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Volume 30 1990 Contents

  • Issue 1 October 1990
    • THE FUNDING OF TRIBALLY CONTROLLED COLLEGES
      Wayne J. Stein (pp. 1-7)
      This article examines several aspects of funding which have had a part in the development of the tribally controlled community college movement. It will examine the initial funding of the tribally controlled community colleges and what is now the current funding situation. It is not an effort to tell the complete story of the tribal colleges, only a brief look at a significant aspect of that story.

    • TRIBAL COLLEGE FACULTY WILLINGNESS TO PROVIDE ACCOMMODATIONS TO STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES
      John M. Dodd; Mike Hermanson; J. Ron Nelson; Jerome Fischer [pp. 8-16]
      The faculty of one tribal college was surveyed to determine their willingness to accommodate students with learning disabilities, whether students had requested the accommodation, whether they had provided the accommodation, and whether they felt the accommodation would fail to maintain academic standards. The results indicate indecision with regard to permitting eight of the 12 accommodations presented, agreement was expressed regarding permitting the use of tape recorders, providing extra credit assignments, permitting oral examinations and allowing extra time to finish exams. The faculty agreed that tutorial support and counseling services should be provided the students, and that those accommodations which were approved would not lower academic standards. The need for expanded research and implications is discussed. *

    • AMERICAN INDIAN STUDIES PROGRAMS: SURVIVING THE '80s, THRIVING IN THE '90s
      Bobby Wright [pp. 17-24]
      Since their inception in the late 1960s and early '70s, American Indian studies programs have assumed increasingly more important roles in colleges and universities. The article discusses these vital functions in light of major higher education issues which will affect their status in the coming decade. It concludes with the author's recommendations for furthering the development of American Indian studies.

    • THE CONSTRUCTION OF AN INTERCULTURAL SENSITIZER TRAINING NON- NAVAJO PERSONNEL
      Michael B. Salzman [pp. 25-36]
      The purpose and result of this study was to develop a "Navajo Intercultural Sensitizer." The Navajo Intercultural Sensitizer (ICS) is an attempt to sensitize non-Navajo educational personnel to the attributional system of Navajo culture. This effort attempts to build on the cultural strengths of Navajo people by promoting the acknowledgment, respect, and understanding of cultural differences. The method used was based on the identification of critical incidents that produce misunderstanding, confusion, or bad feelings between Anglo and Navajo people in educational settings. The incidents included in the instrument were empirically tested to show significant differences in the attributions chosen by samples of the two cultural groups. The Navajo ICS is presented in a programmed instruction format. The learner is presented with the incident, the question, and four plausible attributions. The task of the trainee is to learn how Navajos tend to attribute meaning to the incident.

  • Issue 2 January 1991

    • TRAINING NATIVE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATORS: ABORIGINAL CLAIMS AND GOVERNANCE IN NORTHERN CANADA
      Don Cozzetto [pp. 1-12]
      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.

    • PATHWAY TO THE PROFESSORIATE; THE AMERICAN INDIAN FACULTY PIPELINE
      William T. Cross [pp. 13-24]
      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.

    • THE EXPERIENCES, PERCEPTIONS, AND CONSEQUENCES OF CAMPUS RACISM AMONG NORTHERN PLAINS INDIANS
      Terry E. Huffman [pp. 25-34]
      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.

  • Issue 3 May 1991

    • FIRST NATIONS AND HIGHER EDUCATION: THE FOUR R's - RESPECT, RELEVANCE, RECIPROCITY, RESPONSIBILITY
      Verna J. Kirkness; Ray Barnhardt [pp. 1-15]
      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.

    • STUDY ORIENTATION, PERSISTENCE AND RETENTION OF NATIVE STUDENTS: IMPLICATIONS FOR CONFLUENT EDUCATION
      Graham Hurlburt; Randy Kroeker; Eldon Gade [pp. 16-23]
      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.

    • THE ROLE OF IMAGERY TRAINING ON TOHONO O'ODHAM CHILDREN'S CREATIVITY SCORES
      Annabelle Nelson; Bisi Lalemi [pp. 24-32]
      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.

    • THE EFFECTS OF LANGUAGE PREFERENCE AND MULTITRIAL PRESENTATION UPON THE FREE RECALL OF NAVAJO CHILDREN
      James MacAvoy; Craig Sidles [pp. 33-43]
      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.
* Page numbers refer to location in the original published version of the article.

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