Native American Education Services

The Puget Sound region is home to a vibrant Native American community. Our region boasts strong tribes, active urban Native communities, strong educational programming, and supportive school districts that together uplift the true history and experiences of the many Indigenous people who live here.

The Puget Sound Education Service District is dedicated to supporting our regional education partners by providing this website as a starting point for district and building administrators, teachers, counselors, Indian Education liaisons, families of Native American students and Native American students searching for specific resources. The website will be updated often with new resources and information.

Terminology: Throughout this website you will find the terms “Native American”, “American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN)”, and “Indigenous” used to describe the original habitants of North America. The PSESD acknowledges these words have different meanings to different people and tried to use what each resource uses to name the first people. Click Here for a deeper dive.

Resources

OSPI Office of Native Education

OSPI Office of Native Education Resource Links

The Office of Native Education (ONE) provides assistance to school districts in meeting the educational needs of American Indian and Alaskan Native (AI/AN) students. ONE serves as a liaison between OSPI and school districts, tribal governments, State-Tribal Education Compact schools (STECs), tribal schools, Native communities, parents/guardians of Native children, and other groups and individuals. RCW 28A.300.105 places the Office of Native Education into statute.

OSPI Office of Native Education Main Website: https://ospi.k12.wa.us/student-success/access-opportunity-education/native-education
Since Time Immemorial (STI): https://ospi.k12.wa.us/student-success/resources-subject-area/john-mccoy-lulilas-time-immemorial-tribal-sovereignty-washington-state
Native American Education Curriculum Lessons: https://ospi.k12.wa.us/student-success/access-opportunity-education/native-education/native-education-curriculum-materials
Tribal Consultation: https://ospi.k12.wa.us/student-success/access-opportunity-education/native-education/tribal-consultation
Title VI Public School Indian Education Programming Info: https://ospi.k12.wa.us/student-success/access-opportunity-education/native-education/title-vi-indian-education-programs-district
Title III Identification and Services: https://ospi.k12.wa.us/sites/default/files/2023-08/title-iii-identification-and-services-ai_an-students-11421.pdf
State Tribal Education Compact Schools: https://ospi.k12.wa.us/student-success/access-opportunity-education/native-education/state-tribal-education-compact-schools-stecs
Students’ Right to Wear Tribal Regalia: https://ospi.k12.wa.us/sites/default/files/2024-04/bulletin-028-24.pdf
List of outside supports for Native Americans (education, health, education): https://ospi.k12.wa.us/student-success/access-opportunity-education/native-education/support-indian-education-and-culture

Related Educational Resources

OSPI’s Since Time Immemorial curriculum is required to use in classrooms, but there are other excellent resources that can supplement and enhance educators when teaching about Indigenous history, culture that include Math, Science, English, Art and even PE.

Here are some Indigenous topics and websites used by educators. This is by no means an exhaustive list.

Indigenous STEM website
“Native Knowledge-360” created and operated by the National Museum of the American Indian with dozens of culturally-relevant STEM lessons from multiple tribal regions. https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360

Fish Wars/Boldt Decision/Billy Frank Jr.
The Pacific Northwest Fish Wars of the late 1960s and early 1970s was a monumental time for the tribes in our region, as they fought and won the right to fish on their ‘usual and accustomed” lands. A key figure in that battle for sovereign rights to be upheld was Billy Frank Jr. An entire curriculum was developed regarding Billy, fishing rights, and ecology.

Billy Frank Jr. Day Curriculum: https://salmondefense.org/projects/educate/billy-frank-jr-school-curriculum/
Fish Wars Online Lesson: https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360/pnw-fish-wars
Strategies for Taking Action: https://americanindian.si.edu/nk360/pnw-fish-wars-tactics/#introduction
Informational video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtG10FPJZrE

Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women:

MMIW Facts (Word Document)
MMIW Printable Solo Red Handprint (Word Document)
MMIW May 5th Announcement (Word Document)
MMIW Data Report (PDF)
MMIW Flyer (Image)
MMIW Numbers (Image)
When A Loved One Goes Missing Booklet (PDF)

Orange Shirt Day

Orange Shirt Day Facts for Students (Word Document)
Orange Shirt Day K-5 (PDF)
Orange Shirt Day (Powerpoint)
Orange Shirt Day Stickers (PDF)
300 Sleeps Poem (Word Document)
Orange Shirt Day Printable Banner (Image)

Book Recommendations

Each year there are more and more books written by American Indian authors that tackle various issues facing Native people, covering a wide range of the true, authentic stories of Native American people from all walks of life and places in North America.

Here is a website with dozens of recommended books for Young Adult, Chapter books, and Picture Books: https://indigenousreadsrising.com/book-lists/

Here are some of the books our PSESD NAEP staff have been using recently:

Elementary School:

Fry Bread by Kevin Noble Maillard

We Are Water Protectors by Carole Lindstrom

What Your Ribbon Skirt Means to Me Book Cover

What Your Ribbon Skirt Means to Me by Alexis C. Bunten

We Are Grateful – Otsaliheliga book cover

We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell

Bowwow Powwow by Brenda Child

Stolen Words by Melanie Florence

Powwow Day by Traci Sorel

Middle School:

We Are Still Here: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know book cover

We Are Still Here: Native American Truths Everyone Should Know by Traci Sorell

Notable Native People: 30 Indigenous Leaders, Dreamers, and Changemakers From Past and Present

Notable Native People: 50 Indigenous Leaders, Dreamers, and Changemakers from Past and Present by Adrienne Keene

High School:

Killer of the Flower Moon by David Grann

There There by Tommy Orange

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian book cover

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Project 562: Changing the Way We See Native America by Matika Wilbur

365-Days of Walking the Red Road book cover

365 Days of Walking the Red Road by Terri Jean

Adult:

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

How do I….?

How do I….? (Questions Indian Educators are often asked)

For educators who want to create or honor something in relation to Native American culture in their schools, it is important to first reach out to your Native American community to discuss and support the endeavor.

This could be a contact you may have at the nearest tribe, your districts Title VI Indian Education staff, Native American parents and students in your school, or tribal members in your community. Building relationships over time is key, rather than reaching out for the first time when you need something. Respectful engagement and understanding there are processes to much of the work that must often take place that can take time.

Create a Land Acknowledgement

A land acknowledgement is a traditional way Indigenous people, when visiting other tribal lands, pay respect and honor the peoples whose lands they are on.

In recent years school districts and schools have wanted to support and acknowledge the lands/community they are on and began creating their own land acknowledgements.

A "land acknowledgement" is a formal statement that recognizes and respects Indigenous peoples as the original stewards of the land currently occupied by a different group, acknowledging their historical connection to the territory and honoring their ongoing relationship with it; it's a way to show awareness and respect for the Indigenous communities who traditionally inhabited a particular area, often used before events or meetings held on that land.

Dozens of schools and school districts I our region have land acknowledgements. If you are looking to create one here are some guidelines you may want to consider:

Do not expect or ask the local tribe in your area to write or approve your acknowledgement
Get input from your Native students and families
Don’t expect a Native person to read it each time
The acknowledgement should be a living document that includes action steps your school or district will continue to do to support the surrounding Native community, its Native students and families, and your overall curriculum regarding Native history and culture. It should not just say “we acknowledge we are on the traditional lands of the fill in the blank people.”
Creating a land acknowledgement admitting the land the district/school was once the land of a specific tribe does not leave you vulnerable to the tribe “retaking” the land the district’s property.
Research what tribe is closest to your district.

Examples:

Video of Puyallup Tribe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGnac8x-SIM&t=1s

School/district examples

Tacoma Public Schools acknowledges that we are on the traditional, ancestral, and historical lands of the Puyallup Tribe of Indians. We honor with gratitude the land itself and the Puyallup Tribe. This acknowledgement serves as a first step in honoring our nearest tribal neighbors and partners who have inhabited this region since time immemorial, and whom we give thanks for allowing us passage to their lands. We shall intentionally create inclusive and respectful partnerships that honor Indigenous cultures, histories, identities, and sociopolitical realities

The Puyallup School District recognizes that our district shares the name of the original inhabitants of the land we are located on. The Puyallup Tribe is known as spuyaləpabš/puyaləpabš (“people from the bend at the bottom of the river”) in their ancestral language, Lushootseed. The district is located on the Puyallup Reservation and on the traditional homelands of the Puyallup people, a Sovereign nation that operates under the Medicine Creek Treaty. The following land acknowledgement recognizes the land and people who have, and continue to, live and steward it.

How to make sure our district/school is using culturally appropriate lessons and curriculum

OSPI’s Since Time Immemorial is the mandatory curriculum districts must use to educate students on various aspects of American Indian history and culture. However, there are many resources that exist to further expand student knowledge of Native people from pre-contact to today. With so many resources just a search engine away, it is important to use culturally relevant resources that are not harmful or stereotypical. Even in the yar 2025 there are still classroom teachers, when teaching about Native Americans, have students come up with their own “Native American Name” and appoint a “Class Chief” or a school play that dresses students up with a feather headband and have them speak “Hollywood Indian” from the movies of the 1950s.

Things to consider when using other resources:

The source: Was it created by an American Indian/Alaska Native person, organization, or tribe? Is the website you are getting the information a tribally-led website?
If created by non-Native people (like many crafts and resources on sites like Teachers Pay Teachers) has it been vetted and approved by one of the groups mentioned above?
When in doubt, ask your tribal educators and tribal community members

How To Reach out to tribe(s) nearest you for support with questions

The top right of our home page has a green rectangle that says, “Map of Washington State Tribes & Tribal Websites.” If you click on that it will take you to a map of the state with each reservation shown. If you click on a specific tribe their website comes up that you can click on and find departments and contacts.

An excellent way to know who to reach out to is by building authentic relationships with tribal leaders, tribal department programs, or tribal members in your community who can help get you to the right person for whatever your need may be.

How To Locate a Native storyteller, artist, or cultural expert to come visit and speak with students

Scholarships

Scholarship Resources:

These links provide access to several scholarships resources these Native Education programs have gathered into one place

American Indian Scholarship Fund: https://collegefund.org/students/scholarships/
UW-Tacoma: https://www.tacoma.uw.edu/soe/EdD/general-native-american-scholarships
WSU: https://native.wsu.edu/outside-scholarships/
National Indian Education Association: https://www.niea.org/scholarship-opportunities
Tacoma School District: https://www.tacomaschools.org/departments/student-support/my-next/postsecondary-pathway/paying-for-college/scholarships
Seattle Public Schools: https://www.seattleschools.org/departments/native-american-education/native-american-education-scholarships/

Family/Social Services

Family Services/Social Services

Puyallup Kwawachee (Indian Health Services & counseling): https://www.puyalluptribalhealthauthority.com/
Cowlitz Tribal Health (Counseling for all Native people): https://www.cowlitz.org/health-services
Indian Health Services: https://www.ihs.gov/
United Indians of All Tribes (Daybreak Star Cultural Center in Seattle): https://unitedindians.org/

PSESD Direct Service Title VI Program

The PSESD Native American Education Program partners with a consortium of four Pierce County school districts to oversee the federal Title VI Indian Education program, providing cultural and educational support to students and families with Native American heritage.

The program works with over 500 K-12 students in 50 schools in the following school districts:

Franklin Pierce School District
Peninsula School District
Sumner School District
University Place School District

Program Director, Jason LaFontaine (Turtle Mountain Chippewa) serves all of Peninsula and University Place, and Sumner-Bonney Lake high schools and middle schools. He has led the PSESD NAEP for 19 years.

Email: jlafontaine@psesd.org

Program Coordinator, Teresa Washington (Lummi & Nooksack) serves all of Franklin Pierce and all elementary schools and one middle school in Sumner-Bonney Lake. She has worked for the PSESD NAEP for 21 years.

Email: twashington@psesd.org

The program seeks to:

Increase the knowledge and awareness for Native students on Native American culture, traditions and contemporary issues and their place in it
Instill student pride in their Native American heritage and provide a space where students can come together and be in community with other Native students
Provide classroom presentations, assemblies, culture night events, and staff development to support all students learning about Indigenous culture

School-related financial support:  The program has secured funding to help support students and families with school-related costs that come up during the year. If a student/family is in need, the program has allotted approximately $100 per year for things like credit retrieval, ASB fees, sports costs, school camp, and yearbooks. Contingent on fund availability each year.

Student cultural engagement opportunities: Field trips, family culture night dinners, powwow dance lessons, regalia making and art nights

High School & Beyond: Staff work with high school students to prepare them up to and for life after high school graduation. This includes goal setting, leadership skills, finding scholarships.

District support: Help identify who each districts Native students are; provide culturally relevant resources when need be; help with tribal consultation with the Puyallup Tribe of Indians; creating school land acknowledgements

Program Funding: Native American program funding in public schools is tricky. Funding is driven by one key grant - the federal Department of Education Office of Indian Education Title VI formula grant. The Title VI grant is funded solely on how many students are signed up the previous year. Other grants for the 2024-25 school year include a Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office/OSPI Outdoor Education Grant, a Boeing Corporation grant, as well as contributions by each district.

Program registration form: If your child has Native American heritage and lives in one of our four school districts we serve, they may be eligible for our Native American program. Fill out the form as best you can (tribal enrollment number is not needed) and return to program staff via email or at the school.

Program Registration Form

Parent/guardian: Though there is a place on the form for it, you DO NOT need to put the tribal enrollment number for the student, parent/guardian, or student’s grandparent.

Annual Franklin Pierce School District Spring Powwow at Franklin Pierce High School – Saturday, May 31st, 2025