Middle School in Woodland opens Native American library. It’s one of a kind
Douglass Middle School in Woodland has opened its Native American library, which has almost 500 books featuring Indigenous stories and authors, a one of the kind in the Sacramento region.
The library is a part of Woodland Joint Unified School District’s Title VI’s program, which seeks to counteract the negative effects the education system has had on Native students in the K-12 system.
In California, Native students are disproportionately suspended at a 7.2% rate, with the statewide average being 3.5%. Native boys also face an expulsion rate four times higher than the statewide average, the highest of any ethnicity, according to a study from the California State University, San Diego.
One way to combat these rates is to implement programs specifically for Native students, said Joshina Cluff, the chair of the American Indian Parent Committee at Woodland’s school district.
The American Indian Parent Committee, in partnership with Mike Duncan of the Native Dads Network, created the library and the Native American Resource center it’s housed in.
“Native people have all different types of different jobs, different ways and different experiences that are shared in these books,” Cluff said. “It’s not only are Native students who can learn about that, but it’s also open to teachers and educators in the district.”
Pellelena Pulido, an eighth grader at Douglass Middle School, said she enjoys having the library. She is Caxcán and Otomí, which are Indigenous communities from Mexico.
“It makes me really happy to see that we have a big impact in the community and that they’re willing to do things like this for us,” Pulido said. “Our curriculum ... it’s mostly based off of white authors, but they have added more diversity.”
A report from the Cooperative Children’s Book Center found that less than one percent of American and Canadian children’s books and young adult literature are about Native people, the lowest out of any group surveyed. A 73%-majority of books feature white protagonists. Books about talking animals and inanimate objects like trucks and trains, were more commonly found than books featuring Native communities, the study found.
Telling the real history
The library’s literature tries to undo the negative effects the education system has had on Native students and tribal communities, Cluff said.
The history of Native Americans in California is told inaccurately, she added. For example, the Spanish missions in California have also been romanticized by mainstream curriculum, being negatively painted as a way to peacefully convert Native people to Christianity.
In reality, this time period forced Native people into Christian settlements, and was a part of California’s cultural genocide. More than 60,000 Indigenous people had died in these missions due to abuse, malnourishment and the spread of European diseases.
They also wants to show the beauty and culture of California tribes. Usually, when someone thinks of Native communities, their mind goes to more well-known nations like the Lakota or the Cree, causing them to be detached to acknowledging California’s people, Cluff added.
“(We’re) bringing real, authentic history to that discussion,” Cluff said. “At the same time, we are acknowledging the different strengths and rich cultural traditions that still exist for our Native students and our Native families.”
