Tag Archives: Native American Teachers

Ann Clark: Teacher and author of books for Native American children

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Ann Clark

Ann Clark: Classroom teacher and acclaimed author of books for Native American children.

Throughout our country’s history, there have been many examples of dedicated educators who have worked with underprivileged student populations. One such teacher was Ann Nolan Clark.

Ann Clark was born in Las Vegas, New Mexico, on December 5, 1896. When she was 21, she graduated from New Mexico Normal School, known today as New Mexico Highlands University, located in Las Vegas, New Mexico.

After her college graduation, Ann inaugurated her teaching career as a professor of English at Highlands University. But the young educator wanted to work with younger students. In 1923,  she accepted a position teaching reading to Native American children in a one-room schoolhouse at the Black Rock School in Zuni. Later she taught in a school at Tesuque. Little did she know that this position would last twenty-five years.

While teaching in the Indian schools, Ann observed that the Native American children learned more easily when their primers were geared towards their own life experiences, so she began writing primers with characters and situations that honored the the Pueblo way of life. Many of these primers were later published by mainstream publishing companies. Eventually, Ann broadened her scope and wrote children’s books with Navajo, Sioux, Finnish, and Hispanic characters. In addition to these stories, the prolific teacher also published a number of professional articles under the pseudonym Marie Dunne.

Between 1940 and 1951, the US Bureau of Indian Affairs published fifteen of Ann’s books. Her book In My Mother’s House, illustrated by Pueblo artist Velino Herrera, earned a Caldecott Honor Book Award in 1942. During the 1940s, Ann also wrote multi-cultural books for the Haskell Foundation and the Haskell Indian Nations University at Lawrence, Kansas. One of them was The Slim Butte Raccoon, illustrated by Andrew Standing Soldier.

In 1945, the Institute for Inter-American Affairs funded an educational trip for Ann to travel to Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, and Brazil. Her experiences on this trip led her to write such books as Magic Money, Looking-for-Something, and Secret of the Andes, which garnered her the 1953 Newberry Medal. Ann earned other awards as well. She was given the Distinguished Service Award by the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1962, and the Regina Medial by the Catholic Library Association in 1963.

This remarkable educator passed away on December 13, 1995. During her lifetime, she published over forty books, 31 of them about Native American culture.

Teacher William G. Thompson, the first football coach at Carlisle Indian School

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In our nation’s history, there are many examples of outstanding educators who have also served as athletic coaches. One such teacher was William G. Thompson, an educator at Carlisle Indian School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

Not much is known about this early teacher. We do know that he was born in 1866, and that as a young man he attended Yale University.

Following his college graduation, William accepted a position at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, first founded in 1879 by Colonel Richard Henry Pratt, an American US Cavalry officer who served in the Civil War and then the Indian Wars. Pratt brought Native American children taken from their families on the reservation to the Carlisle School for the purpose of assimilating them into mainstream society. At Carlisle, William was hired as a business teacher and as the executive director in charge of discipline. He served in this capacity for 15 years. In 1893, William also became the school’s first head football coach. That was the first year the school’s team was recognized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) The Carlisle Indians played only three games that season, but the neophyte coach led his boys to a 2-1 record. In the seasons that followed, the Indians consistently faced opposing teams comprised of larger players. They learned to rely on their speed and guile to remain competitive, and the Carlisle’s playbook gave rise to many trick plays and other innovations that are now commonly seen in American football games. For example, the overhand spiral throw and the hand-off fake were both innovations created by Carlisle players. To read more about this amazing team, click on the link Carlisle Indians Football. In addition to football, William Thompson coached baseball, track, and basketball for five years. From 1897 to 1907, William served as the school’s athletic director.

In 1907, William left Carlisle to teach business courses for the boys-only section of Reading High School, a public high school in Reading, Pennsylvania. He was employed there for three years. In 1940, this chalkboard champion passed away at the age of 74.

Chalkboard Champion and Arizona math educator Joaquin Bustoz, Jr.

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There are many examples of brilliant educators who have offered their talents to improve high school instruction. One such educator was Joaquin Bustoz, Jr., a university math professor from Arizona who established an advanced placement program for high school students.

Joaquin was born on December 30, 1939, in Tempe, Arizona, one of five children born to parents Joaquin, Sr., and Ramona. His parents, who were farm workers, also worked for their local schools, and were so revered that the Tempe Unified School District even named one of their elementary school after the couple.

In 1962, Joaquin earned his bachelor’s degree in math from Arizona State University. Continuing his education at that institution, he earned his master’s degree the following year, and in 1967 he completed the requirements for his doctorate degree. After earning his doctorate, Joaquin became a professor of mathematics at the University of Cincinatti, where he taught from 1969 to 1976.

In 1985, Joaquin founded the Summer Math-Science Honors program for high school students under the auspices of the University of Arizona. Still in place today, the curriculum offers an advanced placement program that provides opportunities for under-represented students to study university mathematics and science while still enrolled in high school. He also devoted many hours to Native American students on the nearby Navajo and Pima Reservations. For his outstanding work Joaquin has garnered numerous awards. For example, President Bill Clinton awarded Joaquin the prestigious Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Math, Engineering in 1996.

Sadly, this talented and dedicated educator was killed on August 13, 2003, in an auto accident. He is interred at Double Butte Cemetery in Tempe.

You can learn more about this outstanding chalkboard champion on the website of the Mathematical Association of America by clicking MAA. You can also learn more about the advanced placement program he founded at ASU Summer Math Program.

 

Teacher, feminist, and environmental activist Ruth Chickering Clusen

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Clusen_9Throughout our history, many accomplished educators have also distinguished themselves as civic leaders and political activists. Such is certainly the case with Ruth Chickering Clusen, a high school teacher who also served as the president of the League of Women Voters and as an assistant secretary in the US Energy Department.

Ruth Chickering was born in 1922 in the little town of Bruce, Rusk County, Wisconsin. Upon her high school graduation from Eau Claire, she enrolled at the University of Wisconsin, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in secondary education. Even before graduating from college, Ruth was working as a teacher. She spent her first two years teaching on the Blackfoot Indian Reservation in Montana, and she taught in public schools in the Green Bay area from 1947 to 1958.

Ruth met her future husband, Donald Clusen, when he was interviewed by her father for a teaching position at the old Wisconsin School for Boys in Waukesha County.They married a few years later, and settled with their two daughters in Green Bay, where Donald had accepted a position as a teacher at the state reformatory.

Ruth served as the president of the League of Woman Voters. She served in this capacity from 1974 to 1978. During those years, Ruth worked to bring environmental issues to national attention. She was especially concerned with water purity, particularly the condition of Green Bay, where water pollution was pervasive. Ruth also campaigned for women’s rights, working tirelessly but unsuccessfully to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. During the election year, she moderated debates between candidates Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford.

Once Carter was elected president, he appointed Ruth Assistant Secretary of Energy, a position she held from 1978 to 1981. There she worked to reduced fossil fuel consumption at the Energy Department. For her efforts, Ruth was inducted into the Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame in 2001.

After leaving the Energy Department, Ruth returned to her roots as an educator. She became a member of the Board of Regents for the University of Wisconsin, where she worked from 1983 to 1992.

This chalkboard champion passed away March 14, 2005, in Bellevue, Wisconsin, from complications due to Alzheimer’s Disease. She was 82 years old.

 

Lolo Letalu Matalasi Moliga: Former teacher and current governor of American Samoa

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It often happens that talented educators go on to become effective politicians. One excellent example of this is Lolo Letalu Matalasi Moliga, a high school teacher who is currently serving as the governor of American Samoa in 2012.

Lolo was born in 1949 in Ta’u, Manu’a, in the Territory of American Samoa. His father was Moliga Sa’ena Auauan Moliga, a High Chief from Ta’u. His mother was Soali’i Galea’i, a native of both Olosega and Fitiuta.

Following his graduation from Manu’a High School, Lolo enrolled in Nebraska’s Chadron State College, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in education. He earned his master’s degree in public administration from San Diego State University in 2012.

After his graduation from Chadron, Lolo went back to his native Samoa and accepted a position as a teacher. Later he became the principal of Manu’a High School. He also served as the elementary and secondary education administrator for the American Samoan Department of Education. In addition, he became the director of the ASG Budget Office and served two terms as the chief procurement officer for American Samoa. Lolo’s talents as a politician were so evident, he was elected to the American Samoa House of Representatives for four terms and then was elected a senator. While in that governing body, he served as the Senate’s president. Then-serving Governor Togiola Tulafono appointed Lolo president of the Development Bank of American Samoa. As if all this wasn’t enough, Lolo is also the owner of his own construction firm.

In the 2012, Lolo was elected the 57th governor of American Samoa in a runoff election. Part of his effort as governor has been to increase the number and qualifications of the Department of Education teachers who staff the territory’s schools and to upgrade school facilities. He has also worked to reduce injuries to students while they are participating in sports programs. “I wanted to make sure that we provided the best possible options for our island,” Lolo explained. “This is not something small, it is affecting our people’s lives.”

Lolo resides in American Samoa with his wife, Cynthia Malala, and their four children.

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