Reviews the movie "Lakota Woman," the story of Mary Crow Dog, a young woman who gave birth to her first child during the American Indian Movement's occupation of Wounded Knee, South Dakota, in 1973. Although the majority of the crew and cast were Native Americans, many subtleties and nuances of American Indian culture were overlooked.…

Discusses controversy surrounding books supposedly written by and about American Indians that are fabrications written by whites. Stresses the importance of moving away from American Indian literature that trivializes Indian culture and values, toward more realistic portrayals. Black Elk, whose first name was Nick, is an example of how cultural…

Profiles the career of Barbara Booher, previously first Native American woman to superintend Custer Battlefield National Park (Montana), and now American Indian liaison for the National Park Service. Describes her efforts to persuade Congress to change the park name to Little Bighorn National Monument. Discusses career opportunities for Native…

At age 17, Jaime Pinkham left the Nez Perce Reservation vowing never to return to the poverty and oppression he had experienced there. However, 12 years later, with a college degree in forestry and leadership skills, Pinkham returned home to become the natural resources manager for the Nez Perce Tribe. Includes Pinkham's thoughts on Indian…

After years of hardship and despite owning only 12 percent of its own reservation, the Nez Perce tribe is successfully pursuing community development. Factors include energetic tribal government, good intratribal communications, integrated planning for economic development and forest resource management, and emphasis on cultural preservation and…

Discusses Indian roots and history of lacrosse, at least 500 years old, and focuses on currently successful Indian team, the Iroquois Nationals. Includes interview material and "war stories" from last generation of Indian lacrosse players. Discusses meaning and implications of game for Indian culture and history. (TES)

The Milwaukee Public Museum's new exhibit presents a cultural and historical overview of American Indian adaptation and survival from the earliest peopling of the Americas to the present. Wisconsin Indians have been heavily involved in the development of the exhibit, particularly a contemporary area portraying a modern intertribal powwow. (SV)

At Sequoyah Research Center, University of Arkansas, Little Rock, college students receive credit for participating in the Native Writers Digital Text Project. The project identifies, collects, edits, and archives previously unknown or unavailable works by Native writers and constructs bibliographic guides to Native writing and publishing. A web…

Describes the American Indian "Holocaust," decimation of Indian populations following European discovery of the Americas. European and African diseases, warfare with Europeans, and genocide reduced native populations from 75 million to only a few million. Discusses population statistics and demographic effects of epidemics, continuing infection,…

Policymakers have assumed that higher education would generate Indian self-determination by acculturating future tribal leaders. Instead, frustrated by the fragmented Western worldview, the brightest Indian students are supplementing its deficiencies with tribal knowledge and traditions and thereby transcending 500 years of culture shock to find…

For American Indian students, the secret and art of navigating the EuroAmerican education system is to balance the best instruction in the Western canon with original Native knowledge and wisdom. Retaining or relearning one's Native language, and speaking and writing in that language are important in keeping that balance. (TD)

Describes the storytelling program at the Department of American Indian Studies, San Diego State University, which has involved Indian elders and storytellers, students, and both Indian and non-Indian children and adults from the local community. Includes a Wyandot tale that warns against jealousy, bitterness, and revenge. (SV)

Portrays Gloria Grant Means of the Navajo and Omaha tribal nations, a woman with a multidimensional career as American Indian educator, artist, rodeo performer, mother, politician's wife, and community role model. Discusses the traditional aspects of her upbringing and her desire to promote Indian artists. (SV)

An intensive 8-week summer program in New Mexico prepares American Indian and Alaska Native students to succeed in law school, focusing on law research, analysis, and writing. Two program graduates who went on to complete law school discuss the complexities of federal Indian law and the Native lawyers' responsibility to their communities--an…

Rebecca Adamson, president and founder of First Nations Development Institute, compares the values of traditional American Indian economies that stress sustainability and limited inequalities among society members with the deficiencies of the Western economic system. Discusses First Nations Development Institute's view of Indian gaming and how it…