Image: he Virginia Department of Education is apologizing for a published draft of its history and social science standards that refers to the region's Native American ancestors as "America's first immigrants." The proposed standards, which were submitted by Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration late last Friday, also mandate that students learn about the “entrepreneurial characteristics” of Christopher Columbus, and instruct teachers to “facilitate open and balanced discussions on difficult topics, including discrimination and racism, and present learning opportunities without personal or political bias.” The commonwealth of Virginia is home to seven federally recognized tribes: the Pamunkey Indian Tribe, Chickahominy, Eastern Chickahominy, Upper Mattaponi, Rappahannock, Nansemond and Monacan. Alton Carroll, a history professor at Northern Virginia Community College who is of Mescalero Apache descent, told Native News Online that his initial read of the proposed standards stood out to him for being “so glaringly wrong, and so heavily partisan.” “The idea that Native people were immigrants and therefore they have no more right to land than anybody else is a white supremacist talking point,” Caroll said. “And for that to be reproduced by a governor's office—it's appalling.” learn more Read More: https://nativenewsonline.net/education/va-education-dept-backtracks-from-labeli…
