Episode 31: Dr. Alex Red Corn, Part One

Note: due to character limitations, bio and episode details are an abbreviated version. Visit the HREUSA Podcast page for the full version HERE.

Dr. Alex Red Corn is a citizen of the Osage Nation in what is now Oklahoma. He is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership at Kansas State University (K-State) and will soon serve as Director and Associate Professor of Indigenous Studies and Associate Vice Chancellor for Tribal Relations at the University of Kansas.  He is Executive Director of the Kansas Association for Native American Education (KANAE), and the Chair of the new Kansas Advisory Council for Indigenous Education (KACIE). 

In Episode 31, Dr. Alex Red Corn shares his origins of interest in human rights and human rights education, as well as his evolution from being a social studies teacher to a human rights educator and expert on Indigenous education. He discusses the challenges of helping others learn about American Indian cultures and history. He shares his thoughts on engaging with educational systems to improve understanding of Native cultures and society. He addresses problems with existing social studies standards and stereotypical presentations of Indian life and the importance of examining Indigenous issues within a human rights framework. He emphasizes the study of American Indian cultures and society as a political issue, and the importance of studying the history and culture of specific Native tribes to counter the dominant assimilationist approach to education of American Indian children.  He highlights sovereignty, collaboration, and co-governance in reforming educational systems through a problem-solving approach, and strategies for Indigenous students and academics to navigate the higher education system linked to settler colonialism. 

Topics discussed (abbreviated):

• Challenges of teaching about Indian cultures and histories
• Problems with existing social studies standards and presentations of Indian life
• Importance of examining Indian issues through a human rights framework
• The study of Indian cultures and society as political, not merely racial/ethnic
• Countering dominant assimilation approach to education of Indigenous children
• Importance of partnerships between Indigenous nations / state and local education 
• Sovereignty and co-governance in reforming education systems 
• Strategies for Indian students and faculty in navigating higher education
• Code-switching and navigating non-tribal systems

Full topic listing available for PDF download HERE.

Listen on our HREUSA podcast website HERE. 

Introduction and Closing Music Credit: “Awakening-Spring” by Ketsa, from the Album Night Vision. Available at the Free Music Archive: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Ketsa/night-vision/awakening-spring/

This music is used in accordance with this Creative Commons License: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Information about that license is available here https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Human Rights Education Now! is produced and distributed in accordance with Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International. Information about this license is available here: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/