Argues that traditional religions of American Indians (and other persons) are under the secular attack because the civil religion of the United States will tolerate no value higher than the state. Cites court decisions suggesting that civil laws have become the definitive statement of what is acceptable religious behavior. (SV)

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…

Clifton's collection of essays attacks recent pro-Indian "fictions" (including Native spirituality and the relationship between the Iroquois League and the U.S. Constitution) as politically motivated romanticism and nonsense. The authors are struggling to maintain white intellectual authority over definitions of Indian identity and interpretations…

Advocates for ethnosciences courses in higher education. Compares the epistemology of Western science and traditional tribal knowledge, including methods of information gathering, data interpretation, fragmented versus holistic approach, and world views. Discusses the expansion of some fields of scientific inquiry to include…

Discusses the dilemma of American Indian science students as they attempt to integrate the reductionist methodologies of modern science with the holistic approach of traditional beliefs and practices. Suggests that students look to traditional technologies to find the broader meaning underlying the mechanics of nature. (SV)

Anticipated the modern physics relativity theory, American Indians gained information about the natural world through careful observation based on the principle that all things are related. American Indian students could radically transform scientific knowledge by grounding themselves in traditional knowledge about the world and working this…

Indians should be the ones to determine Indian education policy. Local control and freedom from outside interference would be the best thing for Indian education all around. Policymakers must first realize that education, if it is to be relevant to American Indians, must return in both content and substance to Indian traditions. Rather than…

Discusses Sioux claim to the Black Hills of South Dakota from the Sioux perspective. Land claim discussed not as legal or political issue, but as a problem deeper than simple land transaction. Examines history and federal land acquisition as violation of Indian culture. Discusses possible future strategies in dealing with government. (TES)

This book presents eight essays by Vine Deloria, Jr., a Standing Rock Sioux and professor of political science at the University of Colorado. Essays examine issues facing Native American students as they progress through the educational system, and aim to help Indian students place Western knowledge into the context of tribal and community…

The educational journey of modern Indian people spans two distinct value systems and worldviews, as the Native American sacred view inevitably encounters the material and pragmatic focus of the larger American society. In that meeting ground lies an opportunity for the two cultures to teach and learn from each other. The 15 essays in this book are…