Journal of American Indian Education
Abstracts — 1977

#247
FACT AND FICTION: "THE TRAIL OF TEARS"
Kent R. Brown Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 1-6, Jan. 1977
An essay retelling the making of Dr. Kermit H. Hunter's The Trail of Tears, an outdoor drama sponsored each summer since 1969 in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, by the Cherokee National Historical Society. The author relates Hunter's most reliable source of history to be the Reports of the Bureau of American Ethnology to the Smithsonian Institute, written by James Mooney, which covers Civil War times to 1897. Five black and white photographs of the production are included (an additional photograph is on the cover of the January 1977 issue).

#248
REFLECTIONS ON TEACHING AMERICAN INDIAN HISTORY
Michael B. Husband Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 7-14, Jan. 1977

The author's recommendations for teaching Native American history, based on his experiences as History instructor at Morningside (Iowa) College, including: (1) the usefulness of early class meetings to cover Native American political and social organization, and major misconceptions about Indians in history, (2) utilizing varied resources that are available, and (3) using the teaching of oral history as a major resource. The article lists 11 books which the author recommends as scholarly resources.

#249
THE FIRST AMERICAN: LAST IN EDUCATION
Carolyn Croft Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 15-19, Jan. 1977

An overview of U.S. Government responses to Indian education from 1924 to 1972 and critical analysis of the achievement of American Indian children as documented in American literature from 1946 to 1976. The author concludes that in spite of some encouraging progress, Native Americans continue to suffer serious educational deficits. The essay contains five recommendations to improve the quality of American Indian education, including the need for further research, current assessment of student needs, and effective teacher training models.

#250
RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS AT THE CROSSROADS
William J. Benham Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 20-26, Jan. 1977

Edited remarks delivered at the Boarding School Cost Study held at Southwestern Polytechnic Institute, Albuquerque, New Mexico on March 18-19, 1976. The author cites the importance to emphasize the relationship between Indian education and the American education profession as they share a common heritage and are viewed by various people, parents and students with passion and high emotion. The author believes, in the current times of Indian self-determination, there is a great need for more BIA residential schools.

#251
ETHNO-SCIENCE AND THE GIFTED
Albert J. Snow Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 27-30, Jan. 1977

A teaching strategy, the use of ethno-science within the context of modern science, is the author's approach as a vehicle for concept learning. Research was carried out to determine the educational effectiveness of ethno-science. Typical projects were: (1) Black Mesa ecology and the effect of coal strip mining, (2) eye shape and stimulus response of Indian and non-Indian, (3) bacterial inhibitors in reservation dog saliva, and (4) distribution of blood types of Indians on the reservation. The author concludes that the research conducted at Many Farms High School (Navajo) showed that achievement is somewhat enhanced when the number of ethno-science exemplars is increased.

#252
INDIAN EDUCATION CONFERENCE: AIPRC FINDINGS AND REACTIONS TO TASK FORCE 5
[No Author] Vol. 16, No. 2, pp. 31-32, Jan. 1977

A review of Task Force No. 5, the American Indian Policy Review Commission which was scheduled to present its findings on Indian education to the nationally important conference on 14 April 1977. The article includes a brief overview of the AIPRC from its initiation in 1975 to 1977, and is primarily a preview of what would be expected at the 18th Annual Indian Education Conference in Tempe, Arizona.

#253
FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: THE AIPRC REPORT
[No Author] Vol. 16, No. 3, pp. 1-13, May 1977

An article examining the 18th Annual Indian Education Conference which highlighted the findings and recommendations of the American Indian Policy Review Commission (AIPRC) in April 1977. The article relates the 10 findings of the AIPRC and several reactions to the findings from Conference participants. Also reviewed are three additional findings which include: (1) "The Delivery System-BIA," (2) Higher Education, (3) Tribal Control.

#254
MOZART ON THE MESAS
J. P. P. Vol. 16, No. 3, pp. 14-15, May 1977

A synopsis of the April 1977 production of Mozart's The Magic Flute by Arizona State University's Music Theater, but with a new world setting: the Temple of Isis became the Temple of the Sun, the backdrops were fantasies of the Kivas, the three genii became three spirits with corn symbols, and the language was English. The front cover of the May 1977 issue shows a photograph of the production.

#255
ATHABASCANS GET A SCHOOL
Melvin Hirschi; Thomas Glass Vol. 16, No. 3, pp. 16-19, May 1977

The article looks at some of the problems and considerations of initiating high school programs for Athabascan youth in isolated regions of Alaska. The article covers a brief overview of the cultural history of the area as well as the emerging cultural change and educational values. The authors cite Rough Rock Demonstration Project in Arizona as one possible organizational model because of its positive active participation by the Navajo community in teaching and curriculum development.

#256
NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATION IN REMEDIAL EDUCATION FOR THE AMERICAN INDIAN
Charles J. Golden, John Roraback; Vol. 16, No. 3, pp. 20-24, May 1977
Bruce Pray, Sr.

A study to discover whether Halstead-Reitan tests were insensitive to cultural differences seen in the Indian adolescent. Results of the investigation are presented. Eighteen American Indian students (ages 15-18) at Flandreau Indian School and an additional group of Caucasian students were tested using several tests including: performance tests, speech-sound perception tests, rhythm tests, finger tapping tests, adult intelligence scale tests, trail making tests, perceptual examinations, Aphasia screening examinations, spatial relation tests. According to the study, the authors believe that neuropsychological tests developed by Halstead and Reitan are not influenced by cultural demands with an American Indian population.

#257
TWO NATIVE AMERICANS SPEAK ON ART VALUES AND THE VALUE OF ARTS
Leona M. Zastrow Vol. 16, No. 3, pp. 25-30, May 1977

A current (1977) investigation into Native American art aesthetics as related by Mr. Joe Griff, a Pima from the Gila River Indian Reservation, and Mary Lewis Garcia, who creates Acoma pottery. As a result of her interviews, the author believes new ways of communicating traditional art values through the schools are needed.

#258
A CHOCTAW LEGEND
Dixon Sumpter Vol. 16, No. 3, pp. 31-32, May 1977

An essay relating a Choctaw legend learned from the author's grandfather in Oklahoma. According to the author, the story represents the initiation of the word squaw as a derogatory term (but the story itself actually implies an old woman's inability to cope with the death of a loved one). Heartbroken over the loss of her son, an old woman climbed a vine forbidden by the spirits in hopes of seeing her son again. When she failed to reach the vine's uppermost branches, the vine broke, severing the ladder of communication between Heaven and Earth. The old woman was therefore scorned by her tribe and given the name of "squaw."

#259
ESTABLISHING BILINGUAL EDUCATION: PROJECT PAIUTE
Evalyne Titus Dearmin Vol. 17, No. 1, pp. 1-10, Oct. 1977

An essay examining the PAIUTE project which was designed as a cultural preservation effort of a remote Paiute community in northern Nevada in 1975. The project was threefold: (1) the development of a bilingual/bicultural reading text for Paiute students, (2) conducting in-service training in Native American education, (3) preparation of a pilot bilingual curriculum. The author relates that more than half the time of Project PAIUTE was spent attempting to define a code which accommodated the dialects of the four teacher aides involved in the project. The author hopes a full scale linguistic project will be initiated in the future.

#260
SACRED CIRCLES
[No Author] Vol. 17, No. 1, pp. 11-13, Oct. 1977

An article describing the opening of Sacred Circles: 2000 Years of North American Indian Art at the Nelson Gallery of Art, Atkins Museum of Fine Arts in Kansas City in April 1977. According to the article, 850 objects were on loan from 90 museums and private collections in six countries. Objects included in Sacred Circles were dated from 1500 B.C. to A.D. 1800s.

#261
AN EXPERIMENT WITH THREE MODES OF INSTRUCTION FOR INDIAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN
Rosemarie McCartin; Vol. 17, No. 1, pp. 14-20, Oct. 1977
William J. Schill

A study reviewing elementary Indian students' ability to learn through the use of (1) visual and (2) oral cues in preference to the (3) written test. The article explores the concepts and methods used in the study as well as experimental controls, evaluation instrument and treatment of data. According to the study, the authors conclude they cannot say, with any degree of certitude, that some trend existed to prove visual and oral instruction worked better with Indian children than textual instruction.

#262
CULTURAL EFFECTS IN INDIAN EDUCATION: AN APPLICATION OF SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY
Carl R. Cooley Vol. 17, No. 1, pp. 21-27, Oct. 1977

A study reviewing the basic principles of social learning theory and relating them to the effects of early modeling, cultural traditions and customs on the ways in which Indian youth accept or reject education. The author believes (1) it is wrong for us to assume Indian children are "culturally" disadvantaged, (2) there are no "universal" Indian values, and (3) as language structures thought and attitude, the type of language used is extremely important (the language of the American Indian is generally not as verbal as the Anglo).

#263
NATIVE EDUCATION: SEARCHING FOR ALTERNATIVES
R. N. (Bob) Arkell Vol. 17, No. 1, pp. 28-30, Oct. 1977

An essay addressing the pervading sense of pessimism of native education researchers. The author believes there is only reason for optimism when considering the vast amounts of energy expanded in the area of native education. According to the essay, intervention strategies require changes in one or more of the following areas: (1) school structure, (2) instruction, (3) people (i.e., school administrators, teachers, parents, students).