When Tribal Sovereignty Challenges Democracy: American Indian Education and the Democratic Ideal

Abstract

The lessons of American Indian education—a grand experiment in standardization—can lead to a more equitable educational system for all U.S. citizens. While masquerading as a tool for equal opportunity, standardization has marginalized Native peoples. We argue for diversity—not standardization—as a foundational value for a just multicultural democracy, but diversity is feared by some as a threat to the nation’s integrity. Critical historical analysis of the apparently contradictory policies and practices within American Indian education reveals a patterned response to cultural and linguistic diversity, as the federal government has attempted to distinguish “safe” from “dangerous” Native practices. Examples of the contest between Indigenous self-determination (rooted in internal sovereignty) and federal control illustrate the profound national ambivalence toward diversity but also the potential to nourish “places of difference” within a healthy democracy.