North Dakota all-school Native history bill gains traction

A bill requiring that all North Dakota schools teach Native American history, culture, and treaty rights is gaining momentum in the statehouse, largely due to community engagement.

After voters requested the House of Representatives revisit a no-vote, lawmakers sent a new version of Senate Bill 2304 for a debate and vote on April 5. Rep. Ruth Buffalo, who authored the bill, said she hopes constituents “continue to contact their respective North Dakota House representatives and urge a green vote.”

The bill calls for “requiring all elementary and secondary public and nonpublic schools in the state to include curriculum on Native American history.”

“As a state, we work regularly with tribal nations, but knowledge of their histories is still a challenge for many of our residents,” said Buffalo. “This perpetuates a cycle of misunderstanding that continues to divide us.”

The Senate approved the bill and sent it to the House on March 16. The bill failed In the lower chamber floor vote on March 23 with a 47-47 vote; it needed 48 votes to pass. However, that didn’t deter advocates. The following day, many called their Congress members, asking them for a motion to reconsider.

Tribal Chair Mark Fox of the Three Affiliated Tribes, the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, also sent a letter to representatives: “On behalf of the MHA Nation and its enrolled members, we write to urge the House to reconsider action taken on Senate Bill 2304, an act requiring all elementary and secondary public and nonpublic schools in the state to include curriculum on Native American history.”

“The MHA Nation stands in full support of SB 2304 because it enriches the educational opportunities for school children of our great state,” Fox said, “and such opportunities lay the foundation for a greater understanding and appreciation for our state’s history, which undisputedly includes tribal history.”

Minutes before the following day’s House floor session, Buffalo obtained Rep. Steve Vetter’s promise to change his vote in favor of the legislation and move for reconsideration, she told Buffalo’s Fire. The motion passed with a 66-28 vote, sending the bill back to the House Education Committee for amendments. SB 2304 as amended received an 11-3 do-pass recommendation, according to Buffalo. “We are very thankful for Rep. Vetter,” she said.

Opponents of SB 2304 argue that K-12 schools already teach American Indian history and culture, saying that the legislation is unnecessary. In addition, they say, if a law mandates Native American history classes, then curriculum also must include other ethnic history, such as German American for example.

However, Billi Jo Beheler, a North Dakota Indian education expert and proponent of the bill, told Buffalo’s Fire, “SB 2304 will only enhance existing efforts to strengthen education in North Dakota. This will give the school system an opportunity to help deepen our students’ understanding of the unique relationships that exist between the United States federal government and the many tribal nations,” she said.

“We all have a shared vision, we can create a more balanced future,” said Beheler.

Buffalo is the first American Indian Democratic woman elected to the North Dakota Legislature. “I would argue that Native Americans have a unique relationship with the United States that predates the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence,” she said about her authorship of the legislation.

“A complete appreciation for our country’s history is incomplete if we do not include tribal nations,” she said. However, a state Legislature rule kept her from introducing the bill. The rule limits lawmakers to introducing no more than five bills per session.

Buffalo had reached her five-bill limit and asked Sen. Richard Marcellais to carry SB 2304 forward. Marcellais, too, had reached his limit to introduce it in the upper chamber. So, Senate Minority Leader Joan Heckaman introduced it for Buffalo. Heckaman became the prime sponsor and Marcellais a co-sponsor.

Darren Thompson, Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe and Tohono O’odham, is a contributing writer for Native News Online, Unicorn Riot, Powwows.com, and an independent filmmaker. He can be reached at darrenjthompson@hotmail.com