Manifesting destiny: Re/presentations of indigenous peoples in K-12 U.S. History standards

In this mixed-methods study, we use a postcolonial framework to investigate how state standards represent Indigenous histories and cultures. The research questions that guided this study include: (a) What is the frequency of Indigenous content (histories, cultures, current issues) covered in state-level U.S. History standards for K-12? (b) What is the difference between the frequency of inclusion of pre-1900 Indigenous content and post-1900 Indigenous content in U.S. History standards for K-12? (c) How do the standards depict Indigenous Peoples in U.S. History? U.S. History curriculum standards from all 50 states and the District of Columbia were analyzed using within-case analysis and quantified to represent each states depiction of Indigenous content. Findings reveal that standards overwhelmingly present Indigenous Peoples in a pre-1900 context and relegate the importance and presence of Indigenous Peoples to the distant past.