Journal of American Indian Education
Abstracts — 1998

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Special Issue - Part 2. Selected Papers from the Research Symposium, National Indian Education Association 1997 Conference, Tacoma, WA

COLLABORATION, RESEARCH AND CHANGE: MOTIVATIONAL INFLUENCES ON AMERICAN INDIAN STUDENTS

Henry T. Radda; Dawn Iwamoto; Carolyn Patrick Vol. 37, #2, pp. 2-20, Winter 1998

This article reviews the development and initial work of a research project to study the motivational influences on students from two communities. The focus is on the collaboration between an American Indian reservation and a border town, where most of the children from the reservation attend school. Establishing working relationships between two communities, two leadership boards and many programs was paramount in order for the research to have impact. Discussion encompasses the characteristics of the communities, the process of working together, preliminary results of the quantitative phase with the American Indian students and the purpose of the seven-year qualitative study. This paper is based on a presentation at the National Indian Education Association's 1997 conference in Tacoma, Washington.

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CONDUCTING RESEARCH WITH AN URBAN AMERICAN INDIAN COMMUNITY: A COLLABORATIVE APPROACH
Priscilla A. Day; Elizabeth T. Blue; Margaret Peake Raymond Vol. 37, #2, pp. 21-33, Winter 1998

In 1996, a notable collaboration between tribal and urban Institutions of higher education was established to create systems change to benefit urban American Indian students. This piece describes community-wide participation starting with a symposium in which a guiding vision statement was developed and priorities were established. The needs assessment process included a literature review, three community forum sessions and key informant surveys. It utilized knowledge and resources of the urban American Indian communities of concern, which resulted in their investment in the research. Data collected will be used to implement the project.

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DISTANCE LEARNING IN INDIAN COUNTRY: BECOMING THE SPIDER ON THE WEB
John Sanchez; Mary E. Stuckey; Richard Morris Vol. 37, #3, pp. 1-17, Spring 1998

The education of American Indians in the United States historically has been a tool of acculturation and assimilation. Recently, however, new technologies offer new alternatives and new possibilities to tribal communities. This essay examines the potential uses of distance learning for maintaining and sustaining American Indian tribal communities within the United States while allowing access to the information and skills that allow members of those communities employment opportunities within the dominant society and its economy. It includes a brief examination of distance education in general, a discussion of traditional education in tribal contexts, some elaboration of that theme as it pertains to tribal uses of distance education technology, and an analysis of the potential outcomes and consequences of these practices.

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LOCAL NAVAJO NORMS FOR THE WECHSLER INTELLIGENCE SCALE FOR CHILDREN
Phyllis Tempest Vol. 37, #3, pp. 18-31, Spring 1998

This project was designed to develop Navajo Norms for the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC-III) in the Gallup McKinley County Schools (GMCS), New Mexico and to examine the differences of the Navajo students' WISC-III profiles (subtest scores) in regard to language proficiency and residency (urban or county). A stratified random sample of 334 Navajo students from 18 elementary schools in GMCS were tested with the WISC-III and The Gallup Language Proficiency Report, a language proficiency instrument designed by the GMCS Speech Therapists. Significance tests comparing means by location of the school and level of English proficiency were calculated using the t-test. Urban Navajo students have higher WISC-III Verbal scores than those Navajo students who live in the county. Navajo students who are proficient in English have higher WISC-III Verbal scores than those Navajo students who are functional in English. There are three Performance subtests (Coding, Block Design, and Mazes) that do not have a verbal overlay; the Navajo students who were proficient in English and the Navajo students who were functional in English scored equally well in these subtests. The Navajo norms for the WISC-III are an additional tool to help separate language and/or cultural differences from learning difficulties; the Navajo norms are used in conjunction with the Standard Norms. Navajo norms are a part of bicultural services.

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IS IMMERSION THE KEY TO LANGUAGE RENEWAL?
David DeJong Vol. 37, #3, pp. 31-46, Spring 1998

This article reviews the literature to determine the importance of immersion in language restoration (or preservation). The author argues that a new paradigm is needed to halt the decline in the number of Native Americans speaking their aboriginal tongue. The primary focus centers on displacing misperceptions related to language immersion that may inhibit an Indian community from implementing such a program. It stresses the advantages of immersion, both to language reacquisition and in fostering advanced cognitive and academic skills in both the primary (English) and target (Native) language. The author reviews the success of other Indian nations in retaining (or restoring) their native language and concludes that if nothing is done additional Native American languages will become extinct in the next century.

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INDIRECT LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT TOOL FOR ENGLISH-SPEAKING CHEROKEE INDIAN CHILDREN
Edgarita E. Long; John M. Christensen Vol. 38, #1, pp. 1-14, Fall 1998

The literature indicates a need for culturally appropriate speech and language assessment instruments for American Indian/Alaska Native children. Cherokee Indian and Caucasian children whose ages ranged from 3 to 5 years were compared using a parental questionnaire to assess cognitive, linguistic, and socio-communicative skills. Results revealed that Cherokee scores were significantly lower. Differences were age group related with smaller differences for older children. Linguistic skills were most improved in order children. The developmental profile may be different for Cherokee Indian children than for Caucasian children; therefore, testing Cherokee Indian children at age 3 may be too soon to determine of there is or is not a language delay. These differences may reflect cultural differences in parenting rather than a language delay or disorder.

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INVESTIGATING THE ADVANTAGES OF CONSTRUCTING MULTIDIGIT NUMERATION UNDERSTANDING THROUGH ONEIDA AND LAKOTA NATIVE LANGUAGES
Judith Towne Hankes; Lydia Whirlwind Solder; Andrea Davis Vol. 38, #1, pp. 15-35, Fall 1998

This study investigated the linguistic structure of Oneida and Lakota language number systems to determine whether the base ten number structure is explicitly communicated in these languages. Two hypotheses grounded the proposal: (a) that the native languages of Oneida and Lakota are more multidigit, base 10, concept specific than English; and (b) that teaching primary grade Oneida and Lakota students in their native language would help them develop better number sense. Study findings suggest that base ten numeracy is more explicit. Further research is needed to determine whether teaching Oneida and Lakota students in their native languages would help them develop better number sense.