Last year, Indigenous students filmed a brief land acknowledgment for the Chandler Unified School District. Following a fierce public debate on Wednesday, its governing board members voted to play this video at the beginning of all future meetings and graduation ceremonies.
This message is only a minute and 43 seconds long — but it means a lot to Indigenous Parent Committee co-president Monique John, who is Navajo and Jemez. She was among a few dozen citizens backing the proposal amid the Wednesday night public comment window — just moments before the long-awaited roll call.
“We went into creating this video with positive intentions for our students and communities, all students: Native and non-Native,” John shared. “There’s been times when I met new people and my ethnicity was questioned. And a lot of times people were shocked, and some even said, ‘Oh, I thought you guys were extinct.’”…