Journal
of American Indian Education
Abstracts — 2007
Vol. 46, #1
RETHINKING SOCIAL STUDIES FOR A CRITICAL DEMOCRACY IN AMERICAN INDIAN/ALASKA NATIVE EDUCATION
Steven Locke; Lorinda Lindley Vol. 46, #1, pp. 1-19, 2007
This investigation examines an elementary social studies methods course taught on an American Indian reservation through a state university. Data were collected from American Indian pre-service teachers over four years through taped interviews, classroom observations, and a review of homework and in-class assignments. A Freirean critical pedagogy framework was utilized to analyze the data. Analysis revealed that the course replicated and reproduced dominant cultural values and knowledge of the state university and was insensitive to American Indian history, values, and pedagogy. Suggestions include the need for the course to interrogate historical interpretations and the economic and social structures of the local Indian community. The course also needed to emphasize the cultural strengths of the local community and its contributions and place in the context of state and national history.
A COMPLEX PATH TO HAUDENOSAUNEE DEGREE COMPLETION
Stephanie J. Waterman Vol. 46, #1, pp. 20-40, 2007
This qualitative study describes how 12 Haudenosaunee (Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy) college graduates constructed pathways to degree completion. The participants related their experiences on this path through open-ended interviews. The pathways were found to be complex owing to their unique cultural grounding and dedication to family. The participants managed a college education while maintaining their cultural integrity even though it meant more work and effort. Their greatest support during college was their family. Participants embarked on a double curriculum: that of their academic program and another constituted by participating in structured native langue classes or involvement in their traditions. Participants were academically engaged but resembled adult returning students even when they were traditionally aged and living on campus. The male students reported richer, more intense experiences than the women due to the mentoring they received.
DEVELOPING A PREVENTION PLAN FOR AN AMERICAN INDIAN BOARDING SCHOOL: STRENGTHENING POSITIVE PEER CULTURE
Joel M. Hektner; Judith A. De Jong Vol. 46, #1, pp. 41-59, 2007
In order to develop a comprehensive substance abuse prevention plan for a boarding school for American Indian middle school students, the students (N = 66) were surveyed at two time points and teacher reports and discipline records were collected. Factors most strongly related to substance use were affiliation with risk-taking peers, lower levels of assertiveness and self-esteem, and being female. Girls also had higher levels of distress, social anxiety, and association with risk-taking peers. Several recommendations for a prevention program are made, including the elimination of a separate “Honor Dorm” for well-behaved students, the creation of mentored friendship groups, and the training of peer leaders.
Vol. 46, #2
CONCEPTUALIZING AMERICAN INDIAN/ALASKA NATIVE COLLEGE STUDENT’S CLASSROOM EXPERIENCES: NEGOTIATING CULTURAL IDENTITY BETWEEN FACULTY AND STUDENTS
Nanci M. Burk Vol. 46, #2, pp. 1-18, 2007
The U.S. dominant culture’s values and ways of knowing depicted in college curriculum assume that American Indian/Alaska Native college students will assimilate to dominant cultural beliefs and values in order to acquire a degree in higher education. Representative of this hegemonic pedagogical paradigm is the prescribed basic communication course competencies taught at most colleges and universities in the U.S. Institutionally endowed power enables college instructors to compel students to acquiesce to dominant cultural norms and expected behaviors relevant to interpersonal, small group, and public speaking skills. In this meta-analysis, Jackson’s (2002) cultural contracts paradigm demonstrates that cultural identifies are socially constructed between students and faculty. Jackson’s paradigm provides a theoretical lens through which to view cultural negotiation in the context of a basic communication course. Conclusions of this critical literature review include providing a clearer understanding of juxtaposition of American Indian/Alaska Native college students’ traditions and the basic oral communication course competencies; an awareness of a paucity of multicultural teaching perspectives in the basic course curriculum; and recommendations for improving the learning environment.
RETAINING AMERICAN INDIAN/ALASKAN NATIVE STUDENTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION: A CASE STUDY OF ONE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE TOHONO O’ODHAM NATION AND PIMA COMMUNITY COLLEGE, TUCSON, AZ
Anne E. Campbell Vol. 46, #2, pp. 19-41, 2007
Curriculum developers and faculty working with American Indian students in traditional Eurocentric higher education institutional settings face many challenges. These include the development of culturally responsive, community-based programs that meet students’ needs, encourage and support student persistence and retention, and integrate culturally relevant materials into required coursework. Licensing programs must also meet institutional, state and federal professional certification requirements. The purpose of this paper is to examine the complex contextual factors that influenced the development of one educational partnership with a student completion rate of just over 40%. The functional/collaborate model used to plan, design and implement the program is discussed. Variables are examined that influenced the development of a culturally responsive English and writing curriculum. Factors are identified and discussed that resulted in a successful partnership in which all stakeholders participated. Implications of those factors for curriculum planning, implementation, and evaluation of programs serving American Indian students are discussed.
EXAMINING AMERICAN INDIANS’ RECALL OF CULTURAL INCLUSION IN SCHOOL
Scott Freng; Adrienne Freng; Helen Moore Vol. 46, #2, pp. 42-61, 2007
This research examined American Indians’ recall of cultural inclusion from their elementary through high school education. Sixteen American Indians described their experiences of schools to peer interviewers. Analysis of interviews revealed three themes: the nature of cultural inclusion, factors influencing cultural inclusion, and recommendations for ideal cultural inclusion. Most participants recalled very little cultural inclusion. However, when cultural inclusion was experienced, it could be categorized into five types (“Indian pride,” mismatched specific tribal information, negative/stereotypical, student initiative, and inclusion due to parental, familial, and/or community involvement). Participants’ experiences most cl0sely resembled Charleston’s (1994) pseudo or quasi Native education. However, some elements of true Native education were also reported. In addition, respondents stressed the important role of teachers in experiencing cultural inclusion. Finally, participants discussed their visions of ideal American Indian education, and offered their recommendations. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for American Indian education.
BOOK REVIEW, by Star Nance, University of Oklahoma
“To Remain an Indian” Lessons in Democracy from a Century of Native American Education, by K. Tsianina Lomawaima and Teresa L. McCarty. New York, New York: Teachers College, Columbia University, 2006. 213 pp. $29.95 paper. ISBN number 10 0-8077-4716-5
Ask just about any American the definition of democracy and most may answer something like, “a rule by many.” Most Americans believe in the right of a nation-state to enjoy total sovereignty and self-determination. Lead the conversation to voting and individual freedoms, especially freedom of speech, education, family and civil rights and again, most Americans firmly support these principles. We assume that everyone in America has these rights, but do they? Upon reading “To Remain an Indian” Lessons in Democracy from a Century of Native Education, an answer to this question may not be so simple.
The authors, Lomawaima and McCarty, provide evidence that American Indian tribes have not enjoyed the fruits of democracy as most European-Americans have been allowed to experience it throughout the 20th and 21st century. Lomawaima and McCarty identify an ideological model they call the “safety zone” which they describe as tracing “…the ‘swings’ of Indian policy– including educational policy—to an ongoing struggle over cultural difference and its perceived threat, or benefit, to a sense of shared American identity” (p. 6). Lomawaima and McCarty substantiate the omnipresence of the “safety zone” in the realm of American Indian Education, tracing its effect from the early 20th century to the present era of No Child Left Behind. The authors assert that the “safety zone” is not just a cultural issue but involves “culture, language, politics, and legal status…” that “are inextricably bound together in the fabric of U.S./Indian relations” (p. 7).
Vol. 46, #3
KEEPING THE COMMITMENT TO AMERICAN INDIANS, ALASKA NATIVES AND NATIVE HAWAIIANS
Editors Note
The publication of this special issue of the Journal of American Indian Education (JAIE) coincides with the 38th (2007) Annual Convention of the National Indian Education Association (NIEA), the first to be held in the state of Hawaii. It marks a new partnership between the Journal and NIEA to strengthen advocacy for improved Native education by disseminating the most cutting-edge research and information on effective practices to the NIEA membership. The theme of this issue is culturally responsive educational practices for Native Hawaiian, American Indian, and Alaska Native students. The articles in this issue focus on Native language, culturally appropriate curriculum and teaching practices, and Native teacher professional development. The contributors are as follows:
Special Issue on Culturally Responsive Education for American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Students
Guest Editors: Dorothy Aguilera, Jerry Lipka, Williams Demmert and John Tippeconnic, pp. 4-10Resilience in Native Languages: The Tale of Three Indigenous Communities’ Experiences with Language Immersion
Dorothy Aguilera, Margo LeCompte, pp. 11-36I Kumu: I Lālā: “Let There Be Sources; Let There Be Branches”: Teacher Education in the College of Hawaiian Language
William H. Wilson, Keiki Kawai’ae’a, pp. 37-53Moving Toward the Language: Reflections on Teaching in an Indigenous-Immersion School
Mary Hermes, pp. 54-71From a Place Deep Inside: Culturally Appropriate Curriculum as the Embodiment of Navajo-ness in Classroom Pedagogy
Tarajean Yazzie-Mintz, pp. 72-93Creating a Third Space for Authentic Biculturalism: Examples from Math in a Cultural Context
Jerry Lipka, Nancy Sharp, Barbara Adams, Ferdinand Sharp, pp. 94-115Qanemcikarluni Tekitnarqelartuq [One must arrive with a story to tell]: Traditional Alaska Native Yup’ik Eskimo Stories in a Culturally Based Math Curriculum
Joan Parker Webster, Evelyn Yanez, pp. 116-131Making Assessment Practices Valid for Indigenous American Students
Sharon Nelson-Barber, Elise Trumbull, pp. 132-147