The Navajo calendar is a means of educating people to thrive in their surroundings, realize their individual potentials, and perpetuate their society. Describes in Navajo and English: the Navajo calendar, ceremonies and activities appropriate to each month, the moccasin game and string game (played in winter), and the significance of the number…

Dr. William Morgan, a Navajo linguist, devoted his career to the development and preservation of the Navajo language. Morgan collaborated with Dr. Robert Young in writing "The Navajo Language," an unabridged Navajo-English dictionary. He also taught Navajo at the Navajo Community College and worked for the Native American Materials…

Summarizes proceedings of the second Conference on Navajo Orthography held in Window Rock, Arizona, in 1976. The conference was noteworthy for establishing writing conventions for word boundaries in Navajo and for establishing the Navajo Language Academy, charged with making recommendations for the resolution of problems associated with Navajo…

Describes Navajo philosophy and implications for teaching and learning. Explains four branches of knowing that provide a framework for conceptualizing teaching content, as well as interrelationships within the framework providing opportunities for critical analysis and reflection. Advocates inquiry-oriented, experience-based instruction that…

At the first Conference on Navajo Orthography held in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1969, participants agreed upon a uniform orthography for Navajo developed by William Morgan and Robert Young and recommended development of a Navajo adult literacy program. Participants included representatives of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Navajo Tribal Council…

Traces development at Navajo Community College of educational models based on Navajo cultural foundations, most recently the Dine Educational Philosophy based on male/female dualist aspects of knowledge and values traditionally identified with the cardinal directions, and providing students with the means to integrate Navajo and Western knowledge…

Discusses why and how to integrate Navajo language and culture into daily lessons so as to reinforce the cultural identities of Navajo learners. Gives examples of how an elementary teacher has incorporated Navajo knowledge into literature, geography, and social studies lessons. (Author/TD)

Argues for the implementation of "True Education" based on Navajo knowledge associated with the four cardinal directions. Through mentorship and apprenticeship learning programs that unite children and adults and that promote Navajo language, culture, and values, a clockwise road may be built that restores students' sense of physical,…

Describes the influence of the Progressive Education movement, with its emphasis on experiential learning and community schools, on Bureau of Indian Affairs schools during the 1930s. Discusses the subsequent development of bilingual education programs for American Indian students and offers recommendations for improving the education of Navajo…

Describes how a college teacher used Navajo traditional knowledge to rethink the teaching of college biology. Suggests that teachers intimidated by the intricate Dine Philosophy of Education may integrate Navajo knowledge into their courses through focused research guided by Navajo consultants. Includes five examples of redesigned curricula for…

Telecommunications and computer technologies are impacting future policy decisions regarding reservation development and Indian education. Describes three kinds of virtual American Indian organizations within telecommunications networks (Internet, individual bulletin board services, and commercial networks). Recommends that plans for tribal…

Describes a Navajo model by which individuals may assume responsibility for reversing Navajo language shift. Argues that reversing Navajo language shift requires that Navajos acknowledge the problem, that Navajo principles of balance and the natural order be applied to the problem, and that Navajo individuals and families make a commitment to…

Highlights the lifelong work of linguists Robert W. Young and William Morgan in developing written Navajo. In contrast to technical orthographies, Young and Morgan developed a practical orthography that took advantage of native speakers' implicit knowledge and opened up possibilities for producing materials in written Navajo. Young and Morgan also…

Proposes the development of a Navajo education system utilizing a reorganized curriculum structure, successful teaching/learning situations and strategies from Navajo culture, and research on Navajo learning style and cultural strengths. Calls for changes in curriculum, instruction, testing and student evaluation, core knowledge requirements, and…

In an open letter, 19 educators in Navajo schools make recommendations for regulations to implement the Native American Languages Act. Recommendations are concerned with development of culturally sensitive curriculum and materials, teacher education, teacher certification, availability of immersion programs, school environment encouraging Native…