IN THE PAST four or five months, we have noted a decided effort on the part of the mass media to bring to the attention of the reading, viewing and hearing audience the inconsistencies, problems and living conditions of the American Indian.
Perhaps the outstanding example (at least it made us more aware of the total effort) was NBC’s December 2 program, "First Tuesday," which featured the plight of Thomas Whitehawk, a young Sioux from Pine Ridge, South Dakota.
At first we took exception to NBC’s use of Whitehawk’s story, as he is not the average American Indian. (The percentage tried for murder is infinitesimal.) However, as the program progressed, we lauded NBC’s handling of the delicate situation, and their obvious desire to present the Indian’s point of view.
We hope that other networks will follow this example.
EARLIER in November, Arizona newspapers reported on a two-year study on Indian education by a U. S. Senate sub-committee, the conclusions of Dr. Jones M. Kilgore, psychiatrist and consultant to the U. S. Public Health Service, and Dr. Anthony S. Elite’s report on Phoenix Indian High School.
The reports had indicated: that Indian education, as it exists, is a "flop;" that ". . . to thousands of Americans, the American Indian is and always will be dirty, lazy and drunk. . . ;" and that PIHS students are "academically retarded."
The PIHS students took strong objection to these reports and spontaneously wrote letters of protest to the persons involved and the Phoenix newspapers.
Certainly the rebuttals, as published in the newspapers, indicated that Indian students are not only aware of any shortcomings, but are willing to do something about correcting the situation.
We hope that other students in this minority class will speak their minds and indicate they are first-class citizen material.
With these two incidents in mind, the Journal of American Indian Education looks forward to the 1970s as a decade of definition and development. We will look for better methods of teaching Indian students both on and off the reservation. We will strive to bring the words of tribal leaders to our readers. We will search ways to make Americans aware of the great heritage inherent in the native Indian cultures and the benefits ultimately derived, as well as finding ways that the American Indian can benefit from his integration into a technological society.
This large order for an academic journal seems formidable, but with the help of readers and contributors, the editors will strive to achieve a tangible success in a still-new educational area, and at the same time, point the way in this strange space age.
