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For two years parents, students, and Native American agencies have been working together to establish the school. On Feb. 9, 1996 the Oakland Board of Education granted the charter.
Charter schools are funded by the government but are independent to make decisions on the curriculum and are exempted from many state education laws.
Richard Lavato, 34, a father of two children and the chair of the parent committee, commented that the Board was open and cooperative.
"I am thankful for the opportunity offered to the children," Lavato said.
"My children, including other Native American children, have experienced problems in the public schools, including harassment and racism. The American Indian Charter School will help the children feel comfortable about being themselves," Lavato added.
Carol Wahpepah, director of the Indian American Education Center in Oakland, said, "We want our children back. Children should be proud of who they are, public schools do not provide a good environment."
The chartered middle school will enroll sixth, seventh, and eighth-graders. The majority will be Native American but the school does welcome children of other ethnic background, Wahpepah said.
The curriculum will integrate their culture in all subjects. Students will be involved in various ethnic-related projects ranging from planting crops and learning traditional cooking to Native American storytelling and researching their individual tribes.
Learning current environmental issues, such as fishing rights and government purchase of reservation land for dump site, will encourage students to respond by taking action -- such as the opportunity for hands-on projects such as cleaning and rebuilding polluted creeks.
Other activities students will participate include pottery, making musical instruments, basket weaving, andcultural art.
The school is prepared to handle a maximum of 175 students. Gradually, ninth, 10th, 11th, and 12th-grades will be added.
The school is in the process of hiring teachers who know Native American history, literature and understand their community.
Parent participation will be important to the community-supported and run school. Parents will continually review the curriculum and help write the handbook that includes disciplinaryrules. All parents are required to volunteer in school four hours a month.
According to Wahpepah a major road block of the new charter school is money. Money to buy equipment, lease the building, and other expenses will be provided through grant writing and fund-raising.
Another potential challenge, according to Wahpepah, is the proposed California Civil Rights Initiative on this November's ballot. If passed the initiative could end anti-discrimination programs that aid minorities and could undercut education preference of minorities.
Wahpepah says that the school's goal is for students to become academically strong while celebrating their Native American heritage.
For instance, she said, "While students in public schools learn about the traditional history of the Civil War, students in the charter school will be reviewing how Native Americans survived that period of history, when many were killed and tribes were forced away from reservations to cities."
According to Lavato, the American Indian Charter School "is a good opportunity for our children."