Journal of American Indian Education
Abstracts — 1991

#458
TRAINING NATIVE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATORS: ABORIGINAL CLAIMS AND GOVERNANCE IN NORTHERN CANADA
Don Cozzetto Vol. 30, No. 2, pp. 1-12, Jan. 1991

One of the most important policy issues of the 1990s is the quest by aboriginal people for self-determination. In particular, those Native groups negotiating claims settlements are in a unique position. Assuming responsibility for extensive program delivery necessitates the development of a series of comprehensive training strategies. This paper identifies a number of problems inherent in devolution and provides a framework through which Native people can develop the requisite skills needed to manage their post-claims public administration infrastructure.

#459
PATHWAY TO THE PROFESSORIATE; THE AMERICAN INDIAN FACULTY PIPELINE
William T. Cross Vol. 30, No. 2, pp. 13-24, Jan. 1991

One of the least known segments of American higher education is the American Indian/Alaskan Native (hereafter referred to as American Indian or Indian) professoriate. The literature has been silent on the number, location, rank, discipline and tenure status of American Indian faculty. Faculty in the 1990s will play an increasingly important role in the education and economic advancement of our tribal communities. In terms of the number of Indian faculty participating in this development, the jury is still out. This article explores the current nature of the literature regarding the American Indian professoriate including an examination of the Indian educational pipeline.

#460
THE EXPERIENCES, PERCEPTIONS, AND CONSEQUENCES OF CAMPUS RACISM AMONG NORTHERN PLAINS INDIANS
Terry E. Huffman Vol. 30, No. 2, pp. 25-34, Jan. 1991

The encounter with campus racism among American Indians (hereafter referred to as Indian) has received little attention among scholars. Nevertheless, the obstacle created by racism is as worthy of scholarly investigation as any barrier to Indian educational achievement articulated in the literature. This paper is a discussion of the subjective experience and perceptions of Indian students on campus racism as delineated through an ongoing research project. Among the more salient findings is that clearly the Indian students in this study face pervasive verbal racism from non-Indian students which serves to compound their feelings of isolation and not belonging at college.

#461
FIRST NATIONS AND HIGHER EDUCATION: THE FOUR R's - RESPECT, RELEVANCE, RECIPROCITY, RESPONSIBILITY
Verna J. Kirkness; Ray Barnhardt Vol. 30, No. 3, pp. 1-15, May 1991

American Indian/First Nations/Native people have been historically underrepresented in the ranks of college and university graduates in Canada and the United States. From an institutional perspective, the problem has been typically defined in terms of low achievement, high attrition, poor retention, weak persistence, etc., thus placing the onus for adjustment on the student. From the perspective of the Indian student, however, the problem is often cast in more human terms, with an emphasis on the need for a higher educational system that respects them for who they are, that is relevant to their view of the world, that offers reciprocity in their relationships with others, and that helps them exercise responsibility over their own lives. This paper examines the implications of these differences in perspective and identifies ways in which initiatives within and outside of existing institutions are transforming the landscape of higher education for First Nations/American Indian people in both Canada and the United States.

#462
STUDY ORIENTATION, PERSISTENCE AND RETENTION OF NATIVE STUDENTS: IMPLICATIONS FOR CONFLUENT EDUCATION
Graham Hurlburt; Randy Kroeker; Eldon Gade Vol. 30, No. 3, pp. 16-23, May 1991

Using the Survey of Study Habits and Attitudes inventory this study evaluated the study habits and attitudes of Native students in a band-controlled school in Manitoba. Junior high Native boys had weak study habits and some negative study attitudes. Senior high girls had average study habits and attitudes (possibly confirms school is a feminine activity). Low educational acceptance scores suggest that attitudes about relationships and relevance (i.e., is school "user friendly") rather than specific study habits may be the key factors in addressing the problem of Native students' high dropout rate. A confluent educational philosophy (system and holistic) and using confluent educational strategies (through which students' social-emotional and personal empowerment needs are met) may enhance the school experience, improve study habits and attitudes, and ameliorate the high dropout rate among Native students.

#463
THE ROLE OF IMAGERY TRAINING ON TOHONO O'ODHAM CHILDREN'S CREATIVITY SCORES
Annabelle Nelson; Bisi Lalemi Vol. 30, No. 3, pp. 24-32, May 1991

American Indian children appear to have cognitive strengths in visual-spatial, pattern-symbol and kinesthetic modes of input, processing and output. If this is the case, training children in the cognitive process of imagery which matches these strengths could give them the tools to succeed in school. The problem in this study was whether or not training in imagery would increase Tohono O'odham children's performance on the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT). The subjects were second and sixth grade students. The experimental method was a group design comparing a control group's average composite TTCT score to the experimental group's average. The experimental group received six sessions of imagery training. The average composite TTCT score for the control group was 53, and the average score for the experimental group was 67. Applying a t test, this difference was significant at a .02 level. The imagery training was effective in increasing the children's creativity scores, implying it could be an effective instructional strategy to increase children's problem solving ability in academic settings.

#464
THE EFFECTS OF LANGUAGE PREFERENCE AND MULTITRIAL PRESENTATION UPON THE FREE RECALL OF NAVAJO CHILDREN
James MacAvoy; Craig Sidles Vol. 30, No. 3, pp. 33-43, May 1991

Eighty Navajo students, ranging in age from 8 to 10 years old, were administered equivalent forms of Navajo-English free recall word lists using a multitrial memory assessment format. The 40 students receiving Navajo words registered higher recall in Trials 1 and 2 than their counterparts presented with English words. Their higher recall was attributed to more efficient processing of familiar information into long term memory during early trials. Navajo students receiving English words required additional time to encode this unfamiliar data. By Trial 3, however, the recall rates for the two language presentation groups were evenly matched, a pattern that continued through Trial 5. These results suggest that auditory memory assessment can be conducted in the primary or secondary language of Navajo students provided a multitrial format is employed. The use of a free recall, multitrial testing format was also found to provide valuable information regarding the quality of short and long term memory processing.

#465
PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES OF GIFTED AND TALENTED AMERICAN INDIAN EDUCATION
Stuart A. Tonemah Vol. 31, No. 1, pp. 3-14, Oct. 1991

This paper argues that standardized tests for gifted and talented students are biased toward the larger American society and that American Indian and Alaska Native students, because of their cultural differences, are overlooked and denied entrance into gifted and talented programs. In response to this finding the American Indian Research and Development, Inc. (AIRD) created the American Indian Gifted and Talented Assessment Model (AIGTAM) which utilizes processes and procedures whereby gifted and talented student candidates are nominated by parents, school teachers, community leaders, tribal leaders, peers or the students themselves. Through AIRD's summer enrichment program, Explorations In Creativity (EIC), Cooperative Learning, Exclusive Grouping, and Holistic Design were identified as "Indian learning styles." The author argues that the experiences at EIC indicate the relevancy of a culturally-specific gifted and talented differentiated curriculum for American Indians developed by American Indians is beneficial and necessary.

#466
A PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE ON TRIBAL-ALASKA NATIVE GIFTED AND TALENTED EDUCATION
Rosemary Ackley Christensen Vol. 31, No. 1, pp. 10-14, Oct. 1991

This paper discusses the term "giftedness," and argues that the existing interpretation applies only to the White world and that it does not agree with Tribal definitions. As a result, gifted and talented children of Indian heritage are not being recognized. A cultural stance is called for in interpreting "giftedness." Niibin, a summer school administered by the Indian Education Department from 1976 to 1991, is described as an example of a gifted and talented Indian program.

#467
AMERICAN INDIAN GIFTED AND TALENTED STUDENTS: THEIR PROBLEMS AND PROPOSED SOLUTIONS
Rockey Robbins Vol. 31, No. 1, pp. 15-24, Oct. 1991

This paper expresses the thoughts and feelings of gifted and talented students participating in a summer enrichment program, Explorations In Creativity (EIC). The author describes the struggles of identity, prejudice, and peer pressure that these students experience and must endure because they are Indian and gifted and talented. A list of issues and problems and possible solutions these students saw in American education is included along with three of their personal essays...

#468
NURTURING CREATIVE/ARTISTIC GIFTEDNESS IN AMERICAN INDIAN STUDENTS
Jill LaBatte Vol. 31. No. 1, pp. 28-32, Oct. 1991

This paper discusses the importance of nurturing creative/artistic giftedness in American Indian students. Although the educational system has ignored the creative/artistic expression as gifted, research findings of educators K. Carroll, E.S. Richert, and E.P. Torrance offer teachers direction in terms of identifying creative/artistic gifted and talented students, provide alternative definitions, and present "wholistic" curriculum strategies based on brain structure. Emphasis rather than neglect of creative/artistic methods of teaching is stressed to enhance the potential of gifted and talented American Indian students.

#469
CREATIVITY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN RESERVATION AND URBAN AMERICAN INDIANS
Charmaine L. Shutiva Vol. 31, No. 1, pp. 33-52, Oct. 1991

The purpose of this study was to compare creativity test scores and academic achievement of reservation and urban American Indian students and to examine the influence of culture on creativity. Subjects for the comparative study were 150 eleventh grade students representing twenty-one different tribes. Of these subjects, 28 were attending public high schools in Albuquerque, New Mexico and were classified as Urban Indians; 122 were attending public or Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) schools on or near their respective reservations. Reservation students resided on four reservations in New Mexico. Students were administered the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT), Figural Form B (F-B). Results of this study suggest that urban students are more creative than reservation students on the variables of originality, abstractness of title, resistance to closure, average, and creativity index scores. There was no significant difference between reservation and urban students on academic achievement. Also, urban students were more expressive of their ethnic heritage than reservation students as assessed in the drawings of the TTCT-F,B.

#470
THROUGH NAVAJO EYES: EXAMINING DIFFERENCES IN GIFTEDNESS
Elizabeth Ann Hartley Vol. 31, No. 1, pp. 53-64, Oct. 1991

This study compared perceptions of giftedness and talent (G/T) among parents and teachers of Navajo and Anglo children. The effects of acculturation on the responses were studied. How differences among perceptions might affect the placement of Navajo children in G/T programs is addressed. Ten subscales of G/T were used as dependent variables. Survey and interview techniques and participant observation were used to collect data in one Anglo and two Navajo communities. The survey instrument proved very reliable for the teacher groups and less so for Anglo parent respondents. Ethnographic description elucidated qualitative differences found among the teacher and the parent groups. Level of acculturation was a significant differentiating factor among responses. Two of the recommendations resulting from the study were that (1) teachers be trained in Navajo culture/values before they come to the reservation to teach, and (2) G/T programs need to use alternative methods to identify G/T Navajo students.