Bridging Cultures: Native Elders and Educators Unite

How one principal transformed his school by bringing Native elders into classrooms as cultural guides, creating a revolutionary approach to student engagement and classroom management.

In this powerful interview, Dr. Anthony Craig (Yakama Nation) shares how he solved the challenge of disruptive students and low engagement by partnering certified teachers with cultural guides from the Tulalip Tribe. Instead of traditional discipline methods that remove students from learning, they developed culturally responsive teaching strategies that kept ALL students engaged and motivated.

🎯 What You'll Learn:
• How to handle difficult students without exclusion
• Why traditional classroom management often fails Native students
• The 'circling up' approach to student behavior
• How to create inclusive classrooms that honor community wisdom
• Professional development that transforms teaching practice
• Building authentic home-school connections with families

Ideal for teachers, education coaches, school administrators, and anyone seeking innovative teaching strategies to support student success. This isn't just about Native education - it's about creating inclusive, culturally responsive classrooms where all students thrive.

Chapters
0:00 - Introduction to Dr. Anthony Craig
0:29 - Personal Story: What Inspired His Work
1:03 - The Most Inspiring Educator
2:05 - The Culture Mismatch Problem in Schools
3:08 - Understanding Critical Historicity in Education
4:18 - Introducing Cultural Guides into Schools
5:55 - Building Community Around Children
6:47 - How Cultural Guides and Teachers Collaborate
7:36 - Real Example: Transforming First Grade Engagement
9:33 - The Problem with Removing Students
10:18 - The 'Circling Up' Approach to Behavior
11:59 - Why This Approach is Complex and Nuanced
13:12 - Teachers Experiencing Tribal Community
14:56 - Learning from Ceremony and Tradition
16:36 - Seeing Students as Leaders, Not Problems
17:00 - Research Insights: Focusing on Future Possibilities
18:27 - Building Schools for Communities, Not Assimilation
19:16 - Closing Thoughts and Gratitude

Dr. Craig's Published Writing:

• Tradition Becomes the Teacher: Community Events Enrich Educators’ Professional Learning.
• Classroom Teachers and Cultural Guides: Collaborating to Transform Teaching and Learning Through the Use of Traditional Tribal Knowledge. 
• Transforming Teaching and Learning Through Indigenous Strengths and Ways of Knowing. 
• Indigenous Knowledges to Transform Public Education. 

When coaches, teachers, administrators, and families work hand in hand, it fosters a school atmosphere where everyone is inspired and every student is fully engaged in their learning journey.