This article addresses critical issues of how Indigenous (Diné/Navajo) youth construct meaning of their racial, cultural, and linguistic identities within the historical, political, and socio-cultural contexts of the United States of America as a racialized, settler/colonial society. Using Tribal Crit theory, the author, a member of the Diné…

A wealth of literature shows positive outcomes and experiences from arts learning, yet youth access to arts education has become significantly more inequitable over the past 30 years. Alongside the growing discourse around arts learning and equity issues, there is a recognized and persistent need for more research. We conducted a critical,…

The preferred learning style of American-Indians is a constructivist approach that is student-centered rather than teacher-led. Educators would have an interest in this study as the findings may have use as an alternative teaching method assimilating constructivist teaching principles while adding diversity and valuable learning experiences to the…

This brief provides an overview of three federal laws that address native-language education and illustrates how these federal laws produce different results when coupled with state laws and other regional circumstances. For the purposes of this brief, native-language education refers to American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians and…

Much has been written of the Navajo Long Walk period when the Navajo people, following what appears to be a fairly short resistance, surrendered in droves to the US military, collected at Fort Defiance and other designated sites, then moved in a series of "long walks" to Fort Sumner (Hweeldi) on the Pecos River in eastern New Mexico.…

Beginning in 2005, a five-year survey of cultural resources began to unfold in southeastern Utah along a prominent sandstone rock formation known as Comb Ridge. This visually dramatic monocline stretches a considerable distance from the southwestern corner of Blue Mountain (Abajos) in Utah to Kayenta, Arizona, approximately one hundred miles to…

The purpose of this qualitative study, conducted in two Navajo Nation chapters, was to learn what makes Navajo marriages strong because no research has been done on this topic. Twenty-one Navajo couples (42 individuals) who felt they had strong marriages volunteered to participate in the study. Couples identified the following marital strengths:…

Uranium mining and milling in the Four Corners' area of the American Southwest has had serious negative impacts on American Indian workers, their families, and their communities. In this article, we will examine Navajo education programs which inform citizens about risks and health impacts associated with radiation exposures. Because the Navajo…

Navajo women have been at the core of economic and social control in their traditionally matrilineal society. Interviews with Navajo women in southeastern Utah suggest that the increasing educational attainment and career aspirations of young Navajo women are creating internal pressures for cultural change and modernization. (SV)

After the Aneth Extension (Utah) was added to the Navajo Reservation in 1933, Congress provided that part of natural resource royalties go to the state to finance education and other services for Navajo residents. These funds were squandered. A Utah Supreme Court case over dual taxation by state and tribe of non-Indian resource lessees is…

Responding to a shortage of special education teachers with multicultural training, the University of Utah designed a series of American Indian specialization courses for teachers, leading to a master's degree in professional practice. Essential course components include cultural awareness, nonbiased assessment, specialized curriculum and…

Research on Navajo youth lives and choices examines the messages conveyed through their breakdancing and heavy-metal music. Central to the messages is resistance to assimilation into mainstream culture and maintenance of their cultural identity in a racially divided community. (MMU)

A study of Navajo children's attitude towards scientists asked 94 southern Utah Navajo students in grades 4-6 to draw a scientist. Although many students appeared to have no conception of what a scientist is, the drawings provided unique insights into Navajo students' perceptions, racial and gender sterotypes, and world views. Implications for…