Indigenous Peoples News: Legal Scholar at Everybody Reads Bookstore

You can often catch interesting news and tidbits while hanging at Everybody Reads bookstore in Lansing. Tonight I caught news from proprietor-activist Scott Harris that author and indigenous legal scholar Matthew L.M. Fletcher will discuss his recent book at the bookstore on Saturday, October 25, 2008, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Fletcher's book is American Indian Education: Counternarratives in Racism, Struggle, and the Law. It is summarized as the following:

America Indian culture and traditions have survived an unusual amount of oppressive federal and state educational policies intended to assimilate Indian people and destroy their cultures and languages. Yet, Indian culture, traditions, and people often continue to be treated as objects in the classroom and in the curriculum. Using a critical race theory framework and a unique "counternarrative" methodology, American Indian Education explores a host of modern educational issues facing American Indian peoples—from the impact of Indian sports mascots on students and communities, to the uses and abuses of law that often never reach a courtroom, and the intergenerational impacts of American Indian education policy on Indian children today. By interweaving empirical research with accessible composite narratives, Matthew Fletcher breaches the gap between solid educational policy and the on-the-ground reality of Indian students, highlighting the challenges faced by American Indian students and paving the way for an honest discussion about solutions.

I'm looking forward to the discussion. Hope to see you at the book store Saturday!

-- Rico Thomas Rico