Josh Standing Elk shares creation stories from tribes in North America as he stands in for a teacher during a fifth-grade social studies lesson at Moses Elementary School.
Unit One introduces migration. Students are still learning about the disputable Bering land bridge theory, the idea that the first inhabitants of North America crossed from Siberia to Alaska at least 16,500 years ago. But additional teachings are expanding students’ horizons by exploring different Native cultures.
It’s important to have both perspectives, said Standing Elk, who became Bismarck Public School’s Indigenous curriculum and instruction specialist this year. Prior to landing this role, he worked as a teacher at Moses Elementary School for the previous seven years.
He started teaching second-grade students after completing his student teaching program at the school. Then, he progressed to third and fourth grade. During his last two years as a teacher, he taught first grade, because he wanted to teach kids how to read.
“If you were to take a look back into day one as a teacher, you see the growth from beginning to end, but you can see it happening on a daily basis in first grade,” Standing Elk said.
While he misses walking into the classroom to see his student’s smiling faces, he’s found another purpose. Standing Elk strives to create a line of communication between BPS and the local Indigenous community to provide more resources to the district’s Indigenous students.
Lately, Standing Elk has been focused on finding Indigenous authors and having them visit Bismarck’s elementary schools for read-alouds. Last month BPS invited Dawn Quigley, a children’s and Young Adult author, to read and talk about her books with students, an activity organized by Standing Elk.
He tries to find diverse books that align with the Bismarck Public School’s current curriculum and to add culturally relevant extension activities. Sometimes this is drumming, playing games or making a craft. Standing Elk believes it’s important for Indigenous students to see representation in schools and in various career paths.
“It was a time for students to see an Indigenous author to give them the opportunity to see themselves as an author,” said Standing Elk. “It’s possible for them to [one day] write books for children.”
When Standing Elk was in school, he only had two Native educators throughout his K-12 education. But those teachers had a huge impact on his life, as they added representation to the classroom. Frequently, he said, he thinks about those who’ve helped him get into this role. “Those teachers really inspired me to be the educator that I am today,” said Standing Elk. “It really does make a difference.”
He works to implement more lessons from an Indigenous perspective. For Thanksgiving, he wants to make sure the holiday includes a multitude of perspectives. He tries to accommodate and figure out what’s appropriate for each grade.
“For those younger grades, I think that’s a lot to handle what Thanksgiving really was,” said Standing Elk. “But I think it provides a form of discourse for some of those older grades, as well as middle and high school.”
The curriculum specialist also wants teachers to feel comfortable seeking out resources for both their non-Native and American Indian students. Most importantly, the educator wants all educators to continue building relationships with Native students to learn from them and get a better understanding of how to best serve student needs.
“I feel like every teacher has their toolbox of what they do best with and I think that finding their strengths, then relating culture to it, really helps our students,” he said.
As he continues progressing in his role as an Indigenous Curriculum and Instruction Specialist, he hopes to create positive change for the district’s American Indian students.
“There’s so much to be done, but I just take the little wins each day,” Standing Elk said.