document resume ed 343 764 rc 018 623document resume ed 343 764 rc 018 623 author skinner, linda...

DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 343 764 RC 018 623

AUTHOR Skinner, LindaTITLE Teaching through Traditions: Incorporating Native

Languages and Cultures into Curricula.SPONS AGENCY Department of Education, Washington, DC. Indian

Nations At Risk Task Force.PUB DATE 91

NOTE 32p.; In: Indian Nations At Risk Task ForceCommissioned Papers. See RC 018 612. Circle Chartmissing from page 20.

PUB TYPE Information Analyses (070)

EARS PRICE MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS Alaska Natives; *American Indian Culture; *American

Indian Education; American Indian History; *AmericanIndian Languages; American Indians; *BilingualEducation; Cultural Education; *EducationalStrategies; Elementary Secondary Education; FederalLegislation; Language Maintenance; Language ofInstruction

IDENTIFIERS *Culturally Relevant Curriculum

ABSTRACTEthnocentrism has permeated the European-American

educational establishment for nearly 500 years. Native students havebeen subjected to a barrage of assimilation tactics designed todestroy their culture.; and languages. Only 206 Native languagesremain (about a third of the original number), and about 50 of theseare near extinction. Language destruction promotes culturaldisintegration. Among the factors contributing to the poor academicachievement of Native students are cultural differences between homeand school, ignorance of Native culture among school staff,differences in language and values between teachers and students,culturally based Native learning styles, and culturally biasedtesting. Community participation and community control of educationare critical to developing culturally relevant curricula and makingeducation responsive to Native students' needs. Communities andeducators can draw on the experiences of other tribes that havedeveloped successful programs incorporating the local linguistic andcultural context. Other strategies include: community involvement incurriculum revision and instructional materials seiection; tribaleducation codes and board of educatior policies that are consistentwith state and federal goals; textbook review; teacher educationprograms that prepare teachers to work with culturally andlinguistically diverse populations; integrating Native history intothe core curriculum; encouraging participation of elders andintergenerational learning experiences; and empowering students tobecc7c environmental stewards. Ths paper contains 56 references.(SV,

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TEACHING THROUGH TRADITIONS : INCORPORATING NATIVE

LANGUAGES AND CULTURES INTO CURRICULA

Linda Skinner

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Teaching Through Traditions: Incorporating NativeLanguages and Cultures into Curricula

Linda Skinner

There is a book called The Education of LittleTree which is a heartfelt description of one youngCherokee child's growing up days...filled witnwarmth of grandparents and love of this naturalworld; surrounded by his Native language and theways of his people; blessed to learn through life'sexperiences with family at his side. In this book, heremembers:

Gramma said, When you come on somethinggood, first thing to do is share it with whoeveryou can find; that way, the good spreads outwhere no telling it will go. which is right.

This paper will encourage all people to looksquarely at the situation of Native children. His-torical perspective is offered for information toenable citizens today to see the bigger picture, andformulate solutions which will improve educationfor all children. Theodore Roosevelt said, "Thiscountry will not be a good place for any of us to liveuntil it is a good place for all of us to live."

OverviewAlthough the United States govornment

provides programs specifically directed to Nativeeducational needs, the overall effects have fallendrastically short of meaningful change. Native stu-dents have been subject to a barrage of"education-al remedies" over the last 500 or so years. These"remedies" have ranged from assimilation tacticsof cultural and linguistic genocide (ethnocide) tothe compensatory "band-aid" programs which, alltoo often, treat the symptom rather than cure theproblem, and which relegate our chiidren to adependent, inferior role in society. Ow studentsshould enjoy an equal level of educational successand the same opportunities that the children of theimmigrants enjoy. In 1991, Native children, des-cendants of the original inhabitants of this con-tinent, still suffer and some tragically! Thenumerous problems include low achievementscores, high drop out rates and high absenteeism.It is a commonly held belief that the "inability" ofAmerican Indian and Alaska Native children tofully benefit from and excel in their school ex-periences, was/is in large part, due to their culture.In essence, this is blaming the victim, which serves

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to compound the problem. It is time we looked atthe whole picture to see the reoccurring patterns

and change our direction to one of equity andrespect for all students. Vine Deloria, Jr. observedthat it is time for a redefinition of education forNatives:

If we now redefine Indian education as aninternal Indian institution, an educationalprocess which moves within the Indian con-text and does not try to avoid or escape this,:ontext, then our education mil substantial-ly improve. (Deloria, 1990)

This paper will briefly discust; how past policieshave created the dilemma we face today, our cul-tures are threatened, our children are confusedand hurt, and our Native languages are lost and/orendangered. Education will be viewed from theexisting English-American context and comparedwith Native education philosophies. The acquisi-tion oflanguage, exemplary programs and success-ful practices will be presented. Present-dayeducation barriers and the problems they presentfor students will be defined and addressed withsolutions from the testimony, literature, and manyyears of collective experience of those who testifiedat the Indian Nations at Risk Task Force hearings.This paper will also analyze present conditions ofNative education, language, and culture to show awide range of quality and a diversity of approaches.Strategies and solutions will be offered.

One Teacher's Experience:A True Story

Our Elders have kept our cultural tradition oftransmitting knowledge, values, and historythrough oral tradition. We learn from the ex-perience of others. There is always somethingbeyond the story itself which takes hold of eachlistener's heart and remains in mer ry. As ourelders have modeled their love for this method oflearning and teaching, I want to give the followingaccount of' a transforming, unforgettable lesson inlanguage and culture which forever changed mylife. This riveting experience is one I have verballyshared with hundreds of educators to impress the

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Indians Nations At Risk: Solutions for the 1990s

importance of an understanding of Native lan-guages, Native cultures, and Native children.

It was my first teaching job. I was "fresh out ofschool," having studied at a major university inOklahoma, preparing for what I wanted most to doin life: teach Indian children. It had been difficultto find any classes to help me do that, even in thestate which was once "Indian Territory" and stillhas more "CDIB Indians" than any other. Theclasses had very little content about the culturallydifferent child, let alone about Indian childrenspecifically. But I had done my best. I took Sociol-ogy classes, read a lot and traveled extensively(from Greenland to Europe to Mexico). Formalteacher education study in 1966-1971 included onepaper on cultural diversity in one history of educa-tion textbook. That was not enough.

I was interviewed by a Zia Pueblo Day Schoolcommunity committee and one Bureau of IndianAffairs official for a teaching position at Zia PuebloDay School. One of their many questions of me was,"How will you communicate with our children?They speak the Keresan language and you speakEnglish. Of the ten kindergarten children, mostspeak only Keresan." I thought a moment, andanswered, "I would like to learn your language, butI would also, in the beginning, communicate withthe students in ways other than language." Littledid I know how difficult it would be, even with thebest of intentions. I quickly learned that the bar-riers of language end culture are hig ones. Thank-fully, I soon learned that it is possible forbarriers to lead to the building of bridges. Iwas also educated in a very kind way, that thepeople had their own extremely valid reasons forkeeping the language to themselves.

The first week of school I tried creative ap-proaches. I depended almost completely on theKeres-speaker aide for communicating concepts.One game we played was for the multiple purposeofgetting comfortable with one another, having funtogether, and learning both the Keresan andEnglish names of animals. The idea was that astudent would imitate the sounds or movements ofan animal, and the others would guess. It was greatfun. Things were going very well, until the teacher-aide had to leave the room. We still played. Thekids had already imitated many of the animalsaround the pueblo: dogs, horses, sheep, pigs...Itwas Cindy Lupe's turn. She went "Meeoww." Im-mediately Alfonso jumped up and said "Moose!" Iquickly thought back to my teacher ed days. I hadlearned about the "the teachable moment," andhere it was! I would teach Alfonso what a moosewas. I proceeded to do just that. I put my arms wayup over my head and spread my fingers wide for

the antlers. I 1)c:flowed loud noises and said,"M0000se." The big eyes and puzzled expressionstold me something was awry. During recess (whichwas announced rather soon after) I spoke withMary, the teacher-aide, and told her about whathad happened, adding that their faces told mesomething was not right. She looked at me witheyes that told me she had seen similar thingshappen all too often...and her head sort of droppedin her hands as she (still smiling) said, "Oh, Linda,in our language 'Moose' means cat." Oh, dear! Wegathered the children together, arid with constantbilingual translations via Mary, we sat and talkedabout the need to communicate...That we camefrom different places and spoke different lan-vages. We said we would help each other. I toldthem about Oklahoma, my family and the Choc-taws. They showed me a prickly pear cactus fruitand talked about hot chilies and pottery. I feltbetter. Serious as the predicament was, we alllaughed, and were genuinely amused. We eachlearned that day. I realized later that our class-room circle conversation was the first of manymeetings to follow on the topic of cultural relevancein the classroom.

On the way home that night, I thought (for 371)2 miles) about what had happened, and what Ishould do. I figured this sort of thinghappened overand over again for the Zia people, and theydeserved better for their children. I was Choctawand committed to doing my best, and had specifi-cally chosen to be thei e, and yet, had not succeededthat day. What had happened and what was hap-pening to the children whose teachers did not evencare about their "Indian-ness?" I thought aboutresigning so that a better teacher could take over,and realized that probably would not happen. Iresolved to stay,, and do the best job I could...andto pay attention. The kids were great. They hadalready said they would help me...and they did.

Now I was ready! I worked every evening thatfirst week and all weekend to develop meaningfuleducational experiences. I listened intently to thechildren. They loved horses, birds, butterflies, andfishing. Rhonda talked about "wild piggies." Theyknew a lot about many things, like hunting, plant-ing, dances and pottery. They spent lots of timewith their families, and had close relationshipswith grandparents, aunties and uncles. I begandeveloping my own instructional materials, eventhough the BIAhad spent much money on commer-cially developed programs. But they were a lot like"Dick and Jane," meant for middle class non-In-dian kids. They were not very successful or inter-esting to these curious, active Native minds.

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Native Languages and Cultures

The next Monday morning I finally felt ready,and much more secure. I set up a pretty littlefishing pond with beautiful blue cardboard forwater so the construction paper fish could "swim"in it. When you "fished" with the pole, the magneton the end of the string "caught" the fish. Therewere many colors, because this was a bilingualcolor-learning game. I was proud. The kids wouldlove it. Early that morning, Alfonso and Morriswere the first students in the room. They ran overto see what was new in the corner. They keptpointing and talking to each other in Keres. Iencouraged them to "fish" for colors, showing themhow. They still seemed hesitant. They were point-ing to the cardboard that was the "water" andsaying, "not blue, brown." How many times had Icrossed the bridge over the Rio Grande and seenthe water but not "seen" the water? It is brown,not blue.

I learned that day, and in the many to follow,that the students would be my best teachers. Ivowed to involve the community people from thatpoint on. The education of these students dependedon it. So I began to learn, by experience and gentlePueblo guidance, not only how to involve parentsand community in meaningful ways, but also howvery valuable and essential it would prove to be. Ilearned a lot that year. My young teachers lit theway for me to learn, and to begin to understand.

There was also a book called Teacher whichhelped me that year. The author, Sylvia Ashton-Warner gave valuable insights from her experien-ces in recognizing and meeting the need forcultural relevance with her Maori students in NewZealand. I believe every educator and parentshould read this book.

Over the last twenty years, I have shared ex-periences with many friends in education all overNorth America. This culture-shock, language-gapexperience is not unique. It happens ov A. and overagain to Native children and their teachers. We allknow now, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that thefederal government's assimilation and indoctrina-tion policy of these many years has not worked.Now it is time to join our collective learning ex-periences and take this great opportunity to createeffective change that will reflectjustice and respectfor our children which will in turn create a strongerand more just future for all children.

Background Information:Let History Speak

Cultural and linguistic genocide (ethnocide)has been directed toward the Native people of thisland for many years. As oppressive as manygovernment policies have been throughout time,

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none has been more devastating to a people thanwhat has happened in the name of education. Intheir book, A History of Indian Education, JonReyhner and Jeanne Eder have researched andreported in a clear, concise way what has happenedthroughout the history of Indian education. Look-ing at this historical perspective can serve to helpus understand, not only what has been done, butwhat we must now do. The school, in the UnitedStates of America, has utilized every effort to com-pletely transform Native students into theEuropean "American" culture and assimilate, ac-culturate and indoctrinate them to speak the same,dress the same, wear their hair the same, even totl.ink and believe the same.

The following notations from America's pastshow clearly the path which has brought us to thisdecisive moment in history. We face immediatedanger of losing our selves our very identities,via the loss of our languages and the loss of ourcultures. An historic example from Carlisle IndianSchool demonstrates how the policy of assimilationsought to completely integrate American Indiansinto "American culture." During the period of 1867-1904, Captain Richard Henry Pratt advocatedcomplete "submersion" in European American cul-ture, separating students from their heritage, in-cluding Native language. English was mandatory.Violators were punished. Young men with longhair had to have it cut. Traditional Native clothingwas unacceptable. Any evidence of attachment toNative culture was viewed as an act of defiance.Captain Pratt said in his memoirs, "1 believe inimmersing the Indians in our civilization and whenwe get them under, holding them there until theyare thoroughly soaked." (Pratt, 1964, p. 241) Thisviolent image conveys the feelings of many duringthe late 1800s.

In 1879, the Board of Indian Commissionersreported:

The progress of the pupils in inc.ustrialboarding schools is far greater than in dayschools. The children being removed fromthe idle and corrupting habits of savagehomes are more easily led to adopt the cus-toms of civilized life and inspired with adesire to learn. (Report. 1880. p. 14)

This taking of children was indeed the cruelestblow to our people. Our children are valued aboveall else. Children are viewed as sacred, as blessingsfrom the Creator to be honored, loved, andprotected. Family (and extended family) relation-ships are treasured and necessary for the good ofall. Jesuit Father le Jeune wrote in 1634,

these Barbarians cannot bear to have theirchildren punished. nor even scolded, notbeing able to refuse anything to a crying

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child. They carry this to such an extent thatupon the slightest pretext they would takethem away from us, before they were edu-cated. (Layman, 1942, p. 21)

On December 14, 1886, the policy forbiddingthe use of any Indian language was announced(House Executive Document, p. 12-21). The docu-ment states "...No books in any :ndian languagemust be used or instruction given in that lan-guage...the rule will be strictly enforced." A Sup-p 1 em ental Report on Indian Education ofDecember 1, 1889 states "Education should seekthe disintegration of the tribes. Only Englishshould be allowed to be spoken and only Englishspeaking teachers should be employed in schools."(House Executive Document, p. 93-97)

In the 1840s, the Choctaw and Cherokee hadelaborate, successful schools which were educatingstudents in both their Native language andEnglish. Their systems of education were extreme-ly successful, even more successful than their sur-rounding communities. The English literacy levelof Oklahoma Cherokees was higher than the non-Native populations in either Texas or Arkansas.The Cherokee population was 90 percent literatein the Cherokee language. There were more thanLOO schools and academies. Numerous graduateswere sent to eastern colleges. All this was ac-complished with complete tribal autonomy.

Then the United States government took overthe schools and Native education began a rapiddecline. Today, many Cherokee and Choctaw arealienated from the European American school sys-tem. The tragic results of years of federal controlhas taken its toll on the Cherokee people, as docu-mented in 1989 by the U. S. Senate Hearing onIndian Education:

The median number of schoolyears completed by the adultCherokee population is only 5.5;

Forty percent of adult Cherokeesare functionally illiterate;Cherokee dropout rates in publicschools are as high as 75 percent;The level of Cherokee education iswell below the average for the stateof Oklahoma and below theaverage for rural and non-whitesin the state. (Hearing, 1969)

Throughout centuries of conflict with theUnited States government, we still held on to ourvalues and beliefs against all odds. We endured.Treaties were made. Treaties were broken. As-similation policies were created and enforced. OurNative children and families paid the price. The

tactics were unspeakable, and would be foundcriminal in a court of law today, especially whencompared to what we now know (and Natives havealways known) about human development, familyrelationships, and the importance of positive self-image to a fulfilled life. Those boarding schoolstudents are parents and grandparents today.Some still suffer the effects of degradation andmiseducation, which is carried through to theirchildren and grandchildren. Some have called thisnegation of self "the boarding school mentality."Many believe this era of separation and degrada-tion is in large part responsible for the high ratesof alcoholism, suicide, lack of motivation, aliena-tion, insecurity, ambiguity, and unhappinesstoday.

The House Committee on Appropriationsreported in 1818:

In the present state of our country one of twothings seems to be necessary. Either thatthose sons of the forest should be moralizedor exterminated... Put into the hands of theirchildren the primer and the hoe, and theywill naturally, in time, take hold of theplow...(Roessel. 1962. p. 4)

During these boarding school experiences, it isreported our children were demeaned, treated asthough they were inferior, and as though theircultures, languages and belief systems were lessthan adequate, even "heathen," "pagan," and "bar-baric." What is evident to this writer is how littletime was spent by the officials, the "do-gooders,"and many others, in actually listening with openears or learning with open hearts about thesechildren who came from a strong spiritual centerof ancient tradition based on cooperation, love,giving, wisdom, interdependence and respect foreach individual and all that exists.

In 1870, the Annual Report of the Commis-sioners of Indian Affairs stated "education of theirchildren" was seen as t/he quickest way to civilizeIndians and that education could only be given "tochildren removed from the examples of theirparents and the influence of the camps and kept inboarding schools." And, in essence, kidnapping (inmany cases) of children became the policy of thiswar called "education," In 1887, CommissionerJ.D.C. Atkins' Report of the Commissioner of' In-dian Affairs concluded:

It is apparent that we have advanced farenough in the education of Indian childrento be able to say that what for a time was anexperiment no longer admits of uncertainty.The Indian can be educated equally with thewhite or the colored man, and his educationis gradually being accomplished, and at aless cost per capita from year to year as the


work proceeds... One thing is clear. theGovernment has made a wonderfullyeconomic move in undertaking to educatethese people in any kind of schools insteadof fighting them. The cost of the schools isimmeasurably less than that of the warswhich they supplant...(Atkins, 1887, pp. xvi-xvii)

The years of agony suffered collectively by thesechildren, their families, and communities mustculminate in a sensitive "righting of the wrongs,"and assist Natives and non-Natives alike to ap-preciate the dynamics of this democratic societywhere humanity is valued, and mistakes areloul,etl at candidly and corrected, rather than con-tinued in our American and state historytextbooks, as they are today.

In his introduction to The American HeritageBook of Indians, President Kennedy wrote:

Before we can set out on the road to success.we have to know where we are going, andbefore we can know that, we must determinewhere we have been in the past. It seems abasic requirement to study the history of ourIndian people. America has much to learnabout the heritage of our American Indians.Only tarough this study can we, as a nation.do what must be done if our treatment of theAmerican Indians is not to be marked downfor all times as a national disgrace. (Kennedy.1961, p. 7)

There are many writings which show the eth-nocentric attitude prevalent in the NineteenthCentury. President Grant in his second inauguraladdress on March 4, 1873, declared,

Our superiority of strength and advantagesof civilization should make us lenient towardthe Indian. The wrong inflicted upon himshould be taken into account, and thebalance placed to his credit. The moral viewof the question should be considered and thequestion asked, Can not the Indian be madea useful and productive member of societyby proper teaching and treatment? If theeffort is made in good faith, we will standbetter before the civilized nations of the earthand in our own consciences for having madeit. (Richardson, 1910. p. 4176)

In these confusing and dismal times for theAmerican Native, our tribal leaders showed greatskills in negotiation and far-sighted vision for thefuture of the children, even seven generationsto come. The Omaha leader, Standing Bear(Standing Bear u. Crook, 1879) had to renounce histribal affiliation to win a writ of habeas corpus tokeep from forcefully being removed to Indian Ter-ritory.

As attempts were beinb made to distancechildren from their cultural traditions and homes,the "English-only" movement was begun to ensurethis end. The "Peace Commission" of 1868 wascomposed of Generals Sherman, Harney, Sanbornand Terry with Commissioner of Indian AffairsTaylor.

The Indian Peace Commissions were actuallycreated to destroy Native languages as a premisefor peace, rather than looking at issu Ps ofinjustice.Language was equated with loyalty. Henderson,Tappan and Augar reported that between Indianand non-Indian it was,

The difference in language, which in a greatmeasure barred intercourse and a properunderstanding each of the other's motivesand intentions.Now, by educating the children of thesetribes in the English language these differen-ces would have disappeared, and civilizationwould have followed at once...Through sameness of language is producedsameness of sentiment, and thought: cus-toms and habits are molded and assimilatedin the same way, and thus in process of timethe differences producing trouble wouldhave been gradually obliterated... In the dif-ference of language to-day lies two-thirds ofour trouble... Schools should be established,which children should be required to attend;their barbarous dialect should be blotted outand the English language substituted. (At-kins, 1887, p. xx)

The alternatives for Indians, once again, asseen by Secretary of Interior Schurz, were exter-mination or civilization. He issued "English-only"regulations in 1880 and again in 1884, threateningloss of government money if any Indian languagewas taught.

English language only must be taught theIndian youth placed there for educationaland industrial training at the expense of theGovernment. If Dakota or any other languageis taught such children, they will be takenaway and their support by the Governmentwill be withdrawn from the schoo:. (Atkins,1887, p. xxi)

Again the prevailing ethnocentric attitude wasexpressed in Commissioner of Indian Affairs J. D.C. Atkins' 1887 report:

Every nation is Jealous of its own language.and no nation ought to be more so than ours.which approaches nearer than any othernationality to the perfect protection of itspeople. True Americans all feel that the Con-stitution. laws, and institutions of the UnitedStates, in their adaptation to the wants andrequirements of man. are superior to those

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of any other country: and they should under-stand that by the spread of the Englishlanguage will these laws and institutions bemore firmly established and widely dissemi-nated. Nothing so surely and perfectlystamps upon an individual a national char-acteristic as language... Only English hasbeen allowed to be taught in the publicschools in the territory acquired by thiscountry from Spain, Mexico, and Russia,although the native populations spokeanother tongue. All are familiar with therecent prohibitory order of the German Em-pire forbidding the teaching of the Frenchlanguage in either public or private schoolsin Alsace or Lorraine... If the Indians werein Germany or France or any other civilizedcountry they should be instructed in thelanguage there used. As they are in anEnglish-speaking country, they must betaught the language which they must use intransacting business with the people of thiscountry. No unity or community of feelingcan be established among different peoplesunless they are brought to speak the samelanguage, and thus become imbued with likeideas of duty....The instruction of the !ndians in the yenacular is not only of no use to them, but isdetrimental to the cause of their educationand civilization, and no school will be per-mitted on the reservation in which theEnglish language is not exclusively taught....It is believed that if any Indian vernacular isallowed to be taught by the missionaries inschools on the Indian reservations, it willprejudice the youthful pupil as well as hisuntutored and uncivilized or semi-civilizedparent against the English language, and, tosome extent at least, against Governmentschools in which the English language ex-clusively has always been taught. (Atkins,1887, pp. xxi-xxiii)

Luther Standing Bear, a Carlisle Indian Schoolgraduate and an educator, wrote:

At that time, teaching amounted to very little.It really did not require a well-educated per-son to teach on the reservation. The mainthing was to teach the children to write theirnames in English, then came learning thealphabet and how to count. I liked this workvery well, and the children were doing splen-didly. The first reading books we used had agreat many little pictures in them. I wouldhave the children read a line of English, andif they did not understand all they had read.I would explain it to them in Sioux. Thismade the studies very interesting. (StandingBear, 1928, pp. 192-193)

Luther Standing Bear lamented that theteachers who were sent to reservations knew

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nothing about the children they were toteach, they knew only books. The vivid con-trast again in cultural values resulted indespair and confusion for those Native stu-dents.

There were exceptions to this, particularly bythe missionaries, who were also in favor of endingtribal traditions, but as Educators, felt that thestudents would ultimately ',learn English bet-ter if they were allowed to learn in theirNative language the first three or four years.A correspondent who visited the Se,ntee Sioux inNebraska observed better educational facilitiesthan most of the other northern tribes, It is inter-esting to note that in 1870 the Santee Sioux Nor-mal School started training Native teachers, andmade extensive use of the Dakota language. (Reyh-ner and Eder, 1989, p. 50)

At the mission school, Dakota was taught, andall the elementary books and the Bible were inDakota. After they were taught to read in Dakota,they were given a book with illustrations explainedin Dakota and English. The correspondent. herereported,

Mr. Riggs (Reverend Alfred L. Riggs) is of theopinion that first teaching the children toread and to write in their own languageenables them to master English with moreease when they take up that study; and hethinks, also, that a child beginning a fouryears' course with the study of Dakota wouldbe further advanced in English at the end ofthe term than one who had not been in-structed in Dakota. (Report., IMO. p. 77)

Dr. Alden testified to the Board of Indian Com-missioners:

Our missionaries feel very decidedly on thispoint, and that is as to their work in theteaching of English. They believe that it canbe better done by using Dakota also, and thatit will be done by them in their regulareducational methods. While it is not true thatwe teach only English, it is true that bybeginning in the Indian tongue and thenputting the students into English studies ourmissionaries say that after three or fouryears their English is better than it wouldhave been if they had begun entirely withEnglish. So our missionaries say that if thisexperiment is to be carried out at Hamptonand Carlisle, let us have the same oppor-tunity to show at our school at Santee whatcan be done there. And we think, after solarge an experience, that the same work canbe accomplished at the Santee Agency, andreaching far more in number than can bedone by simply transporting them to a dis-tance (to an off-reservation boarding school).But with the two together we believe that a

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splendid work will be done both in the wayof English education and civilization of theIndian. (Report, 1880. p. 98)

The Santee Normal School, although one of thebest, received criticism for teachi ng Natives to readand write in their own language. Many mis-sionaries continued efforts to preserve the Nativelanguages by researching and publishing dic-tionaries. Some of these dictionaries still serve thepeople today.

But, despite the expressed, educatedopinions that Native languages were worthpreserving, the Indian Bureau stepped upefforts to end, not only the Native languages,but all Native customs and religion. In 1881,the Sun Dance was banned, and led the way in1885 for the general policy which forbade tradition-al Native religious ceremonies and all customsrelating to those ceremonies. In 1886, Native menwere ordered to cut their hair short. The culturalgenocide was continued through allotment ofAmerican Indian lands. It is important to notethat current research indicates similar con-clusions as those of the early missionaries:that language-minority students who receiveat least three to four years of formal school-ing in Native language, generally achievemore in all subject areas, including thesecond language. Certainly, self-image ismore intact.

Education Barriers:Where is Equity?

In 1991, we have many barriers which stand inthe way of equity for Indian students. The failureof national policy and the prevalence of stereotypi-cal attitudes about American Indians were ad-dressed in Part I: A National Tragedy:Subcommittee Findings. Felix Cohen was quoted:

It is a pity that so many Americans todaythink of the Indian as a romantic or comicfigure in American history without contem-porazy significance. In fact. the Indian playsmuch the same role in our American societythat the Jews played in Germany. Like theminer's canary. the Indian marks the shiftfrom fresh air to poison gas in our politicalatmosphere: and our treatment of Indians.even more than our treatment of otherminorities, reflects the rise and fall in ourdemocratic faith. (Cohen, 1953 as cited in1969 Report on Indian Education. p. 9.)

Among the barriers are certainly issues ofnumber, coupled with scarcity of financial resour-ces. The diversity of American Indian and AlaskaNatives is a challenge to anyone who really wants

his/her teaching to empower students in retainingNative language and Native culture. The diversityincludes skin color, height, hair texture, and facialfeatures. The ways of survival were also quitediverse, ranging from fishing, hunting and gather-ing to agricultural lifestyles. Native people spokeapproximately 2,200 different languages, whichanthropologists have attempted to categorize intosix major language families. Political institutionsalso varied greatly, as they still do today. Therewere/are contrasts of confederacies to small familyunits and contrasts of warring ways and peacefulways. Students learn much about diversity whenthey study the various homes, clothing, tools, en-vironment, foods, hunting methods, oral tradi-tions, political organizations and world view. Aclass project of charting diversity could cover allschool walls, and greatly increase the knowledgebase of not only students, but teachers.

Ironically, when studying diversity, a realiza-tion of some uniting similarities will emerge.Spirituality was/is at the core of the belief systems,and permeated/permeates not only ceremony andritual, but everyday life. We hold deep respect forthe earth and acknowledge that all life is sacred,and does not belong to us, rather we are stewards.Native beliefs uphold an unparalleled respect forthe rights and dignity of' each individual. Bothindividual and tribal autonomy were/are main-tained. Consensus had/has to be reached beforedecisions could be made. Great respect was/is evento Elders. Children were/are revered. Generosityand sharing what one has is another Native v ilue.All these beliefs are integrated into a holistic styleof living, and express the connectedness of life.There are subtle communication nuances that alsospread across Native cultures. Many of thesesimilarities are noticeably opposite mainstreamAmerica's ways. The values in themselves are seenby some as barriers to communication and to"progress."

The supplementary nature of Indian educationand bilingual programs creates difficulty in in-tegrating language and culture into the regularschool curriculum. Reyhner notes that educatorsare searching for ways to improve the poor studentachievement that has been documented in all themajor studies of Indian education (for example,Fuchs & Havihurst, 1972/1983; Meriam 1928). Gil-liland (1986) lists eight sociocultural factors thatare potentially responsible for this poor academicachievement:

Differences between Native culture andschool cultureIgnorance of Native culture among schoolstaff

9


Differences between students' andteachers' valuesDifference in Native students' learningstylesPoor motivation of Indian studentsLanguage differences of students andteachersStudents' home and community problems,andInappropriate use of tests with Indian stu-dents.

Other barriers which directly affect the educa-tion of our children are the lack of Native teachersand administrators in the schools. Also missing,when Native values are considered, are eminentpersons. The Elders are the ones who hold the mostknowledge, the key to keeping our treasures, ourcultures and languages intact. Alternative cer-tification must be provided to guarantee survivalof our people. The schools have ways to certifySpanish, French and German teachers (FOREIGNLANGUAGES!) but what of our nationaltreasures, our Native Languages?

John Tippeconnic, III states that "the totalpopulation of American Indians is less than onepercent of the total population ofthe United States.There are more Blacks, more Hispanics, and moreAsians. American Indians are truly a minorityamong minorities. This fact has political, economic,and social consequences when money is allocatedor programs developed; or when data is collectedfor minority groups. Often American Indians areforgotten because of their small numbers orgrouped under "other" when data is collected andanalyzed. At times it appears that American In-dians are just low in priority when compared toother ethnic Or special interest groups." (Tippecon-nic, )

The American Indian and Alaska Native areoften thought of as vanishing races, museum relics.In The Smithsonian Institution, The NationalMuseum of Natural History, a teacher recently wasoverheard answering a question from one of herschoolchildren: "Where are the Indians now?" towhich the teacher replied, "Oh, I don't think thereare Indians anymore."

To this incident, hundreds more could be added.There is a touching poem by Simon Oritz called"The Significance of a Veteran's Day" in which hesays: "I happen to be a veteran/ but you can't tellin how many ways/ unless I tell you."..which hethen proceeds to do in a typically Indian manner:

Caught now, in the midst of wars/ againstforeign disease, missionaries,/ canned food.Dick and Jane textbooks,/ IBM cards./

Western philosophies, General/ Electric, I

am talking about how we have been/ able/to survive insignificance.

American Indian and Alaska Native leadersand Elders are struggling to retain their culturesand languages, their values and belief structuresin the face of being an invisible minority in theirNative land.

In 17 states there are English-only laws. I don'tunderstand that philosophy/movement, but I see itall around me. I recently attended a most inspiringand hope-filled national meeting called "Keepers ofthe Treasures" in Hominy, Oklahoma, with theUnited States Department of the Interior, Nation-al Park Service and the Osage Nation hosting atribal cultural heritage/historic preservation con-ference. Upon returning to my home in centralOklahoma, only about 100 miles away, I bought ourlocal paper and was shocked and dismayed to readthe following editorial by Ed Livermore, Jr., en-titled "English Assailed by Hypocrites":

America could someday become a poly-lin-gual babel if we fail to insist the Englishlanguage remain the only one used in publicand private business affairs.American humor describes the problem. Per-haps you heard the joke about Californiavoters recently approving Proposition 7-11which made English the official language ofconvenience stores! Such humor only un-derscores what is a very serious problem.There is virtually no support in the nation fordiscourse to be conducted in foreign lan-guages for the convenience of those whodon't wish to learn English. But certain eth-nic leaders are raising such demands. Theyart doing so in an organized and single-minded way. and they are winning skirmishafter skirmish against the disorganized op-position of the general public and electedofficials.

Newcomer classes are packed nationwidewith immigrants who recognize that the bestway to share the benefits of America is tospeak English well. But some ethnic groups,particularly Hispanic. reject the melUng potconcept, resist assimilation as some sort ofbetrayal of their culture and demand govern-ment pay for the cost of maintaining bilin-gual institutions.Here are the fruits of their fight so far: bilin-gual ballots and voting aids in many juris-dictions and publicly funded voterregistration campaigns aimed solely at thosewho vote in a foreign language. In education,those who favor developing foreign languagepressure groups are winning against those

8 10


who wish to build a bridge to help immigrantchildren learn English.It appears to us that bilingualism could bet-ter be named "anti-assimilationism."Ilis isparticularly troubling because right now ournation is receiving the largest wave of im-migration in history, and the tide will notdecrease. This gigantic influx strains theability of America to assimilate newcomersand provides a fertile opportunity forhypocrites who seize upon the languageissue to turn minorities into pressuregroups.There is one organization attempting to dosomething about this problem: U.S.English, a nonprofit tax-exempt organizationin Washington, D. C. The chairman of U.S.English is S. I. Hayakawa, a former UnitedStates Senator ofJapanese extraction.What must be done is to adopt a constitu-tional amendment to establish English asthe nation's official language. Laws mandat-ing multilingual ballots must be repealed,and funds for bilingual education programsshould be targeted at short-term transitionprograms only.This doesn't mean English should becomethe refuge for redneck chauvinism. U. S.English includes the following among itsguiding principles: "The study of foreign lan-guages should be encouraged" and "therights of indMduals and groups to use otherlanguages must be respected. But in apluralistic nation such as ours, governmentshould foster the similarities that unite us.rather than the differences that separate us."(Livermore, Dec. 7. 1990, pp. 1-2)

This article is reminiscent of federal policy forthe last few hundred years. Will we progresswith positive action and respect forhumanity or will we backslide into more ofthe same ethnoccatric lack of concern andawareness for issues of justice and basichuman respect? Will we realize that the Na-tive languages of North America are ourtreasures to keep? We must decide today. OurElden are dying.

The American Indian Policy Review Commis-sion (1977) concludes that: One of the greatestobstacles faced by the Indian today in his drive forself-determination and a place in this nation is theAmerican public's ignorance of the historicalrelationship of the United States with Indiantribes and the lack of general awareness in thestatus of the American Indian in our society today.

American Indians and Alaska Natives are uni-que by having a legal government-to-governmentrelationship between their sovereign Native na-tions and the United States government. There is

9

no other minority or ethnic group with this status.It is based on treaties (approximately 400 treatiesbetween the years 1778-1871, of' which 120 havespecific provisions for education). Education wasone of the services exchanged for land. Educationis an entitlement for American Indians andAlaska Natives, not a handout. Under-standing this unique relationship is neces-sary in order to fathom the complex nature ofNative education today. Education has beenthought of as a privilege, but actually is aright, based on trust responsibility. There areseveral laws already on the books which mandatemultilingual and multicultural Native educationbut are not being implemented:

Public Law 100-297, Section 5106 (former-ly 25 CFR 32.4) which stipulates that "TheAssistant Secretary for Indian Affairsshall, through the Director of the Office ofIndian Education Programs, provide for acomprehensive multicultural, and multi-lingual education program including theproduction and use of instructionalmaterials, culturally appropriatemethodologies, and teaching and learn;ngstrategies that will reinforce, preserve,and maintain Indian and Alaskan Nativelanguages, cultures, and histories..." Thishas been in the CFR since 1979 but the BIAhas refused to implement it. Now that ithas become a statute, the BIA is requiredto do so, but for 1990, 1991, and 1992, theyhave not asked for any money to imple-ment it. (Locke, INAR Task Force Tes-timony, San Diego, CA, 1990)

Public Law 100-297, Section 5106 also re-quires the Assistant Secretary to assisttribes with development of departments ofeducation, educational codes, and plans.Again this has been part of the CFR since1979 but has not been implemented. It hasbeen a statute since 1988. Despite havingno money, six tribes Northern Ute,Southern Ute, Tohono O'Odham, Pasqua-Yaqui, Red Lake Band of Chippewa, andMille Lac's band of Chippewa haveenacted language and culture codes whichLlieir tribal governments require withinthe exterior boundaries of their reserva-tions. These codes are very comprehensiveand they have the full force and effect oflaw. (Locke, INAB Task Force Testimony,San Diego, CA, 199u)

Me National Council for the Accreditation ofTeacher Education (NCATE) has recognized thesecritical issues orcultural diversity and has adopted


new standards which require that teacher educa-tion institutions give evidence of planning for mul-ticultural education in the curricula. In 1978, theAmerican Association of Colleges for TeacherEducation (AACTE) in colkboration with TheTeacher Corps, United States Department ofEducation, published a most definitive work, TheSchooling of Natiue America. It is an excellentexample of quality ideas and blueprints for action;although, I believe it is not yet utilized in ways thatwill impact our educational system.

Vine Deloria, Jr. wrote an article recently called"Knowing and Understanding: Traditional Educa-tion in the Modern World." He explains that educa-tion in an English-American context resemblesindoctrination more than it does other forms ofteaching because it insists on implanting a par-ticular body of knowledge and a specific view of theworld which does not correspond to the life ex-periences that people have or might be expected toencounter... Because the product is so refined andconcise, education has become something differentand apart from the lives of people and is seen as aset of technical beliefs which, upon mastering,admit the pupil to the social and economic struc-tures of the larger society. In this article Mr.Deloria also identified two other critical problemsin education today:

"Education trains professionals, but it doesnot produce people." The goal of moderneducation today is to train workers to func-tion within institutional settings as part ofa greater social economic entity. (Deloria,1990)

"The European American separation ufknowledge into professional expertise andpersonal growth is an insurmountable bar-rier for many Native students. The prob-lem arises because in traditional Nativesociety there is no separation. There is infact,a reversal of the sequence in whichnod-Native education occurs: in tradition-al society, the goal is to ensure personalgrowth and then develop expertise." In ourEnglish-American system of educationtoday, elements of kinship and service toone's people are rarely considered.(Deloria, 1990)

Ethnocentrism is at the root of many problemsin Native education. It creates the following cul-tural and linguistic dilemmas (and more):

Curriculum content and design which arenot culturally- relevant, authentic, tribal-specific, nor free of cultural bias andstereotypes.

Conflict of values, attitudes and behaviorwhich result in confusion.Negation of self for Native student; robshim/her of pride of cultural identity; im-pedes success and makes student feel in-ferior and insecure.Too few Native teachers and ad-ministraters.Lack of preparation of teachers and ad-ministrators to respond effectively to thecultural and language minority student.Lack of effective action or change on anational level in the way teachers are edu-cated to respond effectively to the cultural-ly different child.Lack of effective staff development andin-service training for working teachers.Extremely poor textbooks and history clas-ses (American history, state history andabsence of local history). Textbooks relateinaccuracies and perpetuate the myth of"the Indian." Most are written by non-Na-tive authors. Most are filled withpropaganda from the mainstream society'sperspective, untruths, half-truths, obviousomissions, and terminology laden with cul-tural bias.Virtually no mandated (local, state orfederal) classes in the United States inwhich all students learn about accuratehistory of Natives in America (pre-history,history, transition, contemporary, and im-plications for the future). There arepiecemeal, token efforts which allow stu-dents to think they've learned the history,when in reality they havejust learned "thestate's version" of a dark side of Americanhistory.Lack of accountability to students, parentsand Native governments and com-munities.Many classroom-based language develop-ment activities disembody language andculture, depriving students of the oppor-tunity to use language and culture in realcommunication. Often verbal labels areconfused with the infinite creativity of alanguage.Classroom experiences which are not com-patible with children's learning style-community insights and values. Differen-ces between local Native culture and schoolculture.

10 12


Lack multicultural approach across dis-ciplines on all grade levels.Insufficient and ineffective educationaloutreach to parents and families, especial-ly to families who are alienated.Inflexibility ofpublic school systems to pro-vide creative scheduling and instruction toNative students.Failure of school systems to look honestlyat their long history of prejudice, dis-crimination, and institutionalized racism.Failure of these systems to place "anti-racism" educational efforts and actions atthe top of the educational agenda withstudents.Failure of' schools to provide creative op-portunities for American Indian and Alas-ka Native students to access positions ofleadership within student bodies and com-munities.Failure of Native governments and com-munities to accept responsibility that theycan determine the future of their people inall areas, including education. Failure tobreak out of the perception of themselvesas victims.Focus on past, if anything, rather thandynamic contemporary cultures.High anxiety situations that occur when3nvironment is threatening, un acceptingor devalues a child's culture or language orfamily.

National and state policies fail to ade-quately address and mandate meaningfulchange.

Current Conditions ofLanguage and Culture:

Act Now!The nature of language and culture today is as

varied as the diversity of the Indian nations them-selves.

In spite of federal policy intended to destroyIndian languages, it is estimated that 206 in-digenous languages are spoken in the UnitedStates today (Education Week, Aug. 2, 1989). Leap(1981) documents (Table 1) that the remaininglanguages survive with different levels of fluencyby showing the relationship between the numberof speakers and age range. Of these survivingnative languages, it is estimated that ap-proximately 50 are on the death list. If we valuediversity...if we value language and its con-

113

nection to culture, we must act now. There isno more time to consider the question.

According to Bea Medicine, the prohibition ofNative language use has had pt at repercussionson the communicative skills of American Indiansand Alaska Natives. Language is the core of theexpressive elements of culture, music, song, dance,art and religion. She also points out the fact lan-guages have persisted, attests to the great vigor ofNative cultures and their members. It also indi-cates the value placed on Native languages byparents and grandparents who still teach theirchildren a Native language. To them, language iscritical in maintaining cultural continuity and Na-tive identity. (B. Medicine, 1981, p. 3)

Some current examples of language preserva-tion from The Center for Applied Linguistics inWashington, D.C. include:

1. An example of flourishing language isNavajo, with well over 100,000 speakers,more than any other American Indian lan-guage north ofMexico. It is also the largesttribe and has the largest reservation. MostNavajo children on the reservation learnonly Navajo until they begin school.Louisiana Coushatta is also a flourishinglanguage, with a population of only 1,000people. The most important indicators of aflourishing language can be summarizedas follows:a. It has speakers of all ages, some of

them monolingual.b. Population increases also lead to the

number of speakers.c. It is used in all communicative situa-

tions.d. The language adapts to the changing

culture of the community.e. Speakers become increasingly more

literate.2. An example of an enduring language is

Hualapai. The Hualapai and relatedHavasupai have fewer than 2,000 people,of which 95 percent, including mostchildren, speak Hualapai. The language isnot expanding. An enduring language ischaracterized in this way:a. It has speakers of all ages; most or all

are bilingual.b. The population of speakers tends to

remain constant over time.c. English tends to be used exclusively in

some situations.d. The language adapts to the changing

culture of the community.


e. There is little or no Native languageliteracy in the community.

A declining language is Shoshoni. TheShoshini nation has approximately 7,000members, but their language is nowspoken by no more than 75 percent of theShoshoni people, with an ominous con-centraVon of abilities in older people. Thecharacteristics of a declining language are:a. There are proportionately more older

speakers than younger.b. Younger speakers are not altogether

fluent in the language.c. The number of speakers decreases

over time, even though the populationmay be increasing.

d. The entire population is bilingual andEnglish is preferred in many situa-tions.

e. The language begin s to conform to andresemble English.

f. The population is essentially illiteratein the language.

4. Pit River exemplifies an obsolescent lan-guage. More than half the Native lan-guages are obsolescent. Perhaps fiftytribes have fewer than ten speakers, all ofthem elderly. The language can be heardonly when the Elders get together. Thecharacteristics of an obsolescent languageare:a. An age gradient of speakers that ter-

minates in the adult population.b. The language is not taught to children

in the home.c. The number of speakers declines very

rapidly.d. The entire population is bilingual and

English is preferred in essentially allsituations.

e. The language is inflexible. It no longeradapts to new situations.

f. There is no literacy.5. An example of an extinct language is

Chumash. Approximately 25 years ago,the last speaker died, although the lan-guage had not been used for many yearsbefore that.

According to the 1980 U.S. Census there are20,000 speakers of Eskimo-Aleut languages; 3,662speakers of Athabaskan-Eyak-Tlingit languages;150 speakers of Tsimshian; and 100 speakers ofHaida. In total, in 1980 there were 23,912 speakersof Alaska Native languages out of a populationcount of 53,430 persons. Roughly 45 percent of

Alaska Natives spoke un Alaska Native languagein 1980. Presently, that number has decreased andcontinues to do so. (MacLean, 1990, p. 5)

The following testimony from Native educator,Ahgeak MacLean of the Alaska Department ofEducation, summarizes current conditions of Na-tive languages and cultures/problems and solu-tions including creative policy and legislation:

For most children who speak an Alaska Na-tive language with more competence thanthey speak English. the language of instruc-tion and language development activities isin that Alaska Native language. The languagethat they speak is accepted in the school andis used to teach them until the second grade.(Henze, et al. 1990). Most of these childrenare Alaska Yupiks or Siberian Yupiks.

In regions where the children still speak theirNative language, the primary language of instruc-tion from kindergarten through the second gradeis usually in that language. After the second grade,instruction in the Native language is reduced dueto various factors, including the shortage of bilin-gual teachers, lack of curricular materials, andmost importantly the lack of commitment by thecommunity and the school to promote the growthand enrichment of the Alaska Native language.(MacLean, 1990, p. 7)

Since the support for bilingualism has been low,and the status of Native languages as ones worthstudying has also been low, teaching of Nativelanguages has not been actively promoted byschool boards and administrators. This lack of com-mitment and enthusiasm for Alaska Native lan-guages as the language of instruction or of studyin schools, I believe, is the direct result of thenegative attitudes and social stigma that haveevolved around bilingualism and biculturalism,and against the worth of Native languages andcultures in Alaska. For many years, bei ng bilingualwas seen as a negative attribute for optimal learn-ing to occur. Current research strongly sug-gests that being proficient in more than onelanguage enhances positive cognitivedevelopment; although many administrators,teachers, and parents still believe that instructionin Alaska Native languages will retard Englishlanguage use and proficiency of children. (Mac-Lean, 1990, p. 7)

The decreasing numbei s of Alaska Native stu-dents in bilingual-bicultural programs may indi-cate that many Alaska Native students are notreceiving any instruction which promotes furtherdevelopment of th eir Native language for cognitiveor affective purposes. This trend is disturbing inlight of educational research that strongly sug-gests that students' school success appears to

12 14


reflect both the more solid cognitive and academicfoundation developed through intensive primarylanguage instruction and the reinforcement oftheir cultural identity. (Cummins, 1986)

In September of 1987, in hope of rectifying thissituation, the Alaska Department of Education,through the Office of the Commissioner and incollaboration with somn members of the AlaskaNative community, the University of Alaska, andschool districts initiated a process to establish anAlaska Native Language Policy for schools inAlaska. The policy acknowledges thatAlaska's indigenous languages are uniqueand essential elements of Alaska's heritage,and thus distinct from immigrant lan-guagesat recognizes that although some childrenlearn their Native language in the home and com-munity, many Alaska Native children no longerhave the opportunity to learn their heritage lan-guages in this way.

The policy encourages schools to teach, and useas the medium of instruction, the Alaska Nativelanguage of the local community to the extentdesire,' by the parents of that community. This isa renewed attempt by educatoi s to establish aprocess whereby Alaskan Natives can makedecisions concerning their Native languages forthe educational system. It is hoped that parents ofAlaska Native children will begin to use their Na-tive language much more freely with their childrenwhen they learn that current research indicatesthe use of the minority language in the home is nota handicap to childrens' academic progress(Chesarek, 1981; Bhatnager, 1980; Carey andCummins, 1979; Cummins and Mulcahy, 1978;Ramirez and Politzer, 1976; Yee and La Forge,1974); that it is okay to use their Native languagesat home with their families.

The Beginning of a New DayIn June 1988, Indian people from all over the

country met in Tempe, AZ for the purpose of at-tending the Annual Native American LanguageIssues Institute. The tone of the Institute wasunique that year. Everything that could go wrongdid. As NALI went into its third and final morningthe round table discussion began with separateissues. However, as each table and its debatersbegan to bring forth concerns, one topic wasrepeated over and over: NALI must adopt a resolu-tion that speaks up for our beliefs about Nativelanguage and that message must be strong. Par-ticipants, after all, were sitting in a state whichwas preparing to vote on an English-Only bill.Native people were more than concerned.

A resolution was adopted and the path that ittraveled over the course of the next three yearswould become a matter of public record. This docu-ment would rewrite and formally reverse a 104-year old federal policy which had been developedto destroy Indian languages and hence our cul-tures.

Those OLD federal policies were clear. OnDecember 14, 1886, the policy forbidding the use ofany Indian language was announced. (House Ex-ecutive Document No. 1. 50th Congress, 1st ses-sion, Serial 2542, pp. 12-21). The document states"...No books in any Indian language must beused or instruction given in that lan-guage...the rule will be strictly enforced.170A supplemental Report on Indian Education ofDecember 1, 1889 (House Executive Document No.1. 51st Congress, 1st Session, Serial 2725, pp.9397, states, "Education should seek the disin-tegration of the tribes. Only English shouldbe allowed to be spoken and only Englishspeaking teachers should be employed inschools.170

These policies did work. At the very time theywere becoming law, we had some 604 Indian lan-guages that were, for the most part, healthy andalive. (McGee, The Smithsonian Institute, 1896.)Today as a direct result of that disintegration, wehave about 200 Indian languages left. Of that 200it is estimated that 114 are on the death list.

As the Native American Language Act laboredits way through the bureaucratic process, Nativepeople kept the vigil. On October 23, 1989, SenatorInouye introduced the following bill.

S13851 & 513852CONGRESSIONALRECORD-SENATE

October 23, 1990S. 1781. A bill to establish as the policy ofthe United States the preservation,protection, and promotion of the rights ofNative Americans to use, practice, anddevelop Native American languages, totake steps to foster such use, practice anddevelopment, for other purposes; to theSelect Committee on Indian Affairs.

NATIVE AMERICANLANGUAGE ACT

Mr. INOUYE. Mr. President. I am pleased tointroduce legislation to establish that it is thepolicy of the United States to preserve.protect, and promote the rights of Native

13 15


Americans to use, practice, and develop Na-tive American languages.Mr. President, as you know, traltional lan-guages are an integral part of NativeAmerican cultures, heritages, and identities.History, religion, literature, and traditionalvalues are all transmitted through language.When a language is lost, the ability to ex-press concepts in a certain way is also lost.For example, names for objects or events innature reflect the way people understandthose phenomena. When they no longerknow the name of something in their ownlanguage, they no longer have the samerelationship with it, and part of their culturedies along with this communication loss.As part of its termination policy, the U.S.Government sought to abolish Native lan-guages. Indigenous Americans, includingAmerican Indians, Alaska Natives and NativeHawaiians were punished for speaking intheir Native tongues. The purpose of thispolicy was to mainstream Native peoples sothat they would no longer be different fromnon-Native Americans.Fortunately, this policy has not beenrepudiated. The Federal Government's policyof self-determination has meant that NativeAmericans can decide for themselves how tomanage their own governmental affairs. edu-cate their children, and live their lives. Whilesome Native languages have become virtual-ly extinct before Native people realized themagnitude of their loss, there are now strongefforts nationwide among Native people torecover and perpetuate this part of theircultural heritage.The bill I am introducing today is similar tothe joint resolution which I introduced at theend of the 100th Congress and which passedthe Senate. Instead of a joint resolution. I amintroducing this init.Htive as a bill to makeclear the serious intera that Federal policysupports the use, practice, and developmentof Native languages. This proposal is basedon a resolution adopted by the NativeAmerican Languages Issues Institute. I

believe that it is appropriate that Nativepeople and language practitioners par-ticipated in developing this proposal. It isconsistent with my policy in dealing withNative American issues to have the solutioncome from Native peoples. Clearly, the initia-tive for developing and implementing Nativelanguage use will continue to come from thepeople who speak their Native languziges.With the explicit support of the U.S. Govern-ment for these efforts, we will ensure that theself-determination policy of the Govermnentis carried out and that we in Congress andFederal government are continuing to fulfill

our responsibility to the Native people of thiscountry.Mr. MCCAIN, Mr. President, I rise in strongsupport of the Native American LanguageAct, a bill introduced this day by the chair-man of the Select Committee on Indian Af-fairs, my esteemed colleague from Hawaii,Senator INOUYE. This bill will establish asthe policy of the United States the preserva-tion, protection and promotion of the rightsof Native Americans to speak. practice, anddevelop Native American languages, and tofoster the use and practice of NativeAmerican languages. This bill will provide abasis for the United States and the I3ureauof Indian Affairs to begin to reverse thepolicies of the past which resulted in theerosion of Native culture and language byforcibly preventing Native American childrenfrom speaking their Native languages inBureau of Indian Affairs boarding schools.An entire generation of American Indianchildren were forcibly deprived of their NativeLanguage, and in turn their culture. throughthe policies of the Federal government.It is now time for this Government to developa uniform Federal policy that supports theuse of Native languages in schools. A policythat will ensute the continued survival ofNative American cultures, literatures, andhistories through Native American lan-guages. A policy that allows Native Americanchildren to learn in their own languages anda policy that encourages academic successand achievement among Native Americanchildren. Mr. President, I would like to com-mend Senator INOUYE for his initiative andfine work on this bill, I am pleased to be aco-sponsor of this badly needed legislation.Although the Bill was to repeatedly gainunanimous approval in the Senate. it was tocontinually reach impasse not in House. butrather in the House Education & Labor Com-mittee. This baffled many people includingnon-Indians. Especially when that very com-mittee stated in disbelief -that more writtenand oral support has come across its tableon this Native American Language Act thanany other Indian Education issue.-How could it be that, that committee, withits learned members. could not remembersome very basic facts. The very fact that thiscountry has repeatedly engaged in war andwar-like conflict when their beliefs andfreedoms of religion were threatened.And here, once again, were Indian peoplefighting for their basic beliefs, the belief inthe need for language. After al!, when apeople loses its language. it has lost its cul-


ture and the right to a basic freedom: thefreedom of its religion and its beliefs.After many meetings and much encourage-ment, the Bill was again introduced andagain it passed the Senate unanimously onthe evening of October 11, 1990. Then, in theearly hours of October 12, 1990, in less than70 seconds, the House unanimously passeda bill that its Education and Labor Commit-tee had sat on for three years. AmericanIndians all over rejoiced and waited withanticipation for President Bush to bring intolaw, our new policy.

On October 30, 1990 at 6:13 p.m. PresidentBush signed into legislation Public Law 101-477.Title I of that Bill is the NATIVE AMERICANLANGUAGE ACT.

That act brings to Native people, not only achange in the old policy, but also the following:

Declaration of PolicySE^. 104.It is the policy of the United States to

1. preserve, protect, and promote the rightsand freedom of Native Americans to use,practice, and develop Native Americanlanguages.

2. allow exception to teacher certification re-quirements of Federal programs, andprograms funded in whole or in part by theFederal Government, for instruction inNative American languages when suchteacher certification requirements hinderthe employment of qualified teachers whoteach in Native American languages, andto

3. encourage State and territorial govern-ments to make similar exceptions;A. Native American language survival,B. educational opportunity,C. increased student success and perfor-

mance,D. increased student awareness and

knowledge of their culture and history,and

E. increased student and communitypride:

4. encourage State and local educationprograms to work with Native Americanparents, educators, and other NativeAmerican governing bodies in the im-plementation of programs to put this policyinto effect;

5. recognize the right of Indian Tribes andother Native American governing bodies to

151

use the Native American languages as amedium ofinstruction in all schools fundedby the Secretary of the Interior;

6. fully recognize the inherent right ofNativeAmerican governing bodies, States, ter-ritories, and possessions of the UnitedStates to take action on, and give officialstatus to, their Native American lan-guages for the purpose of conducting theirown business;

7. support the granting of comparableproficiency achieved through course workin a Native American language the sameacademic credit as comparable proficiencyachieved through course work in a foreignlanguage, with recognition of such NativeAmerican language proficiency by institu-tions of higher eduction as fulffilingforeignlanguage entrance or degree require-ments; and

8. encourage all institutions of elementary,secondary and higher eduction, where ap-propriate, to include Native American lan-guages in the curriculum in the samemanner as foreign languages and to grantproficiency in Native American languagesthe same full academic credit as proficien-cy in foreign languages.

Strategies for Success:Strengthen the ConnectionTestimonies at the regional hearings for the

Indian Nations at Risk Task Force were insightful,touching, and amazingly consistent when describ-ing educational needs and concerns. Fortunately,we have some research, idea sharing through jour-nals, newspapers, Native education meetings, andthe old "Moccasin Telegraph" to continue to formu-late new solutions for our educational challenges.We must pursue them with renewed vision andstrength of purpose.

Assistant Secretary John MacDonald wrote arecent editorial on Readiness, the first nationaleducation goal. What he wrote is very appropriateto this INAR Task Force's charge to consider thatmore than the student be made ready:

Readinessin my opinion...holds the key toall the other national goals for education. Achild's experiences in his first few years area central determinant of his future develop-ment. so attention on early intervention sym-bolizes a focus on prevention rather thanremediation. By readiness we mean not onlythe readiness of a child to enter school, butalso the readiness of the school to provide an

7


opportunity for every child to succeed...theschool must provide equity and personaliza-tion in its approach. By personalization, wemean that each child should have an oppor-tunity to learn in a way that best suits hislearning style and needs, regardless of hand-icap or language proficiency. Let us makesure each child has equal access to schooland receives equal opportunities once there.Let's also make sure that every school hasstandards to ensure program quality...To ensure that schools in the United States are

ready for Native children, it is necessary foreducators to realize the relationship between lan-guage and culture. One of our First Nations Elders,Eli Taylor, of the Sioux Valley Reserve inManitoba, provided a strong rationale for therevitalization of Native languages:

Our Native language embodies a value sys-tem about how we ought to live and relate toeach other...it gives a name to relationsamong kin, to roles and responsibilitiesamong family members, to ties with thebroader clan group...There are no Englishwords for these relationships because yoursocial and family life is different from ours.Now if you destroy this language, you notonly break down these relationships, but youalso destroy other aspects of our Indian wayof life and culture, especially those thatdescribe man's connection with nature, theGreat Spirit, and the order of things. Withoutour language, we will cease to exist as aseparate people.

It is apparent to me, after much investigationand 20 years of diverse experiences with Nativestudents, communities, educators, and govern-ments, that we perhaps have one point on whichwe are more unified than any other: we all wantthe very best we can provide in educationalexperiences for our most precious treasures,our children.

It is also apparent to me, more than ever before,that our Native population has an incrediblybrilliant pool of educators, parents, Elders,tribal leaders, students, and families who areeloquent and articulate in expressing needsof the heart and mind. This is no accident. It isone of those results of challenging circumstance.Through adversity, we have had to developstrength and endurance. Our recent history hasbeen filled with conflict, adversity, pain, suffering,losses, and factionalism ... but our hearts haveremained full of the ancient values of respect,generosity, love for our children, our Elders, andall oflife's circle. Our minds keep the remembranceof oral tradition, the histories of our ancestors, theimages of our grandparents, and even the

memories of their memories. We are spirituallyconnected to our past, our present, and our future.

We, as Native educators, have had the "OP-PpRTUNITY" for many years to deal with educa-tional reform on the local grass roots level, as wellas state and national levels. We have learned needsassessment, design, curriculum development, im-plementation, and evaluation ...all within the con-text of community and tribal cultures. We havelearned much. We have learned from our Elders,our children and each other. Now it is time toevolve ... to come full circle and put the best wehave to give, together for our future, ourchildren.

From testimony, research, and experience, Ipropose the following strategies to incorporate Na-tive languages and Native cultures into ourelementary and secondary curricula:

Community Participation andCommunity Control: A NecessityRosemary Ackley-Christensen, Director of In-

dian Education for Minneapolis public schools, tes-tified in St. Paul:

Tribal people need to come to the aid ofTribalchildren. Their education must be contrivedby us from start to finish. Our Tribal govern-ments must provide us with leadersh!p toeducate Tdbal citizens. That big, powerful,rich system called public schooling, in theseUnited States may be all right and Just rightfor the immigrants and their children. It isnot, and has not been even close to all rightfor our children. We Tribal people muststructure the education of our children. Wemust, because we are citizens of dependentnations, appeal to and demand throughAmerican Laws and Congress thewherewithal to structure the educationalsystem of our children with our tribalgovernments and with public funds. (Ack-ley-Christensen. 1NAR Task Force Tes-timony. St. Paul. MN 1990)

Communities must be the educators. They werein the past, they can be today. When communitiesproduce education, values and beliefs are ex-pressed, languages are spoken, songs are sung, andhistories are heard. The people determine theirpriorities, and develop a loving, collective owner-ship of the curriculum which is produced. Thecurriculum is alive and used often.

The best way we can initiate this change isto begin to work on the content of education.and not on the techniques and procedures ofeducation. We must initiate the study oftribal customs on a grand scale and theymust be taught at school on an equal basis

16 1


with any other academic subject. But theymust not be confined to the school or class-room. They must be under constant discus-sion with the community itself, and subjectto continual and disciplined use by thepeople. Perhaps the first feature of revivalwould be to begin comprehensive studies ofthe old clan and kinship patterns, and estab-lish social rules for the reinstitution of someof the old patterns of kinship responsibility.There is no good reason why we cannotexpect every Indian to accept the old socialresponsibilities for his/her extended family.and why we cannot enforce social vespon-sibilities for relatives on a deliberate andmeasurable scale of behavior. (Deloria. 1978,p. 25)

Traditional education among Native people as-sisted the children in finding meaning in life. Cur-riculum was well-balanced. Cognitive learning, thefactual information necessary for survival was re-lated to the affective, emotional learning throughoral tradition and knowledge given by tribalElders. Physical strength and skills were fullydeveloped with games and activities. Socialresponsibility was developed through group ex-periences demonstrating the philosophy that weare born into a life of service that we do not existalone that the community is important. All theselearnings were connected to spirituality thecenter of our existence.

Amid our cultural and linguistic diversities,there are generic values which unite us. Theseguiding principles for life could be a beginningfocus for a tribal code of education, or actual cur-riculum content with interdisciplinary activities:

Generosity Cooperation

Independence Freedom

Respect for Elders Wisdom

Interrelatedness Love

. Courage Responsibility

Indirect Communication Non-inter-ferenceSilence Reflection Spirit

At a recent meeting in Oklahoma, a colleaguesummarized the issues of responsibility, equityand action:As long as we, the American Indian andAlaska Native parents, allow school policy makersto continue to educate our children as they have,then we are responsible for the rape of our beliefs,values, language, and health. Every local com-munity should have curriculum that is designed toaddress its residents. Local education agencieswho don't address coinmunity needs become activeparticipants in the destructive deterioration of all

children regardless of race. They segregate ourchildren with daily dosages of"you're not equal to,""not as good as," "what you are is unimportant,""what you believe has no meaning." These mes-sages are reiterated day after day, grade aftergrade, year after year with untruths in textbooks,negative and stereotypical teacher attitudes, andpersons unprepared to deliver the message asteachers, which was written as a personal guaran-tee for every citizen of the United States. Thatmessage is equality, NOT upper class whiterights, just plain old equal rights.

Granted, this process will not be easy, but itnee6 not be complicated. All governments, local,state, and federal, have established educationalgoals to be accomplished by the year 2000. Unlessstringent local changes and wide scale improve-ments are begun now, and proceed with rigor andenthusiasm, these goals will not be met, with fewexceptions. The federal government has a respon-sibility to take the lead and disallow state and localeducation agencies the funds they are dependenton, unless they begin a viable and visible processto rectify the existing problems. Superficialpretense of meeting the needs of all children mustnot be tolerated. Standards must be developed,implemented, and ensured by the states.

The ProcessStates must establish learner outcomes which

have high standards, yet take more than one raceinto consideration. Every district must have cur-riculum relevant to its community but also util;zemulticultural approaches and methods. Every dis-trict must be responsible for utilizing the richresources it has at hand, its community. Thisdoesn't mer.n holding one or two meetings whereone Joe and one Jane show up and then concludethat parents don't care. Historically, schools havedeliberately alienated its parents. Sadly, this trendcontinues today. This negative cycle must bebroken. The few LEAs who have made significantsincere progress in establishing positive com-munication with parents must be nationally recog-nized and awarded the opportunity to share theirsecrets of success with all, raising the standardsand the expectations of respectful relationships.

Textbook companies must be made to under-stand the need to fairly represent all people withtruth in print or be shut down. Textbook commis-sions must assist each state in solving the problemof institutionalized racism by refusing to buy anybooks which denigrate any group or continue anystereotypes, cultural bias, or insufficient informa-tion (omission of history).


Every LEA school board should have repre-sentation of each minority in its district, elected bythat minority.

Every LEA must have equal classroom repre-sentation of teacher to student in relationship torace.

Every LEA has the responsibility to recognizethe relationship of language to culture, and estab-lish programs which utilize the languages andwhich reflect their importance.

Teachers must be trained, retrained, oreliminated if they can-not meet all needs and theneeds of our minority children. Where qualifiedteachers do not exist, then programs must bedesigned to allow for Special Certification to meetstudent needs until teachers can be trained.

Districts who receive federal funding must beforced to include Native parents in these com-munities the right to establish policies w-len theirchildren generate those federal dollars. The ratioof parents has to be reflective to the number ofchildren in the district, as well as the amount ofmoney those children have created. These com-munities must be utilized where LEA expendituresinclude Impact Aid, Title V, Title VII, JohnsonO'Malley., Chapter 2, Special Education, Title IV...

The federal government must take the initia-tive and positively enforce such laws as Title I ofPublic Law 101-477...

Without such changes, we can expect the con-tinuance of the same unhealthy situations whichhave placed us in this crisis.

Culturally-Relevant Curriculum:It's About Time!

Great numbers in every geographical arearesponded to the INAR Task Force hearings in amost definite way concerning cultural relevance incurriculum. In the St. Paul hearing, Edward Ben-ton-Banai is concerned with the social dysfunctionamong Native families and communities. Hebelieves the concept of culturally-based curriculais a means of revitalizing Native cultural valuesand traditions that will in turn help minimizesocial dysfunction. (Testimony, 1990, St. Paul) TheLac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe School K-12 cur-riculum is "designed to incorporate the wisdom andbeauty of the Ojibwe heritage and to teach neces-sary skills to live and compete in the modern tech-nological society...The school is endorsed by ourgreatest community resource who are knowledge-able, capable, giving, and caring...the Elders of theOjibwe Nation." In Montana, William L. I n gorge,believes curriculum should begin "at ail iocaleducation agencies to reflect the local cul-tures and values and to address the bicul-

tural classroom population and community."Dr. Duane Hale of the University of Oklahoma.American Indian Institute, believes in preser.;ngwhat is left through both audio and video, andcollecting what has been written; from thesedocumentations developing curriculum materialswhich will perpetuate culture and values and be anessential key to preventing social dysfunction.

David Gipp, President of United Tribes Techni-cal College in Bismarck, North Dakota testifiesthat:

A. "There is a need to encourage state educa-tion agencies and public schools to institu-tionalize commitments toward the culturalpreservation of American Indian com-munities through state Indian Educationpolicies." Minnesota, Montana andWashington have adopted state policiesthat provide a foundation for progressiveIndian education programs which poten-tially strengthen institutional commit-ments to preserve America's unique tribalcultures.

B. "The development of a culturally-relevantcurriculum base by state education agen-cies is essential for the on-going promotionof curriculum reform toward multi-cul-tural education on a state-wide basis."North Dakota's Centennial activities in-cluded a four-part Native curriculum forprimary, intermediate, junior high andhigh school levels based on whole languageapproaches, student-centered objectivesand both traditional and contemporarycontent about American Indian culture.The author is Native educator, SandraFox. This kind of project can serve as amodel for many curriculum units by LEAsand others, to improve educational oppor-tunities, awareness, credibility andrelevance Tor all students.

C. "Collaborative efforts among educationresource agencies must be implementedand sustained for the on-going develop-ment of teaching skills of educational per-s on n el, particularly teachers andadministrators, who are currently servingIndian children." Summer language in-stitutes and cultural curriculumworkshops are offered in a number ofstates, including Minnesota, Montana,North Dakota, South Dakota, Arizona,New Mexico, Oklahoma... Incentives forparticipation must be considered. Amongthese are graduate credit, staff develop-

is 20


ment credits, and new curriculum resour-ces.

D. "Schools should be recognized for success-fu':y in! rating Indian cultural cur-Ticulwa reaources into the local system."r cited Minnesota's Cass Lake-Bena

.t is, Nebraska's Macy Public Schoolsand South Dakota's Todd County PublicSchools as exemplary in integrating cur-riculum resources and teaching methodsthat address the cultural needs of Indianstudents. How this was achieved needs tobe documented so the process will be avail-able for replication.

E. 'There is a need to establish new teachertraining requirements or to strengthen ex-isting requirements that mandate mini-mum post secondary course work forteaching American Indian children. Gippidentifies Montana, North Dakota andSouth Dakota as having teacher certifica-tion requirements that allow potentialteachers to be exposed to American Indianeducation. However, the courses have notbeen refined since their inception. Herecommends that state education agenciesfollow the lead of Montana and NorthDakota in examining what types of educa-tional preparations are necessary to ade-quately train teachers for the instructionof American Indian students. (Gipp, INARTask Force Hearing St. Paul, MN, p. 4)

An example of Native philosophy of educationwas submitted by Herbert John Benally whichdiscussed the facets of a curriculum based upontraditional Navajo philosophy. "It provides a cul-turally-focused purpose for Navajo educationwhich relates well to concern for student characterand moral development as well as establishingprinciples for a program of general educationwhich, if implemented, will provide for integrationof the curriculum." Governor of Tesuque Pueblo,Gilbert Vigil, states that "no program, no matterhow well funded or staffed, can succeed if it fails toincorporate and reflect the values of its com-munity. American Indians fail to see their ownvalues reflected in the majority educational systemand until they do, they will continue to drop out.They too, must be given reasons for success andmust be treated as cherished and valued membersof our culture. The state of Indian education tellsthem one thing; Indians don't count." (1990, INARTask Force, Testimony, Phoenix)

American Indians and Alaska Natives haveworked at developing relevant learning experien-ces, and have had varying degrees of success. As a

19

preliminary step, it is important to consider whatuse the curriculum will have, and what steps canbe taken to assure it will be presented and usedeffectively. Too many pieces of curriculum haveended up on dusty shelves. We need to createlearning materials and instructional techniquesthat will become a part of the core curriculum, andwill be widely used and disseminated.

Robin Butterfield writes that:Culturally appropriate curriculum for In-dians, in order to reflect the cultures ofIndian students and their communities.must also take into consideration all theseinstructional elements...materials must beauthentic, relevant, compatible, completeand neutral in content...the manner inwhich the cultural materials are presentedremains consistent with Cie overall instruc-tional framework and relevant to the goals ofinstruction. To be culturally appropriate, in-structional techniques or methods shouldconsider the sensitivity, empathy, relevanceand effectiveness with which a lesson istaught. This means that teachers under-stand the culture of their students and theirunderlying value systems. Further, it re-quires that the learning environment be or-ganized in a fashion most appropriate for theunique characteristics of the students. Thelearner characteristics simply dictate that thetechniques and cultural appropriateness ofthe content differ for the learner populationto be served. Culturally appropriate instruc-tional resources include those designed tomeet the specific educational and culturally-related academic needs of Indian studentsand those designed to enhance cultural un-derstanding and appreciation among Indianand non-Indian students. (Butterfield.

p. 50-51) Two relatedmonographs are very helpful in creatingeducational experiences of meaning for theAmerican Indian and Alaska Native student.Both Butterfield's curriculum monographand Pepper's teacher's monograph are notedto be practical. thorough and effective.

In written testimony, Susanna Hayes is con-cerned with the social, economic and cultural chan-ges that have been forced upon the Lummi Tribein Washington. Her article,"Educational Innova-tion at Lummi" relates that the Lummi TribalSchool originated through the people's wish to pro-vide their children with an educational programthat reflects their unique cultural heritage andcontemporary values. Expressive languagedevelopment is encouraged through content basedon Lummi observations, experiences, traditionsand expressive conventions. Blending cultural con-tent with conventional academic disciplines in-volve the study oflife on a salt water peninsula. An


early childhood event with a Lummi grandmataught the little ones about herbs, plant identifica-tion, and the preparation and use of medicines.Both the Lummi and English languages were used.The teachers recorded the presentation andwotked with factual content to study plant tex-tures, colors, root systems, shapes, sizes and loca-tions. The students wrote a book for her called"Grandma says," which included their newlylearned knowledge from her and an illustration.Multiple copies of the text were distributed. Thecurriculum integrated language arts, science, art,personal and tribal history, and emphasized learn-ing in the context of community relationship andserving one another. The culturally relevantcurricula requires school board leadershipand community participation in many levels.(Hayes, 1990, pp. 8-9)

In the southwest, the Hualapai Cultural En-vironmental Curriculum at Peach Springs,Arizona is based on a thematic, interdisciplinaryformat. Historical perspectives and contemporaryexperiences have been researched to form the con-tent of the curriculum. Activities include inter-viewing Elders, harvesting native foods, readingrock writing, and researching traditional stories.This manner of education validates thechild's culture and language. The Hualapaichild's interactive learning environment is chartedand included here to show the extensive planningand integration of culture and academics. TheHualapai Literacy Model uses language ex-perience methods which encourage each child tospeak and write about his/her own experiences onhis/her own ability, while constructing meaning.The entire curriculum is language-based. A wholelanguage approach is used to develop children'slanguage and literacy skills. The entire set ofmodels are ingenious and should serve asprototypes to educators who really want to developan education of meaning. Included is the circularinteractive learning environment chart which wassubmitted to the INAR Task Force.

(INSERT CIRCLE CHART HERE)

The following suggestions may help the processof defining the path of learning you want to createfor your students:

1. As a community, examine curriculum thathas already been developed, andbrainstorm your hopes, wishes and dreamsfor your children.

2. Talk with tribal Elders and communityabout traditional learning which they haveexperienced or about which they have beentold. Wa-He-Lute Indian School at Frank'sLanding, Washington, developed aseasonal-environmental curriculum basedon their ancient values and beliefs, oraltraditions, their Elders, the NisquallyRiver, Mount Rainier, and the flora andfauna (huckleberries, salmonberries,alder, cedar and fishing). Discuss howscience, language, mathematics, arts, so-cial studies, music, and physical educationcan be taught in concert. Culture as thecommon denominator creates a highinterest motivational vehicle forteaching. Then the interdisciplinarycurriculum exemplifies the ancientwisdom that "All things are interre-lated."

3. Discuss common stereotypes and culturalbiases to which your children have beenexposed. Examine your school's textbooksfor stereotypical or untruthful repre-sentations. One person summed up the,:mmments of many at the INAR Task Forcehearings by noting that "textbook vendorsmust be firmly persuaded to publish textsthat do real justice to the contributions ofNative Americans and other minoritygroups. Paragraphs and sidebars insertedhere and there are not an adequateresponse to this demand." Another Nativeperson at the Juneau hearings saidtextbool.s need to be revised to "reflect aless stereotypical image of NativeAmericans and to present non-biased ac-counts of historical events." Become advo-cates for your students. Serve on textbookcommissions and school boards. Keep posi-tive, direct communication with school ad-ministrators, staff, community, andstudents.

4. Define priorities and begin formulating se-quential lessons. Start with what is mostimportant. Kent Nerburn of Red LakePublic Schools in Bemidji, Minnesota re-lated the motto of Project Preserve:

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"Honor the past, serve the present,and prepare for the future." Honoringthe past includes compiling a book ofmemories and photographs of Elders onthe reservation. Serving the presentmeans that they have a strong volunteerprogram. They also prepare for the futureby taking college classes and doing well.This holistic project has characteristicswhich are crucial to Indian education: (1)students focus on their own culture andlearn Native cultural skills. (2) Theprojects are collaborative rather than in-dividual efforts, but they allow individualsto offer their own talents to the group. (3)The teacher is a facilitator, thus reshapingthe teacher-student relationship. (4) Stu-dent work is product oriented. (5) Par-ticipation in projects is voluntary (6)Projects have a multi-generational charac-teristic. (7) Knowledge is derived from ex-perience rather than textbooks. (8) Theprogram includes close support services.

5. The following suggestions are related tocurriculum materials and the developmentof a positive learning environment:a. Demonstrate that cultural diversity is

a national treasure, not a national bur-den;

b. Recruit more Native teachers, prin-cipals, superintendents, and schoolboard members; Start developing amind set of empowerment in preschooland grade school;

c. Assist teacher assistants to acquirecertification;

d. Require textbooks free of culturalbias and stereotypes; Require thatIndian history courses be createdand taken by all students in theUnited States. Many respondentsurged the INAR Task Force to man-date that more Indian history beincorporated in the school cur-riculum. Charles Hines, an electedtribal official in Oklahoma expressedthe feelings of many Native parents,students, Elders and educators whenhe said, "Don't start American His-tory with the discovery of Colum-bus." In examining many textbooks, itis sad but true that the misinformationis still there, despite our attempts toimprove the situation. In my son'sfourth grade social studies textbook, Ireviewed the time-lines of history

232 3

which precede the study of eachgeographical region in the UnitedStates. In the textbook writer's mind,history began when the visitors gothere, and that prevents our young,questioning minds from noticing theextreme injustices that were done/arebeing done to an entire group of Nativepeople. All children need to see thepatterns of history, and decide whatcourse they would have taken/wouldchoose to take today. Children areextremely capable of knowingwhat is fair or unfair. We owe themthe truth.

e. Develop more culturally-relevant cur-riculum in all content areas;

f. Encourage culturally-sensitive staffdevelopment. In testimony to theINAR Task Force, a large number ofpeople expressed concern for teacherand staff training. I urge each parentand educator to listen to the years ofexperience and wisdom in RosemaryAckley-Christensen's proposed ideason staff development: First of all, shequestions why colleges of educationand departments of educationaladministration in graduateschools would graduate peoplewho do not have the necessaryskills to teach the children. She dis-cusses the methodology of change, ac-countability and entrenchedbureaucracy. In very concise terms,she lists specific assumptions for cul-tural competencies. She suggests fourcompetencies in staff development. Tobe judged competent to teachAmerican Indian children, teachersand other staff must demonstrateknowledge and understanding of atleast one competency. The remainingcompetencies must be accumulatedwithin a three year period. The cul-tural competencies are: (1) Inde-pendence, (2) Age-related respect, (3)Connectedness and (4) Indirect com-munications. These recommendationsare fully explained in the text of hertestimony. I would recommend the ar-ticle as required reading for anyone ineducation.Mandate quality teacher education;Provide innovative leadership trainingfor students and adults;

g.h.


i. Offer training for paraprofessionalsand teachers to work together moreeffectively;Empower students and their parentsto make the most of the educationalexperience, and make learning a life-long activity;

k. improve academic achievement;1. Lower drop-out rates;

m. Ensure respect of every student bycarefully examining team and mascotnames be certain they are notderogatory toward any group of people,i.e., Southeastern Savages, TecumsehSavages, Hominy Bucks, NortheasternRedskins...;

n. Enable Natives to serve on reviewpanels which affect the education oftheir children (textbook commission,state history, core curriculum, staffdevelopment.);

o. Encourage communication betweenNative governments, parents, com-munities, school districts, and stu-dents;Employ eminent persons of the tribe asfaculty;

q. Create videos, films, and voice record-ings to preserve the knowledge andlanguage if permission is given;

r. Develop whole language curriculabuilt around eminent persons andother community-generated topics;

s. Encourage intergenerational learningas in the past;

t. Revitalize language and culture at thesame time;Welcome cultural diversity compareand contrast.

u. Dr. Rennard Strickland, a legal his-torian of Osage and Cherokee heritage,makes two nutjor points in his tes-timony in Oklahoma City. They are:(1) The study of Native Americanculture and history should be re-quired of students of Indianheritage; and (2) The study of Na-tive American culture and historyshould be required of non-Indianstudents as well. He believes, as domany others who testified, that it isimportant to men and women, boysand girls of Native heritage that theystudy their cultures to build pride, con-fidence and understanding. He says,"It is important as an antidote to the

P.

22

poison which has been spilled out foralmost five hundred years in traveler'snarratives, dime novels, and at Satur-day matinees." Dr. Strickland alsoadds that this question of false image"profoundly impacts upon contem-porary American Indian policy andshapes the general cultural view of theIndian as well as the Indian's own self-image. It can be seen from the smallestdetails of an everyday children's gameof cowboys and Indians to the interna-tional arena where a movie star Presi-den t of the United States givesHollywood rooted answers to Sovietstudents' questions about NativeAmericans."

Incorporating Culture andLanguage: Preserve, Promote, and

ProtectThe following ideas are ones that will incor-

porate students' language and culture into theschool program. They will not only assist inacademic success, but will reinforce cultural iden-tities. Dr. Steven Pratt (Osage) has discussed howto teach language and revitalize culture at thesame time. "Language and culture are to sides ofthe same coin" according to James Banks. (Banks,1988, p. 261) Osage Elder and language teacherHazel Lohah Harper says "if Native language isnot preserved, cultural preservation will beimpeded. Some Indian languages will neverbe spoken again; therefore language preser-vation and instruction are necessary." Cul-ture can be defined as a set of attributes, such asvalues, beliefs, behavior patterns and symbols uni-que to a particular human group. Language estab-lishes the bond between individuals, and betweenindividuals and groups, that makes group life pos-sible. Language gives a group a way to communi-cate among itself, sharing the same meaning.Language transmits group values, beliefs and at-titudes. Language contains a group's ethnicity,culture and history, a cord binding the past to thepresent. (Banks, 1988, p. 262) These suggestionsfrom New Zealand, where cultural revitalization isalive and well, have been recommended in JimCummins' book Empowering Minority Students.

Reflect the various cultural groups in theschool district by providing signs in themain office and elsewhere that welcomepeople in the different languages of thecommunity;

')4


Encourage students to use their first lan-guage around the school;Provide opportunities for students fromthe same ethnic group to communicatewith one another in their first languagewhere possible (e.g., in cooperative learn-ing groups on at least some occasions);

Recruit people who can tutor students intheir first language;Provide books written in the various lan-guages in both classrooms and the schoollibrary;Incorporate greetings and information inthe various languages in newsletters andother official school communications;

Provide bilingual and/or multilingualsigns;

Display pictures and objects of the variouscult ares represented at the school;Create units of work that incorporate otherlanguages in addition to the sehool lan-guage;

Encourage students to write contributionsin their first language for schoolnewspapers and magazines;Provide opportunities for students to studytheir first language in elective subjectsand/or in extracurricular clubs;Encourage parents to help in the class-room, library, playground, and in clubs;

Invite second language learners to usetheir first language during assemblies,prize givings, and other official functions;Invite people from ethnic minority com-munities to act as resource people and tospeak to students in both formal and infor-mal settings. (New Zealand Department ofEducation, 1988)

These suggestions to elevate respect for Nativelanguage will enhance the self-image of the Nativestudent, as well as preserve, promote, and protectthe language. The Assembly of First Nation'sAboriginal Language Policy Study contains thepowerful quotatioa: "If we can speak and un-derstand our language, our Elders can tell uswho we are."

Networking: Share SuccessThere are many exemplary Native education

programs in the United Statas and Canada. Weneed to publicize their successful practices, so allstudents may benefit. They are as varied as the

people they represent, and I believe that is part ofthe key to their successes. Each seems to have beenborne out of expressed needs and thoughtful visionof what ought to be for their children. Someprograms have been discussed in the previouspages. In the United States today, we have ex-emplary programs for rural, urban, public, alter-native and tribally controlled schools. Thedescriptions by necessity will be brief:

Hualapai tribal members in Peach Springs,Arizona, have formulated exciting models for cul-tural-linguistic-environmental studies. HualapaiBilingual Academic Excellence Program providesa firm foundation for the development of cur-riculum based on the linguistic and cultural back-ground of a community and its children. Theprogram philosephy and learning theory base arecongruent with community beliefs and values. TheHualapai Cultural Environmental Curriculum is athematic approach. The theme formulates the con-tent of the units and is based on topics with aspecial relevance to the local Native community.science, math, and language arts studies relate tothe environment and life experiences of theHualapai reservation. Discovery and experienceare integral to the curriculum experiences.(Watahomigie, IN AR Task Force Testimony, 1990,Phoenix)

At Isleta Pueblo, a computer programdeveloped by a University ofNew Mexico professor,Ted Jojola, (ail Isleta Native himself) assistsHeadseart students in learning the language andfolkways of their ancient tribe. There is differingopinion on whether to continue this project. Thechildren are learning, but so too, are non-Isletans.Traditionalists, understandably are concerned(from the last 500 years of siege) by those whowould destroy the culture in one way or another.The Zuni Literacy Project, a spinoff from Isleta'slanguage and culture computer program, has madetremendous progress. They have been compiling aZuni/English dictionary and creating a series offilm strip-like "storybook? which use sound andstatic visual images to tell stories in the Zunilanguage. Their goal is "to promote literacy in Zuniso the tribe retains its language and traditions ina rapidly changing world. Acoma and San Juantribes of New Mexico have also evolved Macintoshcomputer programs to help teach the Native lan-guage.

In testimony to the INAR Task Force in St.Paul, MN, Verna Graves, Director of Education,Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians, stated thetribal government of the Red Lake Band isthe only tribe in the western hemispherewhich has prepared a comprehensive code

23 2 5


for education. The band has developed seveneducational goals and four general education objec-tives. The ribal council has declared the Chippewalanguage the official language of Red Lake. Theeducation goals encompass a broad knowledge ofChippewa culture, and are intended to be in-tegrated into all phases of the curricula. The RedLake Tribal Education Goals are as follows:

1. The Chippewa culture will be integrated asa functional part of all the curricula. Cul-ture includes our language, values, ethics,the arts, law, history, philosophy, psychol-ogy, health, medicine, and social struc-tures.

2. Parents and family will be involved in theirchildren's educational development.

3. All schools will strive to meet the educa-tional needs of individual students. Stu-dents will achieve to the maximum of theirpotential. More students will pursue post-secondary education and become con-tebuting citizens of our Nation.

4. Social problems will be minimized.

5. The unemployment rate will diminish andemployees will be more successful andproductive in their jobs.

6. The Red Lake Band will attain increasedhuman resource expertise and the leader-ship necessary for further growth anddevelopment.

7. Tribal unity and a stronger tribal govern-ment will be realized through the con-tinued exercise of sovereignty ineducation. Excellence in education will becontinually defined and redefined as weachieve our educational goals and objec-tives.

The general education objectives are as follows:1. To provide learning experiences and

educational opportunities which enableRed Lake children to function competentlywhen encountering changing circumstan-ces.

2. To develop, monitor and upgrade educa-tional experiences which will lead to theprogrtssive enrichment of individual,familial, and tribal life.

3. To reinforce positive experiences in thehome which will enable parents to becomemore resourceful and effective in facilitat-ing the educational development of theirchildren.

24

4. To provide successful experiences for RedLake children in the school environmentthat will stimulate a positive attitudetoward school and education.

Ms. Graves quoted Public Law 100-297 (Section5106) which guaranteed that the AssistantSecretary of the Department of Interior "...shallprovide for comprehensive multicultural and mul-tilingual education programs in cluding the produc-tion and use of instructional materials, culturallyappropriate methodologies and teaching andlearning strategies that will reinforce, preserveand maintain Indian and Alaska Native lan-guages, cultures and histories." Though thesepolicies were written for Indian Nations who arefederally recognized (which policies recently be-came law), it was anticipated that these policies,written by Indian rlople, would be adopted byother school systems which enrolled American In-dian students.

She eloquently stated a common theme whenshe testified: "We believe it is necessary and in-herently proper for each tribe to develop systemsof education. For years we have danced to the tuneof others as education plans were written for us;we will now go forward with our own plans to serveour own people governed and prescribed fromwithin to serve the individual member and ourtribe as a whole." The Language Policy of theEducation Code is an excellent example of tribalautonomy in education. The declaration begins:"The Chippewa language is a gift from theCreator to our people and, therefore, shall betreated with respect." There are sections on:

1. reciprocity of language use

2. protection of language use authority3. general application4. status of the Chippewa language5. parent involvement6. eminent persons/Elders7. Chippewa language as an integral part of

all school curricula

8. orthography9. teacher, administrator, and guidance

counselor competencies for language in-struction (preservice and inservice)

10. teachers and teacher-aides: certificationfor language instruction

11. establishment of the Red Lake Languageand Culture Commission

12. composition of the Red Lake Language andCulture Commission


13. role and function of the Red Lake Lan-gitage and Culture Commission

14. research and external studies that requiretribal approval

15. funding for language policy implementa-tion

The Indian Reading Series is an example ofcurriculum created by Indian authors, authenti-cated by the participating tribes and field-tested inover 93 classrooms. The student books show thecultural diversity of Indian America, and aredesigned to improve reading comprehension, class-room participation and written and oral languageskills. The teacher manuals relate c:ltural back-ground information, program objectives and ra-tionale, and teaching activities organized aroundNative culture utilizing the language experienceapproach to learning. The activities aredesigned to help students learn how to think,rather than what to think.

The North Dakota Department of Public In-struction believes public school curricula mustreflect instruction in the history and culture ofAmerican Indian and Alaska Native and otherethnic societies. The Department ofPublic Instruc-tion offers three teacher training programs asmodels for other states, as well as a four-partNative curriculum built around the North DakotaCentennial celebration. These efforts were putforth because a survey showed that 99 percent ofthe teachers in North Dakota indicated they do nothave books about Native Americans in their class-rooms, 75 percent do not frequently plan activitiesreflective of' cultural diversity, and 91 percent donot plan activities reflecting Native culture.(Cheryl Kulas, INAR Task Force Testimony 1990,St. Paul)

A school in Pawnee, Oklahoma, has fbund aunique solution to a political, social and legaldilemma. Helen Norris's, Title V-C Indian stu-dents visited Pawnee homelands in Republic,Nebraska, and toured the original earth lodges oftheir ancestors. In 1985, 42 students and theirparents traveled to Chicago to the Field Museumto visit the largest display of Pawnee artifacts inthe United States. In 1988, students wrote lettersto the Nebraska Historical Society, asking theSociety to release 378 skeletal remains of theirancestors and their burial goods that had been"dug up." Their letters are a part of a congressionalhearing report and were instrumental in thereburial of 146 Pawnee, Arikara and Wichita an-cestors who had been put on public display inSalina, Kansa:- The students also raised money fora Pendleton blanket to be placed on one of thebodies for burial. This labor of love encompassed

cultural and linguistic tradition, writing, speaking,listening, researching, and communicating withElders, staff, attorneys, legislators, and uneanother. (Norris, INAR Task Force Testimony, Ok-lahoma City, 1990)

A successful venture between the University ofthe State of New York and the New York StateEducation Department has produced a publica-tion, Ogwehowe:ka? Native Languages for Com-munication, New York State Syllabus. This is aframework for the development of local curriculawhich will integrate principles of second languageacquisition with New York State program require-ments and the Board of Regents goals for elemen-tary and secondary education. The Syllabus placesemphasis on communicative proficiency and theunderstanding and appreciation of other cultures.

The Southern Utes have a language programfor retention, preservation and maintenance. Theactivities that accompany the language lessons areall culturally relevant, and designed for easy useby teachers. Elders and educators collaborated onthis project which includes major concepts and keyhistorical information in a context that will inter-est children.

Thu Makah have a Language Retention,Preservation and Maintenance Program. Includedare an illustrated Makah Alphabet Book, FirstLessons in Makah, A Counting Workbook, oraltradition coloring books, and Makah ReservationPlace Names. All these were done through theefforts of many Makah Elders.

The REACH Center (Respecting Ethnic andCultural Heritage), based in Arlington,Washington is providing much-needed educationalservices to schools, social service agenciPs andbusinesses throughout the United States. The Cen-ter specializes in cultural awareness training andthe production of educational materials whichbuild a positive understanding of cultural diver-sity.

UNITY (United National Indian Tribal Youth,Inc.) an Oklahoma based national organization isinvolved in activities which enable Native youth tomeet together, define problems, identify solutionsand develop strategies to address their concerns.The goals and strategies are built around

spiritualityunityenvironmentheritagesovereigntyfamily

in di vidual

25 27


educationhealtheconomy

sobriety

serviceThe Cheyenne Circle Keepers are children in

four communities in western Oklahoma who havepledged to keep their bodies, minds, and spiritsstrong in holding with ancient tradition. Theyhave special interactions with their Native Elders,learning the history and traditions that keep apeople strong. Their gourd dance clan is a powerfulpresence, showing what love for children andElders can produce. The values of using our cul-tural roots is echoed by one of the leading educatorsof our time, Ernest Boyer, who said,

But if we have learned anything from ourrelationship with the American Indian. it isthat people cannot be torn from their cul-tural roots without harm. To the extent thatwe fail to assist Native Americans, throughtheir own institutions, to reclaim their pastand secure their future, we are compoundingthe costly errors of the past.

Summary of RecommendationsBegin a program of curriculum revisionwith the assistance of eminent persons,Elders, tribal leaders, historians,educators, parents, and students.Encourage tribal education codes to ensureautonomy and leadership in education. En-courage partnerships for change. Nativegovernments need to interface with localeducation agencies, state education agen-cies and federal programs that affect Na-tive students.Require boards of education to developpolicies and plans of action to ensure thatlocal outcomes are con sistent with nationaland state goals.Initiate a major textbook review commis-sion. Ensure that all tribes in state andnation are represented. Involve tribalElders, historians, authors, educators,parents and students.Encourage publishers to producetextbooks, software, and other materialswhich reflect cultural and linguistic diver-sity.

Assist school districts in selectingmaterials that are authentic, non-

stereotypical, tribal specific and free of cul-tural bias.Ensure that no school district or any teamhave a mascot or team name which isderogatory to any ethnic group.

Require that teacher education programsin the state prepare teachers to work withculturally and linguistically diversepopulations. Coordinate efforts withNCATE and AACTE.

Assist school districts and institutions ofhigher learning to recruit and retain morediverse faculty and staff.Offer Native language instruction frompreschool through higher education andadult education. Work to get quality Na-tive language instructors through alterna-tive certification.

Mandate that Native history be taught atall levels. Assist educators in teachingabout Native people in core curriculum forall children throughout the year. Prohibitstereotypical representations ofThanksgiving and Indian-Day or Week su-perficia (often untrue) activities.Encourage Elders and other eminent per-sons to serve as faculty with respectablepay scale.Encourage intergenerational learning ex-periences at every opportunity. Set upmentoring with eminent persons.Create an ducational experience of mewl-ing through traditional wisdom.

Enable ail students to serve Elders andyounger child.wi, their parents and com-munities.Empower students to become truestewards of Mother Earth, to learn aboutecology, conservation and the inter-relationship of all things.

In conclusion, it is imperative that educatorsand parents recognize the value of a child's lan-guage and culture. Educators must learn how torespectfully incorporate learning within a Nativecontext, and Native context within the learningstructure. American Indian and Alaska Nativechildren are most often forced to grow up ex-periencing at least two very different, and usuallyconflicting views of the world in which they live.Educators must come to understand the difficult,and often traumatic cultural and linguistic con-flicts that Native students undergo as they attendschools of the dominant society. Because of the


incongruity of the conflicting cultures, insecurity,ambiguity, and alienation are common results ofthe failure to appropriately and adequately ad-dress a child's needs as he/she comes into theschool. Alienation leads to failure, anger, hopeless-ness, confusion, and in many cases directly to drop-ping out of school altogether.

What is needed is a curriculum of meaningwhich is relevant to the present lives and futuregoals of students, and importantly, a curriculumwhich is reflective of their ancient and dynamiccontemporary cultures and their diverse lan-guages. The educational experiences of studentswill lead to empowerment or disablement, depend-ing on the attitudes of the educators, parents, andcommunities. Much also hinges on the institution-al characteristics of the school which include:

1. how culture and linguistics are incor-porated

2. how the community is empowered andenabled to participate in a collaborativeway to influence the education of theirchildren

3. how the pedagogy genuinely incorporatesstudent's backgrounds and experiencesinto the school program.

I believe, in order to adequately meet the educa-tional needs of Native students, it is essential thatwe now begin by establishing a National NativeCurriculum Project, funded by the United StatesDepartment of Education, as entitlement based ontreaty rights. The need is clear, not only in Nativecommunities for Native Students, but to benefit allstudents by creating more accurate learning ex-periences related to the American Indian and Alas-ka Native.

This National Native Curriculum Projectshould have a central office, director and staff ofNative curriculum developers, with years of ex-perience in Native communities and education.Regional offices should also be established in eachof the identified culture areas to develop locallyresearched Native curriculum which accuratelyreflects the life-ways of the people. The results willnecessarily be tribal-specific, non-stereotypical,authentic, and free of cultural bias. All regionalcenters will feed into the national center (and vice-versa) and the result will be a curriculum of em-powerment for students, enhanced by the generouscontributions of all Native groups for all Nativechildren. This curriculum (and accompanyingresource materials) will be placed in every schoolsite in the United States, as an accurate resourceto bring children honor, and to ensure that even

the children "seven generations to come" maybenefit from this decisive action.

It is in this way, we change the years of misin-formation to a future beyond the "Thanks&ingand Indians" syndrome. Not only will contributionsof Native peoples be discussed, along with heroesand holidays, but a higher level of learning willresult. The structure of the curriculum itself willbe transformed to enable students to view con-cepts, issues, events, and themes from the uniqueand diverse perspectives of Native groups. Then,and only then, will students gain the level of criti-cal thinking to enable them to make thoughtfuldecisions on issues and be proactive.

As we move together, toward this end, I ask thatwe remember the difference of merely seeing withour eyes and the "seeing" that encompasses muchmore. In the Lakota Times it is explained this way:

...two ()Awe words rank ways of knowing ina different order from the ranking scholarsassume. Moozhitaming, says an 0Jibwescholar, refers to "feeling what you do notsee" the knowledge and insight a personmight gain by careful attention to dreaming,for example. 0Jibwe tradition values mom-httaming more highly than ganawaaban-darning "seeing without feeling." Butnon-Indian schools rank these kinds ofknowledge the other way around. More likelythey dismiss rnoozhitaming as no knowledgeat all.

In the book, The Little Prince, Antoine de SaintExupery says it this way: "It is only with the

heart that one can see rightly; What is essen-tial is invisible to the eye."

Helen Chalakee Burgess wrote a poem whichexpresses the essence of h ow culture and languageare woven throughout our beings:

Este Mvskoke Forever(Muscogee People Forever)Basketmaker, your clever fingers lacethe honeysuckle with the secrets and strengthsof our people. Your baskets hold the yesterdaysand the tomorrows of our nation.

I watched as the old woman formeda circular base a never ending circlecrisscrossed with outside support...I could see our people overcoming in-trusion. We intertwined with the outsideworld and became stronger.Basketmaker reached for another piece ofvineher work uninterrupted...one by one, our elders die. At those very


moments new life is born to replenish andcontinue the circle.

Silently, I watch as a form emerges from thestringy, root-like vines...and I remember the old ones sayingin the beginning our people climbed outof the earth like ants we are of the earth.

Swiftly, Basketmaker prepares more vinestreating them in the rainwater for supplenessso she can finish her work...the resiliency of our people hascaused us to go forward and restructure.

Finishing, the old woman lifted her basketand motioned me to follow her into the woods.She knows exactly where to go. Stopping hereand there placing a leaf, a sprig, a wholeplant, inside her woven continuum. She stoopsto dig a root, then lingers beside an agelesscedar carefully tearing a tiny branch toadd to her collection...the medicines of our people are nowself-contained within the circle of endurance.

Slowly, she turned to mewith the faintest of smiles upon her face,knowing she had opened my mind to thesecrets of este mvskoke, forever.Helen Chalakee

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29 3 1


About the AuthorLINDA SKINNER (Choctaw) is Director of

Indian Education for the Oklahoma State Depart-ment of Education. With nineteen years' ex-perience as an educator, she has been a classroomteacher, curriculum specialist and teacher trainerin both the United States and Canada. Her back-ground in instructional design, innovativemethods and multi-media approaches for teachingare all rooted in parent and community involve-ment. She has published a variety of culturallyrelated learning books and pamphlets for studentsand teachers. Her newsletter, Traditions forTeaching: Circle of Giving received a "Distin-

30

guished Merit Citation" for the "Best SpecialAudience Newsletter" Media Award in 1988 fromthe National Conference of Christians and Jews.Recent awards she has received are "Contributorto the State of Excellence" by Governor Bellmonand the Oklahoma Indian Affairs Commission,"Woman of the Year" by the Oklahoma Federationof Indian Women, and "Oklahoma Indian Educatorof the Year" by the Oklahoma Council for IndianEducation, In 1990, she addressed the OklahomaTribal Leaders Summit, an historic gathering ofIndian nations which had not occurred since the1840s.

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