Essential Understandings Regarding Montana Indians
In 1999, The Montana Office of Public Instruction brought together representatives from all the tribes in Montana and created the Seven Essential Understandings Regarding Montana Indians.
The Essential Understandings are some of the major issues all tribes have in common and are key to understanding how to teach Indian Education for All.
EU 1 – Tribal Diversity
EU 2 – Individual Diversity
EU 3 – Beliefs, Spirituality, Oral Histories Persist
EU 4 – Reservations – Land reserved by tribal nations
EU 5 – Federal Indian Policy
EU 6 – History from American Indian Perspectives
EU 7 – Tribal Sovereignty
Please review the full doument: Seven Essential Understandings Regarding Montana Indians
Watch this brief clip of Mike Jetty, OPI Indian Education Specialist, explaining the Essential Understandings by breaking them down into four broad categories: Diversity, Culture, History, and Sovereignty.