Local News in Brief : Teachers Get Lesson on American Indians

In an effort to raise teachers’ awareness that more than 1,500 students in local classrooms are American Indians, the Los Angeles Unified School District’s American Indian Education Commission staged a fair Thursday that featured traditional Indian dances performed by children, a storyteller who told Indian legends, exhibits from the Southwest Museum, simple craft ideas, exhibits of educational and vocational materials (including financial aid available to American Indian students), and a sampling of native American food ranging from Kickapoo corn soup to Navajo fry bread.

“We want to enlighten educators to the American Indian population here, increase their sensitivity to Indian culture, and provide them with ways to reduce the 49% high school dropout rate among Indian students,” said commission Director Alicia Stevenson, as hundreds of teachers streamed into the patio at district headquarters.