Initiatives de décolonisation des programmes et des pratiques scolaires au Dakota du Sud : le cas des Oceti Sakowin Essential Understandings Standards et du Wolakota Project

Abstract

This article aims at studying the creation of alternative educational contents in South Dakota, namely the Oceti Sakowin Essential Understandings Standards and the Wolakota Project. These two initiatives were developed by Indigenous educators, the State and a private company called TIE (Technology and Innovation in Education) to counter the negative effects of colonial discourses and methods on Indigenous and non-Indigenous pupils of the State. This study will focus on understanding the ways in which these projects can help decolonize knowledge and ways of knowing in schools by establishing “spaces of difference” (Lomawaima K. T. and McCarty T. L., 2002). These “spaces of difference” can allow Indigenous knowledge to develop and be transmitted to future generations. This article first examines the origins of these two projects, exploring the motivations of the actors involved and the way the initiatives were structured. It then highlights the challenges encountered, emphasizing the tensions between culturally responsive pedagogy and national educational expectations (competition, excellence). Finally, the study explores future prospects and potential developments for these two initiatives.

Keywords

• education
• culturally sensitive pedagogy
• school curricula
• Indigenous Nation-State relations
• alternative education