High school students across Indiana will be able to study Native American culture, thanks to the efforts of a Knox man. Kenny Lone Eagle successfully advocated for its inclusion in a bill to offer the elective study of various ethnic and racial groups. Courses will be offered if at least 15 students in a school corporation sign up. Lone Eagle says it’s a big step.
“Our history books go right now from George Washington and then it jumps right into the Civil War. I’ve done appearances and I’ve talked to scholars and Boy Scouts and others about Native American ancestry in general. I would touch on things, and people were unfortunately so unaware of anything about native culture.”
Lone Eagle says there’s no way to cover all 566 federally-recognized tribes, but the course will heighten awareness of Native American culture. His advocacy on the subject caught the attention of Indiana Sen. Greg Taylor, a Democrat from Indianapolis. He invited Lone Eagle to speak before the Senate Subcommittee on Education on the issue.
The bill passed this year and was signed into law last week by Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb.
Lone Eagle has formally lobbied for the inclusion of Native American studies in the school curriculum for the past four years but has advocated for the measure his entire life.
He says youngsters in this area and elsewhere can develop a greater appreciation of their roots by studying our earliest settlers.
“If our teachers can teach a good general knowledge of what happened, especially during the Indian Wars, and how many people died and were hunted down, maybe people would be more respective towards our Native American culture as awareness and education.”
Lone Eagle especially hopes students at Knox High School will sign up for the elective course, since their mascot is the Redskins. He lent quiet but powerful support to the effort to keep that name when national groups were ratcheting up pressure on other schools and sports teams to change it.
Lone Eagle says he’s honored to have been part of the historic bill.
“I am an American. I am not a Democrat, and I am not a Republican. I represent Americans.”
Lone Eagle notes schools can offer Native American and other ethnic studies without taking away local resources from other courses and programs. The bill signed last week sets aside money for the teaching of those subjects.
