GSE Colloquium Series in History/Social Studies Education: Rachel Talbert

History, Civics and Tribal Sovereignty: Social Studies Curriculum for Indigenous Futurity

This presentation explores what civic knowledge is most important for all students in public schools to learn to center Native Nations’ sovereignty, presence, and futurity- creating a more inclusive democracy. Curriculum created in partnership with Indigenous Nations supports the civic identities of Indigenous students and has broad implications for teacher education, social studies curriculum and community engaged research with youth, teachers and Elders.

Dr. Rachel Talbert, Teachers College Columbia University is a Research Assistant Professor with the Gordon Insititute for Advanced Study and a Spencer Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow currently working on her 2025 project “Civics as Survivance: Unsettling Curriculum to Transform Democracy” which togther with the Lenape Center, social studies teachers, and students in New York City, investigates what curricular knowledge is most important to the Lenape, whose Land New York City is on, and supports creation of PreK-12 curriculum that centers Lenape futurity and the implementation of that curriculum with a sample of non-Native teachers in NYC. Her teaching, research, and curriculum design with Lenape Center center Gerald Vizenor’s survivance, “an active sense of Native presence over absence.” She is committed to a curriculum that supports all students learning about Native American sovereignty and self determination. Her community engaged scholarship focuses on curriculum development with the Lenape Center in NYC and seeks to understand the impact of PreK-12 Lenape curriculum centering sovereignty and survivance on students, and what curricular supports teachers in public schools in NYC need to move toward unsettling as meaningful decolonial praxis. Her research with urban Indigenous youth in public schools focuses on civic identity negotiation and its relationship to Tribal sovereignty and self-determination. In addition to research, Rachel co-teaches a course with Lenape Elder, author and artist Joe Baker,”Indigenous Past, Present and Future in New York City” as well as a Spring course, “Indigenous Curriculum & Teaching: Sustaining Survivance through Theory & Practice” designed as part of her work while a postdoctoral fellow with the Gordon Insititute. She co-directs the Reimagining Education Summer Insititute and Advanced Certificate Program with Dr. Sealey-Ruiz a public facing program highlighting urban education and policy scholars at TC and designed for practitioners, students, community members and families.