Public commenters urge board to name "doctrine of discovery," Native American genocide and add 'forced migration' language to standards

At the board—9s call to the public, several speakers urged the State Board of Education to revise Arizona—9s history and social science standards to explicitly reference the "doctrine of discovery," name Native American genocide alongside the Holocaust, and change phrasing about Native American movement to "forced migration." Beth Hatcher, a retired teacher and member of the Council for Native American Ministry, told the board she wants "the addition of the doctrine of discovery naming Native American genocide just as the Holocaust is named" and requested formation of a standards review committee (Beth Hatcher, public comment).

Supporters who followed made similar appeals. Jennifer Riddle, who identified herself as the Episcopal bishop of the Diocese of Arizona, said the doctrine is "the basis and justification for government and Supreme Court decisions" and asked that standards include that context so students understand how law and policy still affect indigenous communities. Debbie Royals, identifying as a Pasuayaki/Eastern Cherokee elder, recounted being "not seen" in school and urged the board to include indigenous cultures and languages in K—2 curricula, citing federal laws she said help support tribal administration of education programs. Alexandra Leonard and other speakers repeated the calls to add "forced migration" language and to include Indigenous Peoples—9 Day alongside holidays currently named in the standards.

Why it matters: Commenters argued the changes are matters of historical accuracy and academic integrity rather than partisan politics. Several emphasized that naming these historical doctrines and harms is essential to giving students a complete picture of U.S. history and the legal framework that continues to affect tribal land rights and governance.

Board response and next steps: The board did not adopt standards changes during public comment. These requests entered the record and were discussed later in the meeting in the context of broader proposed revisions to statewide frameworks; the board did not take immediate action on standards revisions at this meeting. The public comment period is part of the board—9s rulemaking and standards-review process; petitioned changes typically move to staff review or a standards committee before the board votes on any edits.

Note on transcript spellings and names: The board—9s public commenters used a mix of institutional and tribal titles; where the transcript contained minor typographic variants (for example "Dasis" for "Diocese"), quotes here reflect corrected institutional names for clarity only when the speaker—9s identity and affiliation were explicit. All quotes included above are taken from speakers who self-identified during the call to the public.