Six Directions Indigenous School

Mission
The Six Directions Indigenous School, through a commitment to culturally relevant
indigenous education and interdisciplinary project-based learning, will develop
critically conscious students who are engaged in their communities, demonstrate
holistical well-being, and have a personal plan for succeeding in post-secondary
opportunities.
Six Directions Priorities
Rigorous
Academics
Holistic
Wellbeing

Language

Culture

Purpose
and Power

Community

Vision
We envision a school in Gallup that contributes to the social, economic, and cultural
wellness of self-determined Native communities in and around Gallup, supports an
inclusive Gallup for all residents, and stands as an exemplar of what can be possible
in Indigenous education in a multi-racial, multi-tribal border town context.

Core Values
Respect Having concern for harmonious relationships; honoring yourself, your
peers, your family, your elders, your ancestors, your teachers, your school, your
community, your tribe/nation, your land. Having courteous regard for others
feelings and values. Respect helps people relate effectively even through conflict or
discord.
Responsibility We are responsible to our People, past, present and future, as well
as our communities, our environment and other living things. Being responsible is a
form of trustworthiness; being accountable for your words, actions, and conduct in
all that you do.
Relationships We commit to building compassionate relationships. Relationships
are strength; they will ensure our school succeeds and that we are able to impact
our communities positively.
Reflection Indigenous thinking and learning is a reflective process involving a
deliberate looking inward, self-awareness and contemplation of deeper meanings.
We support this reflective practice to encourage thoughtfulness, personal growth,
profound learning, meaningful change, and the finding of ones inner center.
Critical Thinking Indigenous thinking is critical thinking. We commit to seeking
out the root of problems, designing solutions creatively, and constantly challenging
the rigor of our thinking. We strive to exercise critical consciousness about history,
society, and power. We also know we are better together, and we commit ourselves
to thinking critically and productively about our practice as educators.
Definitions
Critically Conscious
Critically conscious describes the types of active community participants and
leaders we hope our students grow to become. Given the history of colonization,
oppression, and disenfranchisement of American Indians in Gallup, we believe it will
be important that our students have an ability to critique structures of power, use
their voices productively, and take action against injustice. Our students will be
powerful.
Engaged in their communities
We believe that our students and their communities will be stronger when our
youngest generations are raised with a sense of purpose and a belief in their ability
and responsibility to influence their communities positively.
Holistically Healthy
Indigenous education at its core is about more than simply ensuring students learn
academic material. It is also about raising youth who are holistically well and
healthy. Traditional notions of wellness indicate that we should all concern
ourselves with our students intellectual wellness, mental and emotional wellness,
social and relational wellness, spiritual wellness, identity wellness, and physical

wellness. Within the idea of wellness we include an acknowledgement of the

importance of identity security, of developing strength from ones identity, of
finding ones inner center, as Dr. Greg Cajete puts it.
Have a personal plan for succeeding in post-secondary opportunities.
For too long our native youth have been denied a public education that adequately
prepares them to access or succeed in higher education. We believe that together we
can change this trend, and that it is imperative that all students are prepared to
succeed in the post-secondary educational opportunities of their choice. Whether
that choice is to attend a four-year college, a two-year degree program, a job
training program, the military, or traditional roles in their community, we believe
that students have a right to thrive in their future and that to do so they should
graduate with a clear personal plan for their future.
Culturally relevant indigenous education
A system of education whose school design, core values, curriculum, pedagogy, and
faculty reflect tribal values, aspirations, history, and epistemologies.