2009-03: Adoption of the Diabetes Education in Tribal Schools Curriculum: Health is Life in Balance in All Schools Serving American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) or Native Hawaiian Students

WHEREAS, the National Indian Education Association (NIEA) was established in 1970 for the purpose of advocating, planning, and promoting the unique and special educational needs of American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians; and

WHEREAS, NIEA as the largest national Indian organization of American Indian, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiian educators, administrators, parents and students in the United States, provides a forum to discuss and act upon issues affecting the education of Indian and Native people; and

WHEREAS, through its’ unique relationship with Indian nations and tribes, the federal government has established programs and resources to meet the educational needs of American Indians, Alaska Nativeand Native Hawaiians, residing on and off their reserved or non-reserved homelands; and

WHEREAS, nationally AI/AN populations are in the midst of a type 2 diabetes epidemic. Once considered an adult disease, type 2 diabetes is being diagnosed more and more often among AI/AN children. The Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP), a large-scale clinical research project, which included substantial numbers of AI/AN participants provided new direction to addressing type 2 diabetes. The results proved that bythe adoption of significant healthier lifestyle habits individuals could prevent, delay, and successfully manage type 2 diabetes, and

WHEREAS, in 2001, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) hosted a meeting at the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, MD to provide scientific updates on diabetes and to share the news and preliminary results of the DPP with the Indian Health Service and the Tribal Leaders Diabetes Committee (TLDC). At this meeting, Alvin Windy-Boy, Co-Chair of the TLDC, boldly challenged the NIDDK to use the science of diabetes research and the knowledge that diabetes could be prevented in those people at risk, to educate and empower all tribal youth to prevent diabetes. NIDDK enthusiastically accepted the challenge and a unique and effective collaborative effort was born. Collaborative partners in developing the DETS Curriculum: Health Is Life in Balance include: the NIDDK; the Native Diabetes Wellness Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Division of Diabetes Treatment and Prevention, Indian Health Service; Officer of Science Education, National Institute of Health; Cankdeska Cikana Community College; Fort Peck Community College; Haskell Indian Nations University; Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College; Leech Lake Tribal College; Northwest Indian College; Southwest Indian Polytechnic Institute, and Stone Child College,and

WHEREAS, the goals of the DETS K-12 curriculum are to:

  • Increase the understanding of health, diabetes, and maintaining life in balance among AI/AN student (Teach about diabetes)

  • Increase AI/A students’ understanding application of scientific and community knowledge (Value and use scientific and traditional knowledge)

  • Increase interest in science and health professions among AI/AN youth (Encourage scienceand health careers); and

WHEREAS, the DETS curriculum uses inquiry learning methods which are recommended in the National Science teaching standards and are culturally appropriate for guiding AI/AN students inlearning to live life in balance. The curriculum incorporates AI/AN cultural perspectives valuable for both AI/AN/NH and non-native students. The DETS units are aligned with national science, health, and social studies standards thus allowing K-12 schools to supplement or blend DETS into their established curricula, and

WHEREAS, through the curriculum’s emphasis on the value and potential harmony of scientific and community knowledge and encouragement of interest in science and health careers, and though the presentations of DETS lessons in engaging, concrete ways which capture the involvement of pre-teens and teenagers, the DETS curriculum furthers NIEA’s policy for Preparing Native Students to Enter College and the Workforce through High School Reform (Resolution 08-09), and

WHEREAS, the DETS Curriculum: Health IS Life in Balance has been verified to be effective through nation-wide implementation testing in tribal, public, and charter school classrooms with varying percentages of AI/AN students, and was embraced and accepted by both teachers and students in thetest classrooms, and

WHEREAS, DETS curriculum K-12 units are available at no cost to the schools, and DETS national committee members will provide teacher professional development at no cost in academic years 09-10and 10-11.

NOW THERFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the National Indian Education Association hereby supports and endorses the Diabetes Education in Tribal Schools Curriculum: Health Is Life in Balance (K-12) for all American Indian, Alaska Native and Hawaiian Native (AI/AN/HN) students, including those attending public schools, and urges adoption of the DETS K-12 curriculum throughout Native American communities, as well as the rest of the nation; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the National Indian Education Association encourages Tribal and Tribal College and University Libraries, university departments of Native American studies, and other educational organizations or institutions which maintain collections of resources of interest to AI/AN/NH communities, either in paper or on the World Wide Web, to Include the Diabetes Education in Tribal Schools Curriculum: Health Is Life in Balance in their collections and indexes and to refer to curriculum to teachers.

Steven Peters