The Lakota people are members of the Sioux Nation, having branched off and referred to themselves as the Lakota Nation. The name Lakota is associated with several meanings including "alliance of friends." The Lakota people live on various reservations in North America, primarily in South and North Dakota. Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse are two of several famous Lakota leaders in U.S. history. The University of California-Los Angeles Language Materials Project estimated that only 6,000 people speak Lakota fluently today. The Lakota Nation has suffered greatly due to assimilation efforts by the U.S. government and tragedies such as the massacre at Wounded Knee.
Students learn when the learning environment is appropriate and if they can identify with it. Lakota children have their own language and culture, yet traditionally the U.S. public education system has disregarded this and educated children in a European-American education system based on American cultural values and the English language. The U.S. has used the education system to assimilate Native Americans into the United States, at the cost of severely damaging Native culture and language fluency. This has alienated Native Americans in a country they have lived in for thousands of years. Assimilation has not been realized, and an achievement gap between Native American youth and their peers has been identified. Curriculum that incorporates traditional culture has been shown to improve student success and learning. Teaching the Lakota language in the classroom supports a culturally appropriate classroom for Lakota students.
Native American students underperform the national average on standardized tests such as the SAT, perform two to three grade levels below white peers in reading and math and are over 200 percent more likely to drop out of school. The consequences are highly visible on the Lakota Pine Ridge Reservation, the second largest reservation in the United States, where the unemployment rate is above 80 percent. Additionally, the life expectancy on the reservation is the lowest in the Western hemisphere, aside from Haiti. Improving academic proficiency is not only a responsibility of schools, it is a national concern, as Native American youth should have access to the same opportunity as peers from all other ethnicities and cultures. Based on a review of research literature by McREL in 2003, positive correlations were found between academic achievement in English and math, and teaching indigenous language and using culturally appropriate curriculum in the classroom.
Incorporating the Lakota language and culture in the classroom not only has direct potential for improving student success, but it also should improve school-community relations. Public schools rely on the support of school families and the community to reinforce and strengthen classroom learning. Additionally, it is the school's purpose to produce students who can address the needs of the community. For public schools to function appropriately, they need to know their communities and be respected by the community. Native American culture and sense of community is commonly represented by relationships between youth, elders and tribal members. It is important that schools serving Native American populations address the needs of its community and support local cultural elements.