Native Education Collaborative

Together, we can create school environments where Native students thrive. The collaborative provides resources to connect state education agencies (SEAs), tribal education agencies, tribal representatives, local education agencies, and schools. These resources:
- Integrate knowledge from indigenous educators and the strengths of students’ Native communities
- Offer a place to start conversations with SEAs to foster understanding of Native student education
- Provide the flexibility to adapt to individual states
Getting Oriented to The Native Education Collaborative
The process explores six categories to support Native students’ educational needs. Each section below provides infographics, an in-depth brief, a summary of the brief, and additional resources. Use the navigation on the left to access resources and links by topic.
CCNetwork Resources

Circles of Reflection: A Toolkit for SEAs
Circles of Reflection: A Toolkit for SEAs is a self-guided, interactive opportunity for state education agencies (SEAs) to lead with equity and ensure Native students receive important academic and well-being supports. The online toolkit assists states, districts, and Tribes through three discussion-based Circles that examine what the SEA is currently doing for Native students, what Tribes and districts would like the SEA to be doing, and what initiatives take priority to turn into actionable plans.

Resources to Help States Advance Education for Native Students: Circles of Reflection
The Native Education Collaborative developed the Circles of Reflection to engage SEAs, tribes, and LEAs in rich, reflective discussions and strategic planning to provide high quality, motivating educational experiences that improve Native students’ academic attainment. This document provides detailed information and instructions for using the Circles of Reflection efficiently and effectively.

Advocating for Native Students: A Learning and Programming Toolkit
The National Comprehensive Center created this toolkit to support State Education Agencies (SEAs), Local Education Agencies (LEAs), and Tribal Education Departments (TEDs) when developing learning and programming that will advance education for Native students. The toolkit provides considerations and guidance for SEAs, LEAs, and TEDs to use when planning, implementing, and evaluating programming for Native students. SEAs, LEAs and TEDs should use the information in the toolkit in collaboration with each other to help ensure successful and effective programming for Native students.
Tribal Consultation Toolkit

Native Education Resources
Native Culture & Language
Native education is rooted in the cultures and languages indigenous to North America. State education agencies (SEAs) can help build American Indian and Alaska Native student connectedness to their school by integrating Native culture and language into the teaching and learning process. This integration fosters strong connections between what students experience in schools with their lives outside of school. It also promotes interest in learning academic content by making connections to students' home community.
SEAs can also provide rigorous, standards-aligned instructional resources and professional learning opportunities for teachers that focus on culturally responsive and culture-based curriculum, instructional practices, assessments, and appropriate supports that foster well-being of Native students.
CCNetwork Resources
Native Culture and Language: Culture Quick Reference
Native Culture and Language Brief
Native Culture and Language Infographic
External Resources
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Becoming Invisible: A Landscape Analysis of State Efforts to Provide Native American Education for All
This report, from the National Congress of American Indians, describes state efforts to bring high-quality educational content about indigenous people and communities into all K-12 classrooms in the United States.
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Crede Standards for Effective Pedagogy
The Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence (CREDE) Hawai’i Project developed the CREDE Standards for Effective Pedagogy for culturally and linguistically diverse students, which includes a rubric to measure the use of these standards.
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Culture-Based Education Curriculum Repository
The National Indian Education Association’s Culture-Based Education Curriculum Repository serves as a clearinghouse for quality curricula that is respectful of cultural and traditional knowledge and uses innovative instructional strategies to ensure indigenous students succeed.
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Culture-Based Education and its Relationship to Student Outcomes
This report, from the Kamehameha Schools Research and Evaluation Division, describes a study indicating that culture-based educational strategies positively impact Hawaiian student outcomes.
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Kalispel Language Immersion School (SNYOYOʔSPUʔÚSML)
Kalispel Language Immersion School (SnyoyoʔspuʔúsmL) is an alternative learning experience that provides funding for state-certified teachers to work one-on-one with students and families. Students receive immersion instruction in science, math, and reading.
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Mathematica's on the Evidence Podcast: Shift to At-Home and Online Learning Underscores the Importance of Culturally Responsive Education Practices in Schools
In this episode of Mathematica’s podcast, learn insights on implementing culturally responsive practices from a principal and an education researcher.
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Native American Education for All
IllumiNative launched its Native American Education For All initiative to deliver free digital lesson plans and activities for distance learning in response to COVID-19. The first phase of the initiative was released in partnership with the National Indian Education Association.
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Native American Parent Technical Assistance Center Library
This library, developed by the former Native American Parent Technical Assistance Center and hosted by Center for Parent Information Resources, includes materials created for Parent Centers for indigenous culture and outreach to indigenous communities.
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Native Knowledge 360
Native Knowledge 360, developed by the National Museum of the American Indian, includes resources for teaching and opportunities for professional development.
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Yup’ik First Language Program
Lower Kuskokwim’s Yup’ik First Language program delivers instruction to students in the heritage language by a certified first-language teacher beginning in kindergarten. The transition to English increases gradually each year at a rate determined by each school’s plan of service.
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Zinn Education Project
The Zinn Education Project provides classroom resources for educators to introduce students to a more accurate, complex, and engaging understanding of history than traditional textbooks and curricula.
Tribal Consultation & Sovereignty
Tribal sovereignty refers to the right of American Indian and Alaska Native tribes to determine their own future. Tribes have the right to operate as self-governing nations through their elected tribal governments.
Tribes have the right to educate their citizens. As sovereign nations, tribes exercise autonomy over education, such as by participating in decision-making for local schools serving Native students, developing and selecting culturally relevant curricula, and identifying advisory council members to ensure schools make the right decisions on behalf of Native students.
The Every Student Succeeds Act requires that State Education Agencies (SEAs) and Local Education Agencies (LEAs) consult with tribes about the education of Native students in matters related to fiscal planning, budgeting, education resources, and culturally relevant program evaluation to measure effectiveness.
CCNetwork Resources
Tribal Consultation Toolkit
Tribal Sovereignty and Consultation: Tribal Education Quick Reference
Tribal Sovereignty and Consultation Infographic
Tribal Sovereignty and Consultation: Collaboration with Tribes
External Resources
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Best Practices for Tribal Consultation
The National Indian Education Association developed resources for states and districts to implement best practices when engaging in tribal consultation.
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Frequently Asked Questions: ESEA, Section 8538—Consultation with Indian Tribes and Tribal Organization
U.S. Department of Education developed a Frequently Asked Questions guide for Section 8538 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), regarding consultation with Indian tribes and tribal organizations.
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Tribal Consultation Pre-Planning Tool for Tribes
In 2018, the Northwest Comprehensive Center developed a Tribal Consultation Pre-Planning Tool for Tribes to assist with more effective consultation processes with local districts.
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Tribal Leaders Toolkit
The National Congress of American Indians’ Tribal Leaders Toolkit is designed to support tribal decision making for schools and students.
Promising Programs & Practices
States have the resources to identify innovative local programs that show promise, support their further development, and disseminate information about them across the state. Efforts such as these assign importance to the identification and support of promising programs and practices that exist throughout schools, including those initiated by tribes, schools, districts, and resource partners.
CCNetwork Resources
Promising Programs and Practices Brief
Promising Programs and Practices: Support of Native Education Quick Reference
Promising Programs and Practices: Program Examples
External Resources
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Stimulating Innovation (or Making Innovation Meaningful Again)
The Center on Innovations in Learning’s Handbook on Innovations and Learning describes states’ intentional search for locally generated promising programs and practices.
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Project Evident
Project Evident offers services to states and districts focused on using evidence to improve decision making and drive better and more sustainable outcomes.
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Proving Ground
Proving Ground, out of Harvard University’s Center for Education Policy Research, helps states and districts identify and test evidence-based solutions to specific challenges to student achievement.
Effective Teachers & Leaders
Effective teachers and school leaders provide educational opportunities that prepare Native students to succeed in college and their careers. States can help in addressing gaps in the pipeline of qualified teachers and leaders through professional development and support for recruitment and retention.
Ideally, teachers and leaders would share the same cultural background as the students, or Local Education Agencies (LEAs) would have high expectations of school staff to use culturally appropriate practices.
Additionally, State Education Agencies (SEAs) could engage in efforts to interest Native students in pursuing education careers and work with colleges and universities (including tribal colleges) to recruit Native candidates for teacher education programs. SEAs could also provide professional learning opportunities on cultural relevance to all school staff.
CCNetwork Resources
Teachers and Leaders Brief
Teachers and Leaders: Native Teachers, Culture, and History Quick Reference
External Resources
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American Indian Teacher Program
The American Indian Teacher Program prepares indigenous students to become teachers for urban schools with significant numbers of indigenous students.
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I LEAD Project
Montana State University – Bozeman’s I LEAD project recruits, educates, certifies, and places indigenous educators into administrative positions in schools with high populations of indigenous students.
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Indigenous Knowledge for Effective Education Program
Indigenous Knowledge for Effective Education Program (IKEEP), at the University of Idaho, recruits and certifies culturally responsive indigenous teachers using a cohort model.
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The Liber Institute
The Liber Institute builds the leadership capacity of teachers and principals to redesign the cultural and instructional practices of schools. The Institute organizes its work in three interwoven strands: a culturally responsive teaching fellowship for teachers, transformational leadership coaching for school leaders, and a liberatory design lab focused on unearthing and incubating local approaches to building more equitable schools and institutions.
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NACA Inspired Schools network
The NACA Inspired Schools Network works with fellows who are committed to indigenous communities to establish schools throughout the country that will create strong leaders who are academically prepared, secure in their identities, healthy, and ultimately working to transform their communities.
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Arizona Native American Language and Culture Certificate
Arizona is one of several states offer Native American Language and Culture Certificates authorizing individuals to teach indigenous languages and cultures of specific tribes and pueblos.
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New Mexico Native American Language and Culture Certificate
New Mexico is one of several states offer Native American Language and Culture Certificates authorizing individuals to teach indigenous languages and cultures of specific tribes and pueblos.
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Oregon Native American Language and Culture Certificate
Oregon is one of several states offer Native American Language and Culture Certificates authorizing individuals to teach indigenous languages and cultures of specific tribes and pueblos.
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Native Education Certificate Program
The University of Washington School of Education’s Native Education Certificate Program is designed for students who plan to teach indigenous students.
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Sapsikala (Teacher) Program
The Sapsikala (Teacher) Program uses a cohort-within-a-cohort model for students to learn Indigenous methodologies for teaching while obtaining Oregon teacher licensure.
College & Career Readiness & Access
College and career preparation begin in pre-school and continue throughout the K-12 grades. Native students deserve schools that are attentive to their needs and aspirations.
Students’ progress, relative to academic standards, should proceed in step with their expanding understanding of their continuing education and career choice possibilities. Schools give students pathways to enter fields beyond those that are immediately accessible in their local environment.
State Education Agencies (SEAs) play a major role in setting standards, providing programs, and encouraging local efforts that build each student’s academic and personal competency. They also help shepherd the transition from K-12 to college and careers, such as by facilitating resource networks for Native students transitioning to college and working with tribes to identify culturally relevant career pathways.
CCNetwork Resources

College and Career Readiness and Access Brief
College and Career Readiness and Access: Improving Education Quick Reference
External Resources
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The American Indian KnowledgeBase
The American Indian KnowledgeBase, developed by the South Central Comprehensive Center, is an online resource for educators to use in closing the achievement gap for indigenous students.
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The American Indian Measurable Success Initiative
The American Indian Measurable Success Initiative implements the Colorado Legacy Schools Model to increase the number of indigenous students enrolling and succeeding in advanced placement math, science, and English courses.
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College Horizons
College Horizons is a 6-day “crash course” that prepares students for the college application process.
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Policy Analysis: State and Federal Policy, Native American Youth
The Education Commission of the States’ Policy Analysis: State and Federal Policy, Native American Youth, describes the indigenous youth population, educational challenges, and state and federal policies to address needs.
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Project 3C
Project 3C, funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Indian Education, provides indigenous students with experiences and skills necessary to: accomplish goals successfully; increase similarities between their interests and career choices; and broaden their college and career opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
Behavioral Health
To create school environments with behavioral health supports that enhance the well-being of Native students, State Education Agencies (SEAs) can assist and encourage Local Education Agencies (LEAs) in the implementation of appropriate policies, practices, and programs that attend to students’ physical and social-emotional development and well-being.
This approach includes instruction and support for all students and targeted interventions to help students suffering from the effects of trauma. To offset gaps in mental health for Native youth, SEAs can play a major role in providing support for early detection and prevention of mental illness through school-based services.
Culturally appropriate strategies to improve physical and behavioral health are available, and SEAs can work with Tribal Education Departments (TEDs) and LEAs to increase awareness and high-quality implementation.
CCNetwork Resources

Behavioral Health Brief
Behavioral Health: Tribal Best Practices Quick Reference
Behavioral Health: Cultural Opportunities
Physical and Behavioral Health: You Have the Strength of 7 Generations
External Resources
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CASEL Program Guides: Effective SEL Programs
Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) Program Guide: Effective Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Programs provides information for evaluating and selecting social and emotional learning programs for schools.
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CASEL SEL Resources During COVID-19
CASEL President Karen Niemi notes that “when physical distancing is deemed necessary, social and emotional connectedness is even more critical.” CASEL’s COVID-19-related resources include guides for school educators, parents, and anyone who works with children. They also offer a free, weekly webinar series.
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Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Stress and Coping - COVID-19
In this resource from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), learn how people react differently to stressful situations, how to take care of yourself and your community, and how to safely come out of quarantine. Also find information for parents, people at higher risk, and responders.
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Confident Parents, Confident Kids: Supporting Social and Emotional Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic
This article reviews home-schooling tips and how to create a coping kit to deal with anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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COVID-19 Materials for Tribes
Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health produced materials related to COVID-19 for tribes to distribute for a variety of audiences, including children.
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National Child Stress Network's Coping in Hard Times Fact Sheet
These fact sheets from the National Child Stress Network discuss how challenging financial circumstances affect communities, their organizations, their members’ sense of safety and ability to calm, self- and community-efficacy, connectedness, and hope. The fact sheets are geared toward community organizations and leaders, high school and college-age youth, parents, and school staff.
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Families and Schools Together
Families and Schools Together (FAST) is a parent-mediated multi-family group program for indigenous children. An analysis of FAST found statistically significant improvement on indicators around aggressive behavior, withdrawnness, and academic competence for participating students.
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First Kids First Initiative
The First Kids First Initiative is a collaborative effort between the National Congress of American Indians, National Indian Education Association, National Indian Child Welfare Association, and the National Indian Health Board. Under this initiative, these organizations developed a resource book on factors that help indigenous youth thrive and risks that may prevent them from thriving.
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National Native Children's Trauma Center
The National Native Children’s Trauma Center (NNCTC) is a Category 2 Treatment and Service Adaptation Center within the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. NNCTC focuses on increasing service providers’ ability to respond to the trauma-related needs of indigenous children and youth in culturally appropriate ways.
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Resources for Supporting Children's Emotional Well-being During the COVID-19 Pandemic
These resources includes guidance, recommendations, and resources provided by child trauma experts at Child Trends and the Child Trauma Training Center at the University of Massachusetts.
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Resources to Support Students During the Pandemic from the Center on PBIS
The Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) created resources to provide effective practices for guiding student behavior in remote learning spaces. The resources include Responding to the COVID-19 Outbreak through PBIS; Supporting Families with PBIS at Home; Creating a PBIS Behavior Teaching Matrix for Remote Instruction; and Getting Back to School after Disruptions: Resources for Making Your School Year Safer, More Predictable, and More Positive.
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Restorative Justice: Resources for Schools
These resources cover information on implementing restorative justice in schools and provides examples of successful restorative justice programs.
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SAMHSA: Coping with Stress During Infectious Disease Outbreaks
In this fact sheet, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) provides tips for coping with stress during an infectious disease outbreak. It describes common signs of stress and how to know when to get help.
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SAMHSA Tribal Training and Technical Assistance Center
The SAMHSA Tribal Training and Technical Assistance Center has a series of mental health webinars for indigenous youth and their families.
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Talking with Children About COVID-19
Talking with Children about COVID-19 is a resource for adults that describes on how they can talk to young children about COVID-19. It was developed by the Urban Indian Health Institute.
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What Shapes the Health of Native American Children in New Mexico
What Shapes the Health of Native American Children in New Mexico is from the NB3 Foundation, a national indigenous nonprofit organization. It highlights relevant research on the health of indigenous children in New Mexico to raise awareness, help guide discussions, and support policy developments that improve future wellbeing of indigenous children.