Reviews a book that describes the experiences of a white teacher of creative writing in American Indian classrooms. The book recounts the teacher's successes in encouraging his students to write poetry, examines his relationships with his students and their community, and offers lessons about crossing cultural boundaries and the rewards to be…

A book published in 2002 offers a glimpse into the struggles of the first American Indian community-controlled school--Rough Rock Demonstration School--struggles that took place both within the community and with the federal bureaucracy. The conflict between self-determination in the development of a linguistically and culturally relevant…

Suggests a curriculum for rural and small-town schools that combines bilingual education in local languages (indigenous, heritage, or immigrant languages) with global, multicultural education. Discusses benefits to students and community, and ways that the model overcomes typical rural constraints of inflexible school organization; administrative…

Discusses the collaborative efforts of the Hawaiian Kamehameha Early Education Program (KEEP) and the Navajo Rough Rock Community School in Arizona to develop educational practices and strategies that would help minority-language children succeed in school. Examines the modification of KEEP strategies for use with Navajo children. (16 references)…

In light of the articles in this issue, this article discusses the role that language planning plays in the building of communities and nations, focusing on American Indian language and bilingual education. Also examined is the impact of the Native American Languages Act on the maintenance of indigenous language and cultural resources. (four…

Discusses the role that schools, communities, and parents can play in transmitting American Indian culture and language to Indian children, focusing on the experiences of the Hualapai Indians and Peach Springs School District in Arizona. (three references) (MDM)

In the small Alaskan village of Manokotak, the community participated in the school's shift from an "English submersion" program to Yup'ik immersion plus ESL. Discusses community involvement and participative planning, first-year goals, scheduling of instructional time in each language, staff development, materials development, cultural…

Interviews with 10 Yaqui adults educated in urban Tucson schools focused on attitudes toward formal education, struggles to maintain ethnic identity in a mainstream educational environment, and Yaqui-defined factors related to school success and failure of current Yaqui students. Major themes included hidden curriculum of school, family support…

Examines the myths surrounding the introduction of native language instruction in American Indian communities. Despite the concerns of many parents, such instruction does not "hold back" students, and in fact empowers them to succeed in school. Parent-community involvement is essential for dispelling myths and for reinforcement of the…

The Navajo Nation wants a 2-year Navajo language requirement for regional colleges. At the same time, literacy in academic English is required for Navajo students wishing to enter the sciences, medicine, and law. The difficulties students face as they make the transition from English to Navajo and from Navajo to English are described. Four…

Examines the perspectives of bilingual teachers, teacher assistants, school administrators, and an outside researcher on the 10-year development of a Navajo-English bilingual/bicultural program at Rough Rock Elementary School in Arizona. The transformation in curriculum and pedagogy, as well as the social and political processes by which…

Using comparative data from two Navajo community-school contexts, this article details the conditions within these and similar contexts that enable schools to authentically use and validate the local language. Six social engineering strategies are presented as a means to build dual-language programs. (seven references) (MDM)

Discusses the ways in which various American Indian community schools and programs have addressed the concept of language and cultural maintenance and renewal, focusing on the role of bilingual programs, classroom interactions, community involvement, and indigenous teachers. The perspectives of the Yupik Indians on indigenous education are…

Discusses the 13 papers in this special issue on American Indian and Alaska Native language education and literacy, the object of which is to critically examine the relationship of pedagogical change to larger sociopolitical and cultural processes affecting native language, bilingual, and bicultural programs. (three references) (MDM)

In the past 25 years, both content and context of American Indian education have changed tremendously, largely due to a dynamic interplay between federal language policy and initiatives generated by Indian schools and communities. This paper integrates a historical analysis of federal language policy with comparative ethnographic data from Indian…