Ramona Kitto Stately’s Gift for Changing Native Narratives

Native Lights: Where Indigenous Voices Shine

Today, a conversation with Ramona Kitto Stately (Santee Sioux Dakota Nation,) a beadwork artist, teacher, and leader in K-12 Indian Education in Minnesota, who is now Project Director for the We Are Still Here – Minnesota (WASH-MN), a network of people and organizations committed to the Reclaiming Native Truth research and its findings. Ramona tells us how her teaching career began, and how some bad experiences prompted her to go back to school to get her master’s degree in Education, so she could more effectively disrupt the status quo. Ramona Kitto Stately makes the case that Indian Education should be mandatory for all students: when Native history and culture are missing from K-12 curriculum, students are deprived of accurate narratives, and stereotypes continue to thrive. This leads to ill-informed citizens, including leaders, judges, and policymakers. Miigwech to Ramona Kitto Stately for this rich and informative discussion! Native Lights: Where Indigenous Voices Shine is produced by Minnesota Native News and Ampers, Diverse Radio for Minnesota’s Communities with support from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage fund. Online at https://minnesotanativenews.org/