BYU program brings Native American arts to Utah classrooms

SPRINGVILLE — It became apparent most of the fifth graders in Alice Owen's Meadow Brook Elementary class had never tasted fry bread before as not-so-quiet whispers of appreciation buzzed through the class as the kids took their first bites.

When Diné (Navajo) educator Brenda Beyal asked what the students thought of the fry bread, those whispers turned to excited shouts of, "It's so good" and, "They should serve this for lunch."

"It tasted like heaven," 10-year-old Jamison King said. "I learned that Navajos can make fry bread in different ways, like they make hamburgers with them, they make normal fry bread."

The treat was part of a visiting lesson organized by BYU Arts Partnership's Native American Curriculum Initiative, which brings Native American arts and culture to Utah classrooms.

"We're gonna lose access to these beautiful art forms if we don't find a way to improve the conversations and increase understanding about the sensitivities around this content," BYU Arts Partnership Program Director Cally Flox said. "It's an essential issue in the arts that we find respectful, culturally appropriate ways to share works from Indigenous people."

Beyal, the initiative's program coordinator, said it was born out of teachers asking questions about things like cultural appropriation and a need for authentic resources to teach Utah students about the state's eight sovereign nations: the Navajo Nation, Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray reservation, Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation, Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians, Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation, Ute Mountain Ute, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah and San Juan Southern Paiute.

"Native Americans are not a homogeneous people. The eight sovereign nations of Utah have their own distinct ways of doing things, their own history," Beyal said. "Our mission is to amplify Native voices."

The funding for the program is targeted at elementary schools, but the program managers have seen a great deal of interest from K-12 classrooms across the state. There is some grade-specific content, but they said the curriculum is adaptable for a variety of grades and subjects.

"Teachers are starting to gain confidence and they are more willing to share important information about cultures and people that live within their communities rather than not saying anything or sharing anything because of their lack of understanding," Beyal said.

Teaching with authenticity

Involving tribal nations and ensuring their peoples are portrayed respectfully in the curriculum has been a priority for the initiative.

That includes reaching out to each individual tribe to see what topics they want students to learn about, getting lesson plans approved by tribal councils and accepting "no" gracefully when tribal leaders opt not to share cultural practices.

It's also meant not shying away from difficult topics, which Emily Soderborg, the initiative's project manager, said are taught "gently."

"Truth is being told in a way that doesn't traumatize anyone, doesn't make others feel bad for actions that they were not involved in, but also helps us recognize and empathize how hard things have happened," Soderborg said.

Beyal added that they initially wondered if children would be able to understand some of the lived experiences of tribes. But they've since seen how capable the students are of learning about these topics, especially when they learn through the arts, which Beyal said "have a way of unfolding a story that helps with empathy."

The fry bread lesson taught to Owen's fifth-grade class, for example, was far more than a chance to sample fry bread. The kids learned about the process of making the food through film and music, and each tried their hand at flattening the dough before Beyal's husband fried it outside the classroom.

Beyal also explained the history and cultural significance of fry bread, which was created by the Navajo people in 1864 when the U.S. government forcibly removed them from their homes and marched them hundreds of miles away to an internment camp. Hundreds died during the Long Walk, and those who lived arrived in an unfamiliar territory without anything to subsist on. Fry bread was born out of "hard times" as the Navajo mixed the rations they received with their own creativity and imagination, Beyal explained.

"Now, there's a lot to learn from that. You could be in a place of suffering and you can use your imagination, creativity and create something good and that's what the Navajo people did," she told students. "Your brain, your creativity, your imagination, your resilience, your courage and your bravery — you can be in dire circumstances and not have that taken away from you."

It's a lesson that felt personal for 11-year-old Mateas Mendes, who said it reminded him of his own family's difficulties in Venezuela.

"We were in really hard times, too. Venezuela is not very good right now. They are in hard times, my dad and I are home (in Utah), we are OK. I just hope my grandparents are OK," he said. "(I learned) that in hard times, you can make good things."

Lessons to be learned

Although the initiative specifically focuses on Native Americans, its tactics could be applied more broadly as Utah grapples with how to teach ethnic studies.

How to incorporate ethnic studies into the state's K-12 curriculum has been a dividing issue. The Utah Ethnic Studies Commission, which was created in 2022 as part of a bill that requires the state to include ethnic studies in core educational standards, will eventually provide recommendations to the Utah State Board of Education regarding the topic.

"We feel like the questions that we asked can be applied to so many different cultural resources," Soderborg said of the initiative's professional development course for teachers, which explains how to evaluate resources for accuracy and authenticity.

Those questions include, Is the material specific or glossing over a group? Does it bring people to the present and show how people live today? Does the creator's background lend credibility? Are any references to traditional ceremonies or deities respectful and appropriate? Does the resource encourage copying or replicating traditions or symbols in appropriate ways?

As a Diné woman, Beyal said her hope is that Utah children see themselves reflected in the curriculum and that there is equity in schools.

"I know those are trigger words, but I feel strongly that there is much to be learned from other peoples and their ways and that there are more similarities than there are differences. When we don't allow other people's voices, informed voices, into schools, then we are really cutting the education of our children short," she said. "One perspective isn't the only perspective and it's not the true perspective. You need many perspectives to find truth."

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