Volume 20 Number 1
January 1981

G. Edward Evans, Karin Abbey, and Jeff Clark

BILINGUAL education projects for Indians are located throughout North America from Alaska to Florida. However, the authors found it impossible to locate first-hand information about individual projects. Of all the projects and individuals contacted in the course of gathering this material, only one responded. Therefore, the following information has been gleaned from various sources, the most comprehensive of which is Bernard Spolsky’s "American Indian Bilingual Education"(see Note 6). Dr. Spolsky notes in his introduction the difficulty of gathering his information, and the fact that much of it is dated and/or word of mouth. With this in mind, we present here a list of some of the existing bilingual projects, with such descriptions as were available. We have also tried to include assessments of the programs based upon the material we received in the course of the project. In general, these projects will be presented alphabetically by native language. However, because the educational activities for speakers of a variety of native languages of Alaska are closely intertwined, the state of Alaska has been treated as a whole.

Alaska. Responsibility for rural education in Alaska is divided among three agencies - the local districts, the Alaska State-Operated School System, and the federal government (generally through the Bureau of Indian Affairs). In 1972, the Alaska state legislature voted to provide bilingual education programs in any state-operated school with 15 or more pupils whose native language was other than English, and allocated $400,000. The following analysis of Alaskan bilingual programs is from Spolsky (see Note 6).

The Alaska Native Language Center at the University of Alaska was established by state legislative action in 1972. It supplies basic linguistic support, material development and teacher training for a variety of the native languages of Alaska.

The Atka Aleut Program was begun in 1973 and in 1974 employed two bilingual aides and involved 18 students - the entire Aleutian population of Atka village is 2,000 - 700 of whom speak Aleutian. The program is supported by the State General Fund.

Alaska State-Operated School System and Barrow are Innuit (Inupiaq) Eskimo language programs serving the 6,000 speakers of this language. There are 14 programs in State-Operated Schools supported by state funds and one in the BIA school at Barrow supported by Title IV money. Twenty-eight bilingual aides are involved in these programs.

Half of the speakers of native languages in Alaska and two-thirds of the children maintaining native language fluency are speakers of Central Yupik, and the Eskimo Language Workshop serves this population. They provide curricula materials and teacher and paraprofessional training for 24 schools, involving 900 children, mainly in grades K-3, but up to the eighth grade. Classes in Yupik are also taught in Bethel High School. These programs are funded by state funds by all three federal titles. The Eskimo Language Workshop is in the vanguard of Alaskan bilingual education. In addition, this workshop has developed materials for Innuit, Koyukon, Kutchin, Upper Kuskokwim, and Upper Tanana.

Koyukon is the Athabascan language of a population of 2,000 people, only 700 of whom still speak the language. It is currently being taught as a second language in the schools. Kutchin, another Athabascan language, is spoken by 700 people. There are four bilingual programs for this population, one run the the BIA and three run by the Alaska State-Operated Schools. Minto is the language of an Athabascan population of 350, of whom 100 speak the language. There is one Title I program for this population. Tanacross, another Athabascan language, is spoken by the entire tribal population of 300. There are two Title I bilingual programs for this population.

Pacific Gulf Yupik or Sugcestun Aleut is a language spoken by about 1,000 Alaskans and served by three programs, two Title IV projects run by the Kenai Peninsula borough schools and one Alaska State-Operated Schools project. Siberian Yupik is spoken by approximately 1,000 Alaska Eskimos. Bilingual education for the population began in 1972 in two BIA schools. First grade in both schools and second grade in one are taught in the native language with one hour a day of oral English. The programs are supported by Title IV funds. Tanaina has 300 speakers and one bilingual program.

Tlingit is a language spoken by only 2,000 of the 9,000 tribal members, mostly older people. The three Tlingit bilingual programs are, therefore, revival programs in elementary education which include teaching words and phrases and some reading.

Upper Kuskokwim is spoken by 100 people and has a single bilingual program supported both by Title I and the state of Alaska. A Summer Institute of Linguistic (SIL) linguist has aided in the development of this program. Upper Tanana is spoken by 300 people. Two bilingual programs are involved with this population - one state supported, the other a BIA project.

Cherokee. The Cherokee language, which had been viable in both written and oral form in the nineteenth century, fell into disuse in the twentieth; in 1961 an attempt began to revive it. A Cherokee language newsletter was printed and some earlier works were reprinted. In 1962 a grant made it possible to set the Cherokee syllabary in type once again. The Cherokee Bilingual Family School was established in Adau City, Oklahoma, in 1968 with Office of Education Support (see Note 6).

At the same time, Title VII funds became available and surveys were taken of the bilingual education needs of Oklahoma school children. The greatest need was shown to be among the Cherokee, Choctaw and Seminole on the eastern border of the state, and of these tribal groups, the Cherokee were the most numerous. Accordingly, the Cherokee Bilingual Education Center was established with a five-year grant obtained in 1969 (see Note 2). The center was established by Northeastern State College at Tahlequah, Oklahoma, and works with four nearby schools. They have developed all their own Cherokee language materials and teach English as a second language. In 1972 they received permission to teach some subjects in Cherokee, although Oklahoma law states that all instruction must be in English (see Note 6).

In the authors’ opinions, there is a need to develop newer language arts materials in Cherokee. Much of the emphasis has been on reprinting older materials, which were to some extent influenced by various missionary groups.

Cheyenne. The Northern Cheyenne Bilingual Education Program is a joint project of Lame Deer Public School and St. Labre’s Mission School for Indians. It was established in 1972 and involves 800 children, 200 of whom speak Cheyenne as their native language and 150 more who understand it. There are daily language lessons in Cheyenne, and a writing system has been developed (see Note 6). To date, there has only been a very few items produced for use in the classroom.

Choctaw. There are two bilingual programs for Choctaws. The Choctaw Bilingual Education Program began in 1970 with Title VII support. It operates in four elementary schools in McCurtain County, Oklahoma, with headquarters at Southeastern State College. An orthography and written materials in Choctaw have been developed. The project has three main aims: 1) to encourage the self-worth of the children; 2) to teach ESL; and 3) to encourage the recognition of individual differences (see Note 6).

BECOM, Bilingual Education for Choctaws of Mississippi, is a project located in Philadelphia, Mississippi, dedicated to the goal of full literacy in both English and Choctaw. The alphabet used is a traditional one developed for Choctaw by missionaries 150 years ago. Major instruction in grades K-3 is in Choctaw with English introduced systematically as a second language. The project provides staff training for bilingual classroom aides and teachers, and involves Choctaw community members in the development of materials, classroom instruction and program planning (see Note 3).

Cree. The Cree Bilingual Education Project is a part of the activities of Rocky Boy School, an Indian-controlled school which has been bilingual since its inception. Children in grades 1-3 are divided into three groups Cree speakers, Cree listeners and monolingual English speakers. All receive instruction in Cree, but Cree speakers get more of their curriculum in this language. None of the teachers (in the school year 1973-74) were Cree, but all had extensive training in Cree language and culture. The project has developed its own materials and benefits from a teacher training program at Northwestern Montana College (see Note 6).

In northern Manitoba, Canada, a pilot project is in operation in six schools, using the native languages of the students - Cree and Ojibwa. This five-year project was in it fourth year in 1975, with native language instruction for ages 4-8, and a gradual introduction to English. The goal is fluency in both languages. Most of the teachers are native speakers of the Indian languages, and 750 students are involved (see Note 4).

Crow The Crow Bilingual Education Program, which is federally funded, was established in 1971 in one of the larger public schools on the Crow reservation. While 90% of the children speak Crow, only the staff of the bilingual program is literate in the language. However, the orthography is fairly well established, and children are being taught beginning reading in Crow with English introduced orally (see Note 6).

Keresan. The Acomita Day School Title VII Bilingual/Bicultural Program was established in 1972 for the Acoma Keresan language community. The children are bilingual in English and Acoma when they enter school. An orthography has been agreed upon, and a dictionary, primer, folk stories, and songs have been produced (see Note 6).

Lakota. The Lakota Bilingual Education Project is located at Loneman Day School in OgIala, South Dakota, and was established in 1971. It has been hampered by political tensions in the community and with the BIA (see Note 6). Most of the items we located in Lakota were written in the earlier 1940s. Very little material has been produced recently.

Miccosukee The Miccosukee Bilingual Education Project was established at the Miccosukee Day School in Ochopee, Florida, in 1972 under Title VII. The Miccosukee tribe is small (400) but isolated, and nearly all school children speak the tribal language. An orthography is being developed (see Note 6).

Navajo. BIA bilingual programs operate at Sanostee Boarding School, Toadlena Boarding School, Cottonwood Day School, Greasewood Boarding School and Pinon Boarding School. Kindergarten through second grade are taught by bilingual teachers or aides, using a bilingual curriculum developed by Muriel Saville in 1970 (see Note 6). Title VII money has been granted to establish teacher training at Sanostee and Toadlena, and to fund the development of Navajo reading materials through the Navajo Reading Study at the University of New Mexico. This project produced close to 50 books, all of them written in Navajo (not translated from English). There was an effort to make the books sturdy and attractive so that the written Navajo language would not have a second rate status in the children’s eyes. More recently, the project has shifted its emphasis to on-site teacher training for Navajos (see Note 7).

At the Borrego Pass Community School, an Indian-run school, first and second grade are taught in Navajo with English as a second language. Third grade is taught in English, with continuing instruction in Navajo reading and writing. The Gallup-McKinley County public schools of New Mexico received a Title VII grant for bilingual education in Navajo in 1972. Twelve classes are involved, with a total of 300 Navajo children in grades K-2 at four schools. Rock Point Bilingual Education Project began in 1971. The project employes two teachers - one Navajo and one English speaking, who team teach the children. The school is locally controlled (see Note 13).

Rough Rock Demonstration School’s Bilingual Bicultural Project began in 1966 and now has Title VII funds. Teaching is in Navajo with English as a second language. Programs include teacher training and the development of curriculum and materials. Two other public school systems have Navajo bilingual projects - the San Juan School District in Monticello, Utah, and the Tuba City Public Schools in Arizona. San Juan’s project began in 1969 with Title VII funds. Films and filmstrips in Navajo have been developed. Tuba City’s program began in 1971 and involves a single class and teacher, moving together from grade to grade (see Note 6).

As might be expected, there have been more Navajo materials produced than for any other Indian language. The vast majority of these items were produced since 1964. If the efforts continue at the same level as they have for the past 10 years, it will not be long before there is a fairly extensive body of original Navajo literature for the adult reader.

Papago The Papago Bilingual Education Project was started in 1967 with local funds and received Title I funding in 1973. At first the emphasis was on English as a second language, but with the receipt of Title I funds, this shifted to bilingual education. The aim now is to teach reading and writing in Papago first. Materials are being prepared by a native linguist. The project is located at Kerwo BIA Day School (see Note 6).

Passamaquaddy. The Wabnaki Bilingual Education Program is located in one school in Calais, Maine. It began in 1971, and in 1974 it involved 71 children in grades K-6. The emphasis is on the development of materials, but there is also a training program for bilingual aides (see Note 6).

Salish. The British Columbia Indian Language Project has as its aim the preservation of all the native languages of British Columbia, but has concentrated so far on the Salish languages. The project is carried on by British Columbian Indians, assisted by linguist Randy Bouchard. Language teaching materials for schools have been developed (see Note 5).

Seminole. Seminole Bilingual Project is funded through Title VII and began in 1972 in six elementary schools in Seminole, City, Oklahoma. Children come to school speaking poor English, but knowing Seminole only passively. One aim of the project is to revive the status of Seminole and encourage children to use it. There is one bilingual certified teacher and aides are involved in a teacher-training program at East Central State College. Seminole is taught for a set period each day, but the bulk of the instruction is in English. Materials are being developed, using a nineteenth century orthography (see Note 6).

Tewa. The San Juan Pueblo Tewa Bilingual Project is a language revival program. It receives support from a Summer Institute of Linguistics and the linguist and native linguist trained by SIL. It involves adult literacy classes, a Title IV project at a BIA school and a Title I project at a public school. Both schools employ bilingual classroom aides and teach Tewa daily (see Note 6).

Ute. SUN is a multilingual project which serves Spanish, Ute and Navajo speaking children in five school districts in the four corners area of New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado. It is working with the Ute Mountain tribe to develop an orthography and produce a dictionary, booklets, and tapes. Funding is a combination of Title VII and local support (see Note 6).

Zuni. The Gallup-McKinley County public schools, mentioned earlier under Navajo, also have a bilingual project at Zuni Elementary School (see Note 6).

In addition to individual language projects there are several organizations interested in a range of native American languages.

Deganawida-Qetzel (D-Q) University was established at Davis, California, in 1970 and is devoted to the interests of American Indian and Chicano students. D-Q University is establishing the National Center of Native American Language Education. Plans include an extensive survey of the present state of American Indian language projects, and developing teaching materials in native languages (see Note 5).

The Province of Quebec has initiated a project for the "Amerindianization of the Schools" directed by Raymond Gagne, Minister of Indian Affairs. Plans include linguistic and pedagogical training for native speakers so that they can become classroom teachers, and the integration of native languages and cultures into the curriculum wherever there are Amerindian students. If the native language is the dominant language in the children’s homes, it will be the basic language of instruction, with English or French as a second language; otherwise, the native language will be taught as a second language (see Note 5).

The Wisconsin Native American Languages Project was established in 1973 with a Title IV grant to the Great Lakes Center Tribal Council. Plans are to develop materials for teaching five languages - Winnebago, Potawatomi, Oneida, Chippewa and Menominee, the first two of which are very viable although no children speak any of these languages as a first language. There are problems caused by the fact that Indian students are scattered in public schools around the state (see Note 6).

The native languages of North America have long been taught in colleges and universities as part of academic linguistic programs. More recently, however, is the trend to accept American Indian languages to fulfill foreign language degree requirements. Examples of this trend are Eastern Montana College at Billings, which accepts Cree, Crow or Northern Cheyenne; the University of Washington at Seattle, which accepts Puget Salish; the University of Utah, which accepts Navajo; and the University of Minnesota, which accepts Ojibwa or Dakota (Sioux) -- (see Note 5).

Most directly related to bilingual and native language education programs at the elementary and secondary school level are the courses in practical language learning of the Amerindian languages. These are often taught at junior or community colleges near concentrations of Indians and are often directly tied to bilingual projects.

It is impossible to speak of bilingual education as a monolithic structure -each Native American community is different, the staff and aim of each project are different. Native American children may come to school monolingual in their tribal language, monolingual in English, bilingual or speaking a dialect different from standard English. They may find a bilingual project in which the native language is part of the curriculum or one in which the Indian element is an "undigested and uninfluential modification of the curriculum" (see Note 6). Fishman and Lovas developed four categories of bilingual education - 1) Transitional - in which the mother tongue is used only until children are used to school and able to follow academic subjects in the second language; 2) Monoliterate - in which oral teaching is done in both languages, but reading only in the second; 3) Partial - in which literacy in the native language is only developed in certain subjects, which are generally related to the native culture; and 4) Full - in which all skills in all domains are taught in both languages (see Note 1).

Bilingual education programs face many problems. One is the reaction of that portion of the school system not involved in the bilingual project The project may may displace some non-bilingual teachers and/or make all non-bilingual teachers anxious for their jobs. Other reactions on the part of non-bilingual faculty are jealousy of the bilingual teachers be cause the latter often have classroom aides, and receive time off to attend conferences, class, etc. (see Note 1).

Negative reaction is also possible from the Native American communi ty. Martin notes that there is some resistance to the idea of bilingual education from those "who have grown up believing that the English language - and consequently English speaking teachers, are superior" (see Note 5). Many parents also object on the basis of fear that their children will not be able to succeed if they leave the reservation. And there is considerable objection from Native Americans to Native American teachers having full charge of a classroom.

Many of these objections are met in the course of a project’s development, however, and an in-depth study of bilingual projects has shown that - parents generally feel that their children are getting a good education, showing a greater interest in school, and bringing fewer academic problems home. Teachers have noted an increase in attendance, self-confidence and achievement among their students. And parent and community involvement in education has increased (see Note 1).

In spite of the many efforts to expand the number of languages covered with at least primary level language arts materials, there is still a very long way to go. After spending almost five years compiling three bibliographies, we feel the following numbers are indicative of the long road ahead. While numbers are subject to a variety of interpretations (as we all know, figures don’t lie, but liars can figure), the overall implications are fairly clear. More languages need to be covered; more materials for those languages which are covered need to be produced. What the figures do not show, but any thinking person can recognize, is that there is also a need for more persons able and willing to produce such materials and to use the materials in the classroom. Naturally, the bottom line to all of this is that there needs to be a much higher level of funding for the existing programs and for the establishment of new programs.

William Bright’s language classification system was used in preparing our bibliographies. Based on that system, there are 156 historically extant languages, including Aleut, Innuit, Siberian Yapik, and Yupik. However, this number is reduced to 108 if those languages with fewer than 10 native speakers are subtracted. Only 87 of these languages have 100 or more native speakers.

We hope to be able to continue the preparation of these bibliographies with respective and current materials. In order to do this, your assistance is needed Please take the time to look through the bibliographies and let us know about items we missed. If you can send us a photocopy of the title page, any introductory material and a few sample pages, we will include the information in our next supplement. Naturally, we are also interested in any ideas you have for making the bibliographies more useful.

All three bibliographies are available from the University of California, American Indian Studies Center, 3220 Campbell Hall, 405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, California, 90024.

1. Batiste, Marie A., Richard A. Gond and Barbara M. Fagan. Study of Bilingual-Bicultural Projects Involving Native American, Indo-European, Asian and Pacific Language Groups. Palo Alto, American Institute for Research, 1975, pp. 22-28, 58.

2. Cherokee Bilingual Center. To Live in Two Worlds. Tahlequah, Oklahoma: Cherokee Bilingual Center, 1975.

3. Choctaw Bilingual Program, Indian Education Resources Center Bulletin, Vol. 4, No. 5, 1976, p. 7.

4. Lyon, Debbie, "Native Language Program Reviewed." Indian Record. Vol. 38, No. 5-6, 1975, p. 3.

5. Martin, Jeanette P. "A Survey of the Current Study and Teaching of North American Indian Languages in the United States and Canada." Cal/ERIC/CLL Series on Languages and Linguistics, No. 17. Arlington, Virginia: Center for Applied Linguistics, 1975, pp. 4-7,9

6. Martin, Jeanette P. "Linguistics in Practice: The Navajo Reading Study." Theory into Practice. 14: 347-352, 1975.

A professional librarian, Jeff Clark is currently Assistant Librarian at the State University of New York/College at Old Westbury. He was research assistant to Dr. G. Edward Evans, 1976-78, producing with him an annotated bibliography of North American Indian Language Materials, 1890-1965 (Los Angeles: American Indian Studies Center, University of California at Los Angeles, 1980).

Darnell, Frank, Kathryn A. Hecht and James M. Orvik, Prehigher Education in the Unorganized Borough. Analysis and Recommendations. Fairbanks, Alaska: Center for Northern Educational Research, 1974.

Davis, Thomas and Alfred Pyatskowit, "Bicognitive Education: A New Future for the Indian Child." Journal of American Indian Education, Vol. 5, No. 3, p. 14-21.

Survey of Bilingual Education Needs of Indian Children. Research and Evaluation Report Series, No. 36. Albuquerque, New Mexico: Indian Education Resources Center, 1975, p. 1-4.

Landar, Herbert, "The Tribes and Languages of North America: A Checklist." Current Trends in Linguistics, 10: 1253-1441 (1973).

Mitchell, Marjorie, comp. Native Indian Studies and Curriculum Programmes: A Descriptive Mailing List. Victoria, British Columbia: Intercultural Curriculum Project Studies of Intercultural Education, 1974.

Modeano, Nancy, William L. Leap and Rudolph C. Troike, Recommendations for Language Policy in Indian Education. Arlington, Virginia: Center for Applied Linguistics, 1973.

Pierce, Tonietta, comp. Statistics Concerning Indian Education, Fiscal Year 1975. Washington D.C.: Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1976.

U.S. Office of Education (Office of Indian Education). The Indian Education Act of 1972. Report of Progress for the Third Fiscal Year, 1976, Vol. I, p. 1.

Wooden, Sharon Lee and Jacqueline Curran Backer, "The Right To Read." Journal of American Indian Education, Vol. 15, No. 2,1976, p. 1-6.