A Lakȟóta Studies Curriculum for the Next Generation

By Maka Clifford '05

posted on February 23, 2014 

Since graduating Red Cloud in 2005, Maka Akan Najin Clifford  has earned his bachelors degree at the University of San Francisco, and a Masters in Peace & Human Rights Education at Columbia University. In this reflection, he addresses his hopes for revitalizing Red Cloud’s Lakȟóta Studies curriculum for the next generation of Lakota leaders. 


Lakȟóta Studies is a vital and core requirement for students here at Red Cloud Indian School. The mission of Lakȟota Studies classes are to provide students with a core understanding of Lakȟóta history from origin stories to early contact, to conflict, to the reservation system, and to our modern politics. This is a lofty goal for a semester-long course even focused on one tribe, as it is.  

Often our curriculum barely scratches the surface of contemporary Lakȟóta life. And the students are left wondering what is next for them. With centuries of defeat and struggle, peppered with the lasting impacts of unfair policies, it is easy for students to come away from Lakȟóta Studies feeling defeated rather than empowered. There is much to be said about the astounding qualities of the Lakȟóta culture and the compelling victories of the civil rights movement for Indian people. However, the overpowering need to cover all important elements of Lakȟóta history can sometimes water those down in favor of exploring other, less joyful moments.

The result is often a limited connection between what happened in the past and what is possible for the future—a problem not limited to Lakȟóta studies but to history in general. Lakȟóta students desperately need to make that connection and to know that they are participants in a world that they belong to rather than excluded from. They are fully capable of being equal to and as knowledgeable as their peers and that their experiences, communities and futures matter.

As the current teacher of the Lakȟóta Studies class in the high school, I believe in the possibility of a different Lakȟóta studies curriculum. One that acknowledges a proud but often disheartening past and transforms into a bright and open future. My students of course must know about the tragic losses in Mankato, Minnesota and the horrid massacre at Wounded Knee.  They must know about the Black Hills being forced from our hands, though not from our hearts.  They must also know that their rights are slowly being recognized. And they must know that there is a possibility for them to connect with the world as modern Lakȟóta people with strengths, dreams and passions.

In my position at Red Cloud I have done away with courses such as ‘Indian Wars’ and have revamped the curriculum to include more time to cover modern developments in Lakȟóta culture and society. I have also offered an elective for seniors in ‘Contemporary Indigenous Issues’ and hope next year to develop a ‘World Indigenous Peoples’ course—a survey course that will explore indigenous identity, connect students with other indigenous peoples around the world, and act as an introduction to international affairs from an indigenous perspective.  I look forward to a future where students feel they can be a part of it.

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All Content, ©Red Cloud Indian School, 2014