Edwin Schupman

Edwin Schupman, a citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation of Oklahoma, serves as the manager of Native Knowledge 360° (NK360°) at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian, where he leads a transformative national initiative to improve education about Native Americans. His three-decade career in American Indian education began in 1988 at ORBIS Associates, where he developed culture-based curricula and conducted nationwide teacher training. Before joining NMAI in 2004, he contributed significantly to Native education at the Bureau of Indian Education, co-authoring a culture-based health curriculum and establishing a national teacher training program. Under his leadership, NK360° has revolutionized how Native American history and culture are taught in American classrooms by providing comprehensive educational resources, developing teacher training programs, and building partnerships with Native communities and educational institutions. His work addresses the limitations of traditional textbook narratives by incorporating Native perspectives and voices, creating resources like the "Native Words, Native Warriors" digital platform about Code Talkers, and establishing essential understandings about American Indians that challenge conventional educational approaches