American Indian Curriculum Services
The newly created American Indian Curriculum Services Office is designed to provide faculty, staff, and students
in the School of Education with information on Wisconsin’s American Indian history,
culture, and tribal sovereignty. The office was originally created by "Act 31" legislation which emerged
from the recommendation of the 1984 Ad Hoc Commission on Racism, which convened
to address the racism and ignorance demonstrated towards American Indians over treaty
hunting and fishing rights. Act 31 charges
the state of Wisconsin with creating a curriculum for grades 4-12 on American Indian
treaty rights. It includes mandates for school programming to give students an understanding
of different value systems, cultures, and human relations. Through this act, schools
are required to teach American Indian studies at least three times throughout a
student’s K-12 career and to maintain instructional materials which appropriately
reflect diverse cultures. Finally, and most impacting the programs at the University
of Wisconsin, is that each teacher seeking a license from the state needs to have
instruction in American Indian history culture and tribal sovereignty. However,
meeting the requirement of Act 31 is more than an obligation for certification;
it represents our university’s commitment to serve our diverse communities and the
American Indian tribes and bands who reside within its borders. The Act 31 Coordinator,
Ryan Comfort (KBIC Ojibwe) is currently working to connect with various partners
in the School of Education and across the State of Wisconsin to develop the Act
31 implementation plan for the School of Education. His office is in 265 Education
Sciences.
Visit the office website at: http://aics.education.wisc.edu more information.