What does it mean to be a good citizen? In some ways, the answer is simple: participate in government (vote), pay your taxes, don't break the law, and contribute to the economic well-being of the United States. But there is more. The definition of being a good citizen is bound up in society's core cultural values and how those values are practiced…

This report was written in compliance with Senate Bill 5437 Section 6, to explore the development of a Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) Tribal Pathway that meets the needs of Tribal Sovereign Nations in providing ECEAP in their communities and decreasing the opportunity gap…

There has been a steady decline in the number of Indigenous people pursuing and achieving PhD degrees in the U.S. In 2021, barely 0.3% of the 31,674 students in the United States who were conferred PhDs were American Indian or Alaska Native, as there has been lack of support for the advancement of Indigenous students to doctoral-level study. This…

In this essay Justin Pack responds to Vine Deloria, Jr., and Daniel Wildcat's call to "indigenize education" by exploring what that entails both in his own life and for his teaching. Recognizing the power of "place" in Native American metaphysics, epistemology, and ethics is essential to the project of indigenizing education,…

Each day when the sun rises at tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) professors reach back to the traditional teachings of their elders to prepare lessons for the students of today. It is the connection to Native cultures, attitudes, and philosophy that is what sets TCUs apart from mainstream colleges and universities. For most, teaching…

In September 1975, the Northern Cheyenne Tribal Council chartered the Northern Cheyenne Indian Action Program, Inc., the organization that became Dull Knife Memorial College. It was funded by the Indian Technical Assistance Center of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and directed by six appointed Northern Cheyenne representatives. Dull Knife Memorial…

This article discusses the efforts of the Indigenous Knowledge for Effective Education Program (IKEEP), at the University of Idaho, a predominately white institution (PWI) of higher education, and its struggle to create space in higher education for intentional support of Indigenous self-determination, sovereignty, and Tribal nation building…

This qualitative study explored the dynamic aspects of American Indian language integration in education along with language revitalization efforts. Due to the special government to government relationship between the Tribes and the federal government, formal Native American education began with forced assimilation and language loss was linked to…

Culturally-adapted evidence-based programs (EBPs) are needed to promote healthy behaviors among Native teens and young adults. Little is known about the facilitators and barriers of implementing and sustaining EBPs in Native communities. This paper aims to identify those factors described by educators who implemented the Native Students Together…

Research Connections developed this document in collaboration with the Tribal Child Care Capacity Building Center for use during the OCC National Tribal Conference 2024 on April 9-11, 2024. This resource list highlights sample resources from the Research Connections library on the Conference topic areas. It also includes links to additional…

The current study seeks an understanding of the Native American boarding school experience within the contemporary historical period of 1945 to the present. Boarding schools are implicated as a major influence in the destruction of indigenous cultures and the transmission of intergenerational trauma (Brave Heart & DeBruyn, 1998). What little…

Languages are not just sets of words. They are powerful tools essential to carry history, traditions, culture and wisdom. In Latin America, Mapudungun, the native language of Mapuche people -- the largest ethnic group in Chile -- can be threatened. A substantial linguistic shift has characterised the panorama of native languages of the current…

This paper explores the form and extent of sustainability uptake in education policy in First Nations-managed K-12 schools, and discusses strategies First Nations' educational communities use to overcome barriers encountered in sustainability education practice. Interviews were conducted with educators across four different Canadian schools and…

Alignment with the Montana Indian Education for All (IEFA) Act, tenets of Tribal Critical Race Theory (TribalCrit) (Brayboy, 2006) and the 7 Essential Understandings, results in the effective integration of Computer Science and Storytelling into the classroom. Teacher disposition and pedagogies that reflect current education transformation trends…

Exploring the relationship between the role of education and Indigenous survival, "Digital Storytelling in Indigenous Education" is an ethnographic exploration of how digital storytelling can be part of a broader project of decolonization of individuals, their families, and communities. By recounting how a remote Indigenous (Métis)…