Indigenous Parent Advisory Committee meets again after year-long shutdown by Bismarck Public Schools

During the Jan. 31 meeting at the Hughes Education Center on Washington street, IPAC Vice President Natasha Gourd recalled how the Indian Parent Advisory Committee had asked for grant documentation from Bismarck Public Schools, which resulted in the district initiating an investigation. IPAC board members said they only received the requested grant information one week before the recent IPAC gathering. Board members said they were silenced during the ensuing delay.

“For a year and a half our meetings have stopped so we haven’t had the chance to advocate on behalf of the families,” said Gourd when she spoke to those in attendance at the Hughes Center. “That’s hurt us as parents and our BPS students.”

Superintendent Jeff Fastnacht, who came to BPS from Mandan Public Schools in July, apologized for how the district handled IPAC’s previous concerns and how the investigation paused meetings.

“To speak honestly, we came into a problem,” said Fastnacht. “The problem was the relationship between Bismarck Public Schools [and IPAC]. What I want you to know is I believe that relationship was broken a lot by my office.”

Native parents who attended IPAC meetings have described the gatherings as a safe space to voice their thoughts and concerns. The roots of IPAC go back almost 30 years, said Kary. The current group of officers has been leading the parent committee since 2018.

“And that’s what the IPAC has always been, up until last year,” said Cheryl Kary, executive director of Sacred Pipe Resource Center, a local non-profit geared towards assisting Bismarck-Mandan’s Indigenous community. “Which is completely ironic because everything that we worked towards was trying to create a comprehensive department in the office of the Indian Education Department that could help us implement our voice in the school district.”

At the meeting, Sunshine Archambault, an enrolled citizen of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, asked Fastnacht about how he was including Native voices in the district’s strategic planning and strategic committees. Archambault is the parent of a tenth grader at Bismarck High School, which is reported by the Public School Review to have a 12% American Indian student population. She wants to see more Indigenous representation in staff across the district.

When she reaches out for help, she goes to Chadwick Kramer, one of the cultural coordinators at the Indian Education Department at BPS, or IPAC President BilliJo Beheler. Archambault said attending IPAC meetings and interacting with the committee is a part of being a member of the community.

“I’ve used the IPAC as a resource for my son in advocating for him in difficult situations we found ourselves in with the school district, as well as the Indian Education program,” said Archambault. “They are the places you go to when you don’t know what to do. I am a Native parent, I have a Native student, if we have an issue they’ll help us.”

Fastnacht told the IPAC participants that BPS can often be difficult to navigate. The superintendent said he respects the sovereignty of tribes, an important premise for the creation of the parent advisory committee. “I hear you saying your voice matters,” said Fastnacht. “We’re often too closed a system.”

Prior to closing the doors on IPAC meetings, district employees would attend meetings to learn more about IPAC, including the grants and programs they’re involved in. At the Jan. 31 meeting, Beheler spoke as a board member and explained how the IPAC shared information, knowledge and time when district representatives attended their meetings.

During the investigation, findings showed that district employees who attended IPAC meetings gathered information for the BPS administration. “We didn’t know that those representatives from the district were here to report back [on us],” said Beheler at the public meeting. “They weren’t here to get any advice on programming. That’s something I think we need to be transparent about.”

Beheler was unavailable for further comment.

IPAC members represent the district’s Native community. Beheler said BPS has been making decisions on behalf of the district’s Indigenous student body without any representation. To better represent the community, IPAC successfully lobbied for BPS’s first Indian education director position, currently occupied by Sashay Schettler. They also created a curriculum and instruction specialist position, a position now filled by Josh Standing Elk. “We’re proud of that work,” said Beheler.

Kary said the best way for BPS to help and engage with Indigenous families is through IPAC meetings. She said it’s about teamwork and meeting Indigenous families halfway.

“That’s what I would like you to commit to –– to do better as a school board and administrators,” said Kary. “We’re here to help you. So if you’re not willing to listen to us, what that tells us is that you’re not willing to help our kids. You’re not willing to help our parents.”

The district and IPAC’s relationship and the trust are being rebuilt through a mediation process, but it’s a repair that Beheler said won’t be easily fixed. The IPAC president wants families to have a safe space, which means restoration takes precedence.

Fastnacht agreed: “I do believe our path forward is getting us back in a room talking, communicating openly and talking about our problems. One of the things we are committed to at Bismarck Public Schools is our Memorandum of Understanding, our MOU.”

IPAC officers and parents plan to meet at BPS headquarters on Feb. 9 to begin the first draft of the memorandum, which will help the committee figure out the best way forward to working with the district.

Throughout the rest of the meeting, IPAC members approved minutes from the last meeting, discussed the BPS Indigenous Education Strategic Plan and the Memorandum of Understanding, and discussed the IPAC recruitment plan –– including open positions for the next IPAC election on Feb. 28.

In the future, parents like Archambault hope IPAC picks back up and continues to serve the district’s Native students. “I hope our students find their place and are celebrated in Bismarck Public Schools,” said Archambault. “The world is their oyster.”