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[article provided by LH. Thanks!]

http://www.omaha.com/Omaha/OWH/StoryViewer/1,3153,302874,00.html
Published Thursday February 17, 2000

Tribe Finds an Answer Lies Within

BY HENRY J. CORDES
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITERS
and LISA PRUE

Macy, Neb. - Growing up on the Omaha Indian Reservation,
Delberta Lyons often dreamed of becoming a teacher.

Delberta Lyons once worked as a janitor at Omaha Nation School
on the Omaha Reservation. A joint program between the school
and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln is providing the classes
she and 16 others need to become teachers.

When she was in the first grade, she thought it was neat that
teachers got to write on the board anytime they wanted and had
a desk full of pens, tape and supplies. As she grew older, she
was intrigued by the ability of teachers to touch the lives of children.

But the dream always seemed out of her reach. Raising a young
family on the reservation, college was neither accessible nor
affordable. She did briefly get a job at a reservation school - as a
janitor.

"I always felt I had something inside me, the potential to do more,"
she said.

Now Lyons is realizing both her potential and her dream.

Under an innovative program funded primarily by a $1 million
federal grant, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the Omaha
Nation School District are bringing teacher education classes right
to the Omaha Tribe's reservation, 70 miles north of Omaha.

Not only does the program provide new opportunities for people
on the impoverished reservation, it also will help address one of
the most oft-cited problems in Indian education nationally: a lack
of American Indian teachers.

Even in schools with large Indian populations, less than 16 percent
of the teaching jobs are held by Indians, a figure many say contributes
to the low achievement and high dropout rates among Indian children.
Of the four reservation schools in Nebraska, only eight of 133 teachers
- 6 percent - are Indian.

As members of the community, experts say, Indian teachers would
relate better to students and their parents, feel more ownership in the
school and help stabilize reservation teaching forces that have been
plagued by high turnover.

Indian teachers might be more sensitive to the learning styles of
Indian children and be more committed to seeing them succeed. And
they would provide much-needed Indian role models for Indian
children.

"With local people we are really able to provide teachers whose
heads and hearts are in the right place," said Cheryl Medearis, a
South Dakota Rosebud Sioux who serves as education chairwoman
for the tribe's college.

To address the lack of native teachers, many in Indian country are
talking today about growing their own. Omaha Nation is among a
number of reservation schools across the country that have
launched Indian teacher-training initiatives in recent years.

The drive for more native teachers will soon receive a big boost
nationally. This year, the U.S. Department of Education is planning
to spend $10 million on a plan to train 1,000 new Indian teachers.

"If young Indians see people from their community in the classroom,
they begin to think, 'Hey, I can do that,' " said David Beaulieu, director
of Indian Education in the U.S. Department of Education.

The "grow your own" movement may actually have its roots in the
effort to start tribal colleges on reservations over the last three
decades. More than 30 tribes have started their own accredited
colleges to train teachers, nurses and other workers to fill
professional jobs on reservations that have traditionally been
held by non-Indians.

The Rosebud Sioux Tribe started training teachers on the
reservation at its Sinte Gleska University in 1971. Tribal officials
say the effort came out of years of frustration in watching non-Indian
teachers drive to their homes off the reservation at 4 p.m. every
day, having little connection to the community.

Now about a third of the teachers on the Rosebud Reservation
are American Indian - still too low, tribal officials say, but a long
way from the one or two who were there 30 years ago.

When Omaha Nation Superintendent Todd Chessmore first took
over the district three years ago, he was struck by the lack of Indian
educators - only two on a staff of 45 teachers. He said he also
was struck by the many intelligent and talented people in the
community who were working as secretaries and laborers.

Talking to them, he learned many had the desire to teach. "It was
a shame to see such quality people who were not having the
opportunity to pursue their dreams," he said.

Chessmore and UNL officials began talking about doing something
about it. They landed a federal grant and last fall launched their
joint teacher training program.

The 17 prospective teachers in the program spend their mornings
as classroom aides in the school. They then take their classes in
the afternoon, taught by UNL instructors who travel to the reservation
daily. A $500-a-month stipend also helps the prospective teachers
pay living expenses as they train.

By the end of the five-year grant, it's hoped the program will have
produced 30 Indian teachers.

Lyons is planning on being one. She said she's living a dream - not
just for herself, but for her people.

"Other kids will see these teachers and they will pick up on that,"
she said. " 'This is my neighbor. I can do what my neighbor does.' "
 

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