An Overdue Reckoning on Indigenous Education

An Overdue Reckoning on Indigenous Education

Author: Andrew Lefkowits, Val Brown, Courtney Mykytyn February 16, 2022 Duration: 1:03:52
We keep a running list of ideas for episodes – topics to cover, guests we’d like to interview, conversations with parents we’d like to have – and near the top of that list, for far longer than we’d care to admit, has been a conversation about Native and Indigenous education. Finding the right voices to tell the right stories is always a challenge, but, if we’re being honest, it felt somehow acceptable that we hadn’t gotten to it yet. The conversation we haver to share today completely changed that for us, and is a great opportunity to recommit ourselves to knowing better and doing better. Dr. Susan C. Faircloth (https://www.chhs.colostate.edu/bio-page/susan-faircloth-1190) is an enrolled member of the Coharie Tribe, and a professor of education at Colorado State University. She has spent her career working on Native issues, and brings a wealth of historical knowledge, as well as family history that brings to light the challenges facing Native people, especially students, today. From Native boarding schools to her own struggles finding a school for her Native daughter, she shares deeply personal stories that force us to reckon with the repairs that are needed to begin the healing process for the sovereign Native tribes and nations on whose land we currently reside. LINKS: We Had a Little Real Estate Problem: The Unheralded Story of Native Americans & Comedy – Kliph Nesteroff (https://bookshop.org/a/18658/9781982103057) An Afro-Indigenous History of the United States – Kyle T Mays (https://bookshop.org/a/18658/9780807011683%20) Richard Henry Pratt (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Henry_Pratt) The Coharie Tribe (https://coharietribe.org%20/) Native Land Finder (http://native-land.ca%20/) List of Federally Recognized Tribes (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_federally_recognized_tribes_in_the_United_States) The East Carolina Indian School (https://www.ncpedia.org/media/principal-and-students-east) American Indian Leadership Program (https://old.ed.psu.edu/eps/edldr/ailp) John Tippeconnic (https://isearch.asu.edu/profile/1623495) The Trail of Tears (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trail_of_Tears) Use these links or start at our Bookshop.org storefront (https://bookshop.org/shop/IntegratedSchools) to support local bookstores, and send a portion of the proceeds back to us. Join our Patreon (http://patreon.com/integratedschools) to support this work, and connect with us and other listeners to discuss these issues even further. Let us know what you think of this episode, suggest future topics, or share your story with us – @integratedschls (https://twitter.com/integratedschls) on twitter, IntegratedSchools (http://facebook.com/integratedschools) on Facebook, or email us podcast@integratedschools.org. We are a proud member of The Connectd Podcast Network. (http://connectdpodcasts.com/) The Integrated Schools Podcast was created by Courtney Mykytyn and Andrew Lefkowits. This episode was produced by Andrew Lefkowits and Val Brown. It was edited, and mixed by Andrew Lefkowits. Music by Kevin Casey. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

It’s easy to talk about school integration in the abstract, but what does it actually look like on the ground for families navigating these choices every day? The Integrated Schools Podcast moves beyond theory into the messy, personal realities of race, parenting, and educational equity. Hosted by Andrew Lefkowits, a White dad from Denver, and Val Brown, a Black mom from North Carolina, along with co-author Courtney Mykytyn, this podcast centers conversations that deliberately sit with discomfort and complexity. Each episode brings in voices from across the spectrum-parents making tough school decisions, educators in the trenches, researchers, and community organizers-to explore why our schools remain so segregated and what it truly means to work toward integration. You’ll hear candid stories about navigating predominantly white spaces, confronting personal bias, and the small, daily actions that either challenge or uphold systemic inequities. This isn’t a podcast offering easy answers; instead, it provides a necessary space to listen, reflect, and engage with the nuanced layers of a deeply entrenched issue. The dialogue here is built on the belief that honest, sometimes difficult talk is a prerequisite for meaningful change, both in our schools and in ourselves.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

The Integrated Schools Podcast
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