On Board Online • October 13, 2025
By Sara Foss
Special Correspondent
In 2023, the State Education Department (SED) created an Indigenous Culture and Language Studies teaching certificate, appointed members of an Indigenous Education Advisory Council and banned use of Indigenous mascots, logos and names in public schools.
At October's Board of Regents meeting, SED staff discussed other ways that schools throughout the state can provide more welcoming and affirming environments for Indigenous students. They described a plan being developed by SED's Office of Indigenous Education in partnership with representatives of New York's Indigenous communities.
SED staff said the plan will call for incorporating Indigenous ways of knowing and learning into the K-12 curriculum. It is expected to reflect unfulfilled goals listed in a "Statement and Plan of Action" originally approved by the Regents in 1975. Presentation of the plan and a formal vote are expected in November.
Lessons on land stewardship and using data sets from local Indigenous Nations are two possible ways of incorporating Indigenous ways of learning and knowing into the curriculum, according to David Frank, assistant commissioner at SED's Office of Education Policy. Other goals involve including Indigenous voices in decision-making and encouraging Indigenous young people to pursue careers in teaching or counseling.
A slide from a PowerPoint that Frank presented emphasized that plans to expand Indigenous education will be consistent with the department's commitment to culturally responsive-sustaining education. It listed four bullet points:
- Welcoming, affirming environments that honor identity and belonging.
- High expectations with rigorous, relevant learning.
- Inclusive curriculum and assessment embedding Indigenous perspectives.
- Ongoing professional learning grounded in reflection and partnership.
Agnes Jacobs, sub-chief of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe and a member of the commissioner's Indigenous Education Advisory Council, told the Board of Regents that many Mohawk students attend schools "where teaching our language is sometimes not a priority . It's imperative for our language to be taught in these schools because it's who we are."
She also discussed the Portrait of a Graduate framework recently approved by the Regents. "Our Mohawk students deserve to see themselves as a reflection in that Portrait of a Graduate," she said. "With our voice and aspirations, together we can utilize this framework and integrate broader Indigenous themes relating to language, our creation story."
Such work is already underway, Frank said. He said SED staff are developing "new diploma requirements that reflect Indigenous ways of knowing, collaboration, problem-solving, leadership and stewardship." Staff are also in the process of creating briefs and resources for educators on Indigenous ways of learning and knowing, he said.
"The way forward can be paved by increasing Indigenous presence in these spaces that historically were not made for us," Jacobs said.
For more information, see www.regents.nysed.gov/node/13501 and www.nysed.gov/indigenous-education .