Leaders in the education community met with Native American tribal leaders for a summit on American Indian education Tuesday.
This was the summit's sixth year, and organizers billed it as a way for Nevada's natives to work with those who plan the public school curriculum, to try to integrate more of their history and culture into it.
"We are hoping to bring this back together, bridging our youth with our elders," Nevada Department of Education Indian Education Program Professional Fredina Drye-Romero said, "and making sure that these things are being taught in the classroom and also at home."
Drye-Romero said that so many Native Americans have integrated themselves within the rest of American society that their community has lost a lot of its tradition. She hopes that putting more Native American lessons into the curriculum will strengthen their community and help all students have a better understanding of Nevada's history as a state.
The summit featured speakers and workshops, as well as traditionally-inspired jewelry and woven baskets. Through events like this one, Nevada's Native Americans are hoping to remind people that their traditions aren't just a thing of the past.
"We are not a historical figure," Drye- Romero said. "We are contemporary. We are still here today."
At Tuesday's forum participants celebrated a newly adopted curriculum, which has certain Washoe County schools teaching Paiute as a world language.
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Great that some Washoe County Schools will be teaching the Native Piute language, thereby strengthening/preserving Native culture for historical endurance. Hope that similar programs are implemented across the country for all Native Tribes and their numerous individual language dialects. Keep up the great work you do for Native Peoples. The rest of the country benefits from this. Thank you.