Joining African religion with Catholicism, women of northeastern Brazil re-enact century-old ceremonies. When forced to practice Catholicism, Afro-Brazilians assimilated their concepts of forces into the belief in Christian saints. Sisterhoods and brotherhoods in Brazil were underground manifestations of religions native to Africa. (VM)

In the period before World War I, New York schools did provide some opportunities for immigrant children, but, despite compulsory education laws, the majority of immigrant students dropped out and went to work. (SK)

Successive waves of immigrants were classified as criminal and ignorant by ethnicity in the 19th and 20th centuries. These stereotypes, as well as efforts of public schools and correctional education to assimilate these groups, may be compared to today's arguments to limit immigration. (SK)

Navajo Reservation trading posts held an influential position between two cultures and operated on Navajo terms but also were an assimilative force emphasizing white values through the marketing of Navajo wool and rugs, traffic in prehistoric artifacts, and employment of Navajos in a mixed barter and wage economy. (SV)

There is a need for studies which use historical reconstruction to investigate diaspora societies. In reconstructing the history of women in the African slave trade the following factors must be considered: (1) perceptions about race and color; (2) the role of free women; (3) modified kinship structures; and (4) female resistance to slavery. (VM)

The years between the Dawes Act of 1887, which imposed allotments in severalty on the American Indians, and 1933, when an advocate of Indian self-determination became Commissioner of Indian Affairs, were marked by a drive to assimilate the Indians. Geography instruction in Indian government schools during this period is discussed. (RM)

Discusses attitudes of educators toward immigrant children since the mid 19th century. Concludes that prejudice and ethnocentrism in American schools and society have now been replaced by the ideal of cultural pluralism. (ST)

Interactions among Shawnees, Quakers, and Indian agent William Wells illustrate the frustrations of tribes that sought acculturation in the early nineteenth century. Although William Kirk and other Quaker missionaries established good relations with Shawnees eager to learn White agricultural practices, their successes were undone by bureaucratic…

Demographic patterns of immigration to the United States from Ireland are examined, and a scenario is projected for Irish immigration in the twenty-first century. It is argued that the wave of Irish immigration of the 1980s will prove to be a last gasp of a 200-year-old tradition. (SLD)

Carlos Montezuma, an Apache, was raised by whites, graduated from medical school, and worked as physician for the Indian Service and Carlisle Indian School. Montezuma's life as colonial surrogate advocating "civilization" of the Indians is compared to Kafka's story of the ape who studied to become a passable European because it was "a way out" of…

Zitkala-Sa, a 19th century Native American woman who won second place in an 1896 Midwestern oratorical contest, resembles many students who daily cross borders--geographical, economic, linguistic, and cultural--balancing on a tightrope of assured losses and uncertain gains. Known as Gertrude Simmons before and Gertrude Bonnin after her marriage,…

Folklore played an important part in the acculturation of Black Americans. Folksongs, worksongs, spirituals, and proverbs promoted racial solidarity, expressed thoughts, and served as educational and social tools. (DF)

Examines the historical role of American schools as instruments of Americanization and assimilation processes. Traces the origins of cultural pluralism and discusses its implications for minority education. (SK)

Suggests new frame of reference, based on world-system and dependency theories, to study acculturation and annihilation of Native American groups. Discusses Indians' response to acculturation and reinterprets previous research. Suggests new questions for study and directions for inquiry. Includes two diagrams, seven pages of notes. (TES)

Reviews the history of Catholic education in the United States from the early nineteenth century to the present; discusses its academic effectiveness and the future of Catholic schools. (SK)