts and the Mohawk community in order to improve teacher performance and student academic outcomes.
The research was conducted in an off-reservation school setting with a growing population of Native students. Bordertown communities often have long-standing, complex relationships with neighboring reservations and tribal members. This educational context, rooted in historical transgressions, can create an unwelcoming and counterproductive learning environment for Native students attending these schools. The bordertown school setting, though common for many Native American students, has not been the focus of any academic book to date. This study addresses this gap in the research on Native education by giving voice to Native educators and parents in a bordertown school district.
The study was made possible through the collaborative efforts of Native and non-Native educators in Farmingdale,1 a town bordering the Mohawk Territory at Akwesasne. Akwesasne is formally recognized in the United States as the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation. Geographically, it straddles the international border between the United States and Canada, divided by the St. Lawrence River. It includes land both in New York State on the American side and in the provinces of both Quebec and Ontario, including Cornwall Island, on the Canadian side. The area is roughly 33 square miles with a total population of 14,000.
Farmingdale is an off-reservation, culturally heterogeneous school setting that serves a growing population of Mohawk and other Native American students. European Americans settled in Farmingdale in the early 1800s. Farmingdaleās population later increased with the rise of immigrants in the early twentieth century but has since experienced a decline, with loss of industry resulting in waning work opportunities. Consequently, the Native student population in both Akwesasne and Farmingdale continues to rise, while the non-Native student population has shrunk. Over the course of these demographic shifts, the communities and the schools have struggled to adapt and fully meet the needs of their diverse student population.
Our study demonstrates how the discordant relationship between the communities negatively impacts students, teachers, and the district as a whole. The goals of the study are twofold. First, it documents the evolution of cross-cultural relationships and interactions in this diverse schooling context. Second, by fostering non-Native teachersā growth in cultural competency, the project helps usher in concrete changes in school experiences for Native American students.
Based on the results of the study, a research-based model of Native cultural competency teacher training applicable to other regional and national school settings is proposed. In doing so, we address a gap in both educational theory and classroom practice. Although several studies have addressed cross-cultural challenges that individual teachers face within their classroom practice, few have leveraged cross-cultural collaboration in the service of broad-based, district-wide systemic change in reservation bordertown communities. Further, current scholarship (Castagno & Brayboy, 2008; Strouf & Desmond, 2016) calls for research and teacher professional development that places Native sovereignty and self-determination at the forefront of the analysis of cultural disconnect in classrooms. Often, teacher professional development and related research prioritizes culture and ethnicity over political identity (Castagno & Brayboy, 2008). This research and professional development goes beyond cultural mismatch by focusing on Native political identity in schooling and addressing non-Native racism.
In an effort to capitalize on the strengths of the various stakeholders involved in the creation of the cultural competency program, we used ethnographic qualitative data collection techniques, including interviews, focus groups, cross-cultural educator group meetings, and qualitative teacher surveys. The cross-cultural issues at stake in the schools and community are rooted in centuries-old historical transgressions and, as such, are deeply entrenched. Clearly, a single professional development seminar can neither fully address the complexity of this relationship nor every communityās challenges. Native communities and cultural norms vary greatly from Nation to Nation and, like any community, Farmingdale and Akwesasne have unique features. For example, Native students from Akwesasne are free to choose which off-reservation school to attend, a choice that students in other settings may not have.
While the study examines a particular school environment, its findings and implications are broadly applicable. Cultural and socio-economic divisions hamper teacher effectiveness and student performance in many schools. Moreover, the process of bringing together various stakeholders across cultural lines may be useful for other settings with a population of Native students and a majority of mainstream teachers and administrators. Finally, a comprehensive program with ongoing support for non-Native teachers, as outlined in this book, begins a conversation that will likely result in a more positive environment and better outcomes for all Native American students.
References
Castagno, A., & Brayboy, B. (2008). Culturally responsive schooling for indigenous youth: A review of the literature. Review of Educational Research, 78(4), 941ā993.Crossref
Strouf, K., & Desmond, Y. (2016, October 3). Accountable to culture? The role of research and relevance in U.S. Tribal Education Policy. Teacherās College Record.
Footnotes
1
Names of towns and people have been changed to preserve the anonymity of the participants. The term Haudenosaunee
refers to the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy including Mohawk
and Onondaga. The terms ānon-Native
ā and āmainstream
ā refer to teachers who represent the dominant culture
.
Ā