Semester Award Granted

Spring 2025

Submission Date

May 2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Thesis/Dissertation Advisor [Chair]

Dilys Schoorman

Abstract

Textbook bias is an enduring and contentious issue in the United States. U.S. textbooks have long been criticized for perpetuating bias and reinforcing dominant narratives that marginalize minority groups, such as members of Indigenous nations. This study confirms that biases continue to exist in textbooks and promote the harmful narrative that Indigenous peoples are people of the past. This narrative undermines the survivance (Vizenor, 1998), contributions, and very existence of Indigenous peoples. Using a critical lens, this content analysis examines the portrayal of Indigenous peoples in select fourth-grade, eighth-grade, and high school social studies and history texts used in Florida during the 2022–2023 school year. Tribal Critical Race Theory (TribalCrit; Brayboy, 2005) provided a theoretical framework that was specific to Indigenous peoples.

TribalCrit was used in combination with two bias frameworks. The first was created by the Manitoba Indian Brotherhood Textbook Evaluation Committee (1974) and was specifically designed for recognizing bias in content pertaining to First Nations people in Canada. The second framework was Sadker and Sadker’s (2001) Seven Forms of Bias in Instructional Materials. The study was guided by the following two research questions: How are Indigenous peoples portrayed in content in Florida’s social studies and history textbooks? What underlying narratives about Indigenous peoples are supported by the content in the texts? The findings revealed that the narratives presented in the texts were fraught with bias and perpetuated the erasure of Indigenous peoples from contemporary U.S. society, Tribal sovereignty and the unique political relationship with the U.S. government is minimized in the content, and Indigenous peoples are described by basic lifestyle characteristics instead of by their depth and diversity. The content is void of Indigenous perspective and promotes a Eurocentric curriculum supporting an underlying narrative that contributes to the invisibility of Indigenous peoples and celebrates colonialism. The recommendations provide guidelines and resources that can be used immediately to improve the situation in schools for Native students and curate Indigenous educational principles that would beneficially shift the current educational paradigm for all students.

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