Dilemmas + Decisions presents real-life issues related to democracy and freedom as experienced and conceived by high school-aged media groups from across the nation.
The students at New Mexico’s Santa Fe Indian School – itself considered a sovereign nation – look at what that means within the context of being a citizen of a larger democratic society.
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION After you watch this video essay, we encourage you to engage others in a discussion using one or more of the questions included in the Viewer’s Guide. Download the pdf document by clicking on the icon on the top right side of this page.
Video Essay: Santa Fe Indian School: A Nation Within a Nation
The Santa Fe Indian School is a former Bureau of Indian Affairs school that in 2000 was granted sovereignty, the right to be a “nation within a nation.”
Students provide a brief history of the Santa Fe Indian School and interview adults and fellow students to learn definitions of sovereignty and self-determination, and their effects on the community.
Launch the video Santa Fe Video Essay Running time: 5 minutes, 38 seconds File size: 4.89Mb
Behind-the-Scenes
Students from the Santa Fe Indian School’s Gifted and Talented Program introduce themselves and show how they produced their documentary essay.
Launch the video Santa Fe Profile Running time: 2 minutes, 18 seconds File size: 1.97Mb
Santa Fe Indian School Gifted and Talented Program: Santa Fe, NM
The Gifted and Talented program has approximately 60 students from over 20 regional tribes, of which a small group is committed to producing video. Santa Fe Indian School was founded in 1889 as a federal boarding school for Indian children. Through the Indian Self-Determination Act in 1975, administration of the school was transferred to the American Indian Pueblo Council.
