As School Starts, More States Focus on Native American Students

Bethel Regional High School students dance at their graduation ceremony in May 2016. (Photo by Dean Swope/KYUK)
On the Spokane Indian Reservation, in eastern Washington, a group of about 40 public school teachers gathered last month, in a field of reeds that stretched as high as their heads.
Before harvesting the reeds, or tules, to make mats, they prayed. Later, they left tobacco as a gift. By learning the rituals of the Spokane tribe, the teachers of the Wellpinit School District hope to conne