For centuries, the education system in America was a way to streamline the population, especially foreigners, into a certain way of thinking, acting, and contributing to society. Some might even argue, myself included, certain aspects of that uniformity still exist in schools.

But such lock-step mentality was as dangerous and short-sighted then as it today. Want proof? Take a look at what “civilizing” did for the Cherokee Nation, whom historians referred to as one of the Five Civilized Tribes because of their advanced system of government, laws, and education.

In 1821, the famed Cherokee leader, Sequoyah, is credited with introducing a syllabary upon which the Cherokee language is based. Within six years, the publication of a bilingual newspaper and other materials result in 90 percent of tribal members being literate in their native language; Oklahoma Cherokees even had a firmer grasp on English than whites in Texas or Arkansas.

But despite operating what one official called “the finest school system west of the Mississippi River,” the Cherokees first saw the federal government place one of its own officials in charge of Cherokee education and then eventually saw the abolishment of the system all together once Oklahoma became a state.

A half-century later, the result of such a takeover is documented in the 1969 Senate Subcommittee on Indian Education Hearings, which found adult Cherokees completed an average of 5.5 years of schooling, drop out rates for Cherokees in public schools were as high as 75 percent, and 40 percent of adult Cherokees were functionally illiterate.

It was a sharp and tragic decline for the Cherokees and a lesson to everyone about the hazards of ignoring the differences and unique qualities that everyone possesses.

For more information on educating Native Americans, see my article, “How One District Is Improving Native American Achievement,” at www.asbj.com.

Naomi Dillon, Senior Editor