Native News Network

While searching the web recently I came across the Native News Network, which is a website completely dedicated to, as they put it, connecting Native American Voices. I thought it was great to be able to search archives full of articles relevant only to Native American culture; I was happy to be reading literature with an authentic Indian voice. There was one article that was particularly troubling. It is the case of Miranda Washinawatok, a seventh grader at the Sacred Heart Catholic Academy in Shawano, Wisconsin who was suspended from participating in a regularly scheduled basketball game due to the fact that she was heard teaching another student how to say "hello" and "I love you" in Menominee, her Native language. The teacher who reported her defended her disciplinary act by saying, "how am I supposed to know that you aren't saying something bad?!" Below is a picture of Miranda.

The only thing that comes to mind when considering this situation is sheer ignorance. For the teacher to automatically reprimand her without any knowledge of what she was saying is ridiculous. One would think that in a community with a very present Native American culture (read the article here!) this sort of isolation wouldn't happen. Recognition of cultural differences is fundamental to the understanding of a culture as a whole. Unfortunately for Miranda's teacher, Miranda's grandmother is the director of the Language and Culture Commission of the Menominee Tribe. You can bet this isn't the end of it. Let me know what you guys think: how can these sort of misunderstandings be avoided?