As A New Curriculum Gets Implemented, Board Game Helps Teach Indian Education For All

[Rosa CraneGuest]

Victoria Sanders, a scholar, created a board game to educate kids about treaty rights years ago. She recently demonstrated the game at Jackson's Teton Science School.



"We've completed the beta testing, and we're up to around 600-700 students throughout Wyoming," she added, referring to Rock Springs, Casper, Midwest, Cody, and Jackson.

The game is called The Bozeman Trail, and it allows youngsters to tackle problems from many viewpoints as they go during the late 1800s westward expansion. Different teams are assigned tasks to do in order to distribute limited resources.

Sanders was particularly concerned about the original treaty rights in northern Wyoming and southern Montana. The Eastern Shoshone, Lakota, and Northern Cheyenne all obtained treaty rights to defend their lands in the Fort Bridger Treaty.

But, according to Sanders, everything changed when white people began modifying the treaty for economic advantage.
Sanders was initially tasked with bringing the game to high school students, but she ran into a snag.
"They do not trust that the Native nations' treaty rights, which were granted in 1851, will continue to benefit them. As a result, they abandoned the game "she said
However, since younger children are unaware of the consequence, they have a more enjoyable time playing.