SIX DIRECTIONS
INDIGENOUS SCHOOL
MISSION
The Six Directions Indigenous School, through a commitment to culturally relevant indigenous education and interdisciplinary project-based learning, will develop critically conscious students who are engaged in their communities, demonstrate holistic well-being, and have a personal plan for succeeding in post-secondary opportunities.
CRITICALLY CONSCIOUS
Critically conscious describes the types of active community participants and leaders we hope our students grow to become. Given the history of colonization and disenfranchisement of American Indians in Gallup, we believe it will be important that our students have an ability to critique structures of power, use their voices productively, and take action against injustice. Our students will be confident and powerful.
ENGAGED IN THEIR COMMUNITIES
We believe that our students and their communities will be stronger when our youngest generations are raised with a sense of purpose and a belief in their ability to influence their communities positively.
HOLISTIC WELLBEING
Indigenous education at its core is about more than simply ensuring students learn academic material. It is also about raising youth who are holistically well and healthy. Traditional notions of wellness indicate that we should all concern ourselves with our students’ intellectual wellness, mental and emotional wellness, social and relational wellness, spiritual wellness, identity wellness, and physical wellness. Within the idea of wellness we include an acknowledgement of the importance of identity security, of developing strength from one’s identity, of finding one’s “inner center,” as Dr. Greg Cajete puts it.
PLAN TO SUCCEED IN
POST-SECONDARY OPTIONS
For too long our native youth have been denied a public education that adequately prepares them to access or succeed in higher education. We believe that together we can change this trend, and that it is imperative that all students are prepared to succeed in the post-secondary educational opportunities of their choice. Whether that choice is to attend a four-year college, a two-year degree program, a job training program, the military, or traditional roles in their community, we believe that students have a right to thrive in their future and that to do so they should graduate with a clear personal plan for their future