BENZONIA -- Renee Osgood doesn't believe today's social studies textbooks do enough to explain American Indians' contributions to state and national affairs.
Not only that, she said, but students gain richer context when they're presented with firsthand information. To do that, they have to look beyond textbooks.
That's what she plans to do with her sophomore civics students at Benzie Central High School after the new semester begins this winter. She wants to teach them about how tribal leaders interact with local governments and influence state and national policies through lobbying.
"Now we have a real-life example of that happening," Osgood said. "I just don't think people realize about the diversity we have, and I think it needs to be emphasized."
The idea to bring native history and culture into modern classrooms is motivated in part by the ties linking Benzie County Central Schools and the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians.
When Benzie County's alternative high school reopened this year, the band granted $25,000 and use of its Benzonia office. American Indian students attend the district's schools. Grand Traverse Band membership records from November show 20 students between the ages of 5 and 17 live in Benzie County.
As administrators and tribal leaders see it, integrating lessons about native history might have a greater benefit for non-native students, who may have the least direct experience with other cultures.
"I think, if you don't keep it in the forefront, that we become complacent," said Pete Olson, principal of Benzie Central High School.
"Because our curriculum contains so much of Native American history and, again, because of the cultural diversity in the area, it just felt like that was a natural thing, something we needed to do."
Among the ideas Osgood envisions are a public speakers series, field trips to American Indian sites in Peshawbestown or Mount Pleasant and programs for students in every grade level.
The district took much of the initiative, arriving with a list of suggestions to develop, said Derek Bailey, the band's tribal chairman.
Progress comes when people are educated, and since today's students will be future leaders, it's important they are exposed to a variety of perspectives, Bailey said.
And students will be able to learn through hands-on work, he said, especially if they demonstrate what they've learned to their peers.
"It's so universal, the education we want to provide," he said. "That's how we bring the walls down and the barriers down."
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