This paper explores the complexities of institutional involvement in Native language programming by looking at a program in Kenai, Alaska. The work contrasts learner goals with stated grant goals in order to investigate the tensions between institutional (university, funding agency) and individual learner goals in a language revitalization effort.…

This qualitative study describes how 12 Haudenosaunee (Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy) college graduates constructed pathways to degree completion. The participants related their experiences on this path through open-ended interviews. The pathways were found to be complex owing to their unique cultural grounding and dedication to family. The…

American Indians have been engaged in an education Cold War for several centuries. The Native American Higher Education Initiative (NAHEI) has become the tribal college equivalent of the Indian Education Marshall Plan. NAHEI projects are culturally based and spiritually rooted in the land, and story-telling scholars have done a wonderful job of…

With an advisory committee of native community members, elders, educators, and students, the Center for Hawaiian Language and Cultural Studies has successfully founded, within a mainstream institution with strong religious foundations, a cultural center that teaches native values and language. The center creates cultural/educational projects that…

One of the challenges facing Aboriginal education is how to enhance Aboriginal students' achievement through culturally responsive pedagogies. The issue involved is not merely that of methods of teaching and learning but of acquiring the necessary tools for shaping and implementing a socially and culturally oriented curriculum that recognizes…

Examines potential uses of distance learning for maintaining and sustaining American-Indian tribal communities within the United States while allowing access to the information and skills needed for employment in the dominant society. Examines distance education in general, traditional education in tribal contexts, tribal uses of…

Interview with three Hawaiian educators discusses Hawaiian educational philosophy focused on the importance of family and community and the relationary nature of knowledge; educational self-determination; the politics of promoting culture-based education; and the spiritual aspect of helping students pursue both a career and a destiny. (SV)

Language revitalization programs should focus on whether they want to teach the language, teach about the language, teach with the language, or teach the language for academic credit. A program at Chief Dull Knife College (Montana) teaches the Cheyenne language using the Total Physical Response method, which replicates the manner in which first…

A study of 19 northern Michigan Ojibwa families found that children's academic and social performance in elementary school was positively affected by mother's traditional Ojibwa values, particularly sharing, other-centeredness, harmony with nature, noninterference, and focus on extended family. Father's values did not significantly affect…

Interviews examined factors affecting school success for 196 American Indian children in grades 5-8. The degree to which children were embedded in traditional culture positively affected student academic performance, even when controlling for such variables as family characteristics, parenting, and prosocial activities. Effects of enculturation…

A veteran Navajo educator reflects on the War on Poverty's contributions to American Indian education and quality of life and offers his vision of the future: Navajo funding of educational programs that preserve their culture; a single system of schools replacing the Navajo reservation's overlapping systems; the Navajo Nation as 51st state; and…

A veteran American Indian educator describes his experiences as a student, teacher, and administrator in Indian schools; the formation of the National Indian Education Association; and the events that influenced his views about the progress of "Indian education." He foresees positive changes in American Indian education and teacher…

A culturally relevant education that also prepares American Indian students for participating in a culturally diverse, technological society must address the historical relationship between American Indian cultures and the educational system, recognize the importance of multicultural education, understand the nature of culture itself, and identify…

To foster economic growth in the Navajo communities served by Crownpoint Institute of Technology, an initiative developed networks among educational, industrial, and nonprofit organizations. By promoting the sharing of knowledge between Navajo medicine men and veterinarians, Crownpoint has developed high quality training, employment, and small…

Because of its unique leadership and supportive faculty, Salish Kootenai College, on the Flathead reservation in Western Montana, has become one of the leading institutions nationwide in providing distance learning programs. Consistent with the college's mission, all distance courses are designed to preserve and enhance Salish and Kootenai…