2.7.7 Culture in Gifted Programming: A Native American Case Study at Standing Rock Community Schools

As the field of gifted education works to close the excellence gap, local jurisdictions in the United States must consider definitions, practices, and procedures that recognize how exceptional abilities present themselves in students from all ethnic groups.

According to the 2013-2014 Civil Rights Data Collection, the largest non-white ethnic group in North Dakota is Native Americans (12%). To close the excellence gap in North Dakota, serving gifted students necessitates understanding how schools that provide gifted programs with Native American students define giftedness and establish services for them. Central to this practice is appreciating the role of culture in determining how giftedness is conceptualized. At its core, giftedness is achieving a state of well-being within one’s cultural framework (Sternberg & Grigorenko, 2004). Cultural approaches consider both the academic and practical aspects of giftedness to ensure that gifted programming truly provides excellence for all.

The purpose of this session is to provide a case example of the gifted and talented (GT) programs in the Standing Rock Community Grant School District, an all Native American school population. This district is located along the border of North Dakota and South Dakota. The mission of Standing Rock Community Schools is “to provide students with opportunities to excel academically, physically, spiritually, and socially by expanding curriculum and activities, increasing community involvement, and integrating culture in the school environment.”

Attendees will learn about the cultural meaning of giftedness among D/Lakota people and how GT programs across elementary and secondary educational levels identify student leaders who can preserve the D/Lakota cultural customs and way of life. The session will demonstrate how; at the elementary level choral performance preserves traditional children’s folk songs; at the middle school level D/Lakota dances mediate cultural learning experiences; and at the high school level, Lakota language learning reinforces cultural identity as a member of the D/Lakota people. Culturally appropriate identification protocols will be discussed within the domains of visual and performing arts and other culturally relevant areas recognizing excellence in D/Lakota traditional dance, singing and drumming, and language and culture (e.g., language development, native art through beading and design).

This session has implications for how educators design culturally relevant curriculum to ensure GT students develop knowledge and skills to engage in a multicultural society (NAGC Standard 3.5) and create a learning environment that promotes student self-understanding(NAGC Standard 1.1) and student self-expression of diverse traits connected to their giftedness(NAGC Standard 2.1).  

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