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Diné community member urges Tempe board to adopt Indigenous curriculum and cultural‑awareness training
Summary
Winona Miller, a Diné matriarch, offered free Indigenous curriculum and cultural‑awareness training for district staff, requested a formal response to prior emails, and invited board members and the superintendent to Native American program meetings on Feb. 11 and Feb. 18.
Winona Miller addressed the Tempe School District governing board during public comment and asked the district to move beyond polite acknowledgment to concrete action on Indigenous curriculum and staff cultural‑awareness training.
Introducing herself as "a Diné matriarch," Miller said women in her culture are foundational and that she has offered free curriculum resources and training to Tempe elementary schools and staff. She requested a formal response to prior emails about implementing Indigenous curriculum at the elementary level and asked for a commitment to institute cultural‑awareness training for all district staff "before the start of each school year." Miller also invited Dr. Driscoll and board members to attend Native American program meetings she is involved with on Feb. 11 and a pottery‑making event on Feb. 18.
Miller framed her request as accountability rather than aggression and stressed the importance of children seeing themselves reflected in the curriculum. The board did not take formal action during the meeting; Miller's remarks were recorded in the public comment portion and may be placed on a future agenda for staff response.
