Dear Friends and Supporters of Indigenous Justice and Awareness:

The time has come for Massachusetts schools to educate all students about Native American cultures, histories and current issues. An Act relative to celebrating and teaching Native American culture and history will help to ensure that this happens.

Please take a moment today to contact your legislators and the Joint Committee on Education asking them to vote the bill out favorably (H.651 and S.382). The text of the bill reads as follows: “The third paragraph of section 1D of chapter 69 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the second sentence the following sentence:- The standards shall provide for instruction in: (i) tribal history and current issues of the Aquinnah Wampanoag, Mashpee Wampanoag and other Wampanoag tribes, the Massachusett, the Nipmuc and other Native American tribes that exist within Massachusetts; (ii) information about tribes and confederacies that have historic ties to Massachusetts, such as the Wabanaki Confederacy; (iii) tribal history of Native Americans throughout the United States; (iv) tribal sovereignty and governance, treaty rights, genocide, Native American cultures, languages and socioeconomic experiences; and (v) ongoing issues common to contemporary Native Americans throughout Massachusetts; provided, that the board shall consult with tribal nations in developing these standards.”