This paper discusses ways Dine peoples can use cultural knowledge to rebuild and decolonize the Navajo Nation. In the past, leaders, warriors, and all peoples worked together to sustain their community's way of life. These stories and strategies can be helpful in rectifying and resolving many challenges and problems Dine peoples face in the…

A study examined media coverage of hantavirus in three Southwestern regional newspapers, including interviews with journalists and sources involved in the coverage, and implications of the media's portrayal of Navajo culture. Content review of regional coverage--67 articles in three regional newspapers were reviewed in the first year of a new…

As the Navajo nation undergoes rapid assimilation and modernization, counseling needs of the Navajo children have changed in ways similar to counseling needs in developing or "Eastern Block" nations. An adolescent sub-culture, full of at-risk behaviors, is epidemic worldwide. The paper states that a multicultural perspective can provide…

Mainstream educational institutions could improve their success rate with Native American students by emulating strategies used in tribal colleges. It is a well-documented fact that Western institutions are extremely unsuccessful in retaining Native American students. Research focusing specifically on composition courses at the University of New…

Indigenous minority children within many multiracial communities appear to suffer educational disadvantage reflected through poor school retention and school achievement. As part of an on-going research program aimed at understanding students' motivation and school achievement this paper examines the relations and effects of parental and teacher…

The purpose of this project was to develop a culturally relevant collaborative model focussing on early screening and intervention for Navajo children prenatal exposure to alcohol. A review of the long-term consequences of maternal drinking is presented, and prevalence statistics for American Indian groups are reviewed. Collaboration between a…

This paper describes an ethnographic study of school and community characteristics affecting the literacy development of Navajo children, and provides an overview of sociocultural factors in the literacy environment of one Navajo community. The researcher was a principal at Pinon Public School District #4 in Pinon, Arizona, in the heart of the…

Since 1986, KTNN Radio (tribally owned) has broadcast Navajo-language programming to the entire Navajo Nation. Its large broadcast range and position as the "Voice of the Navajo Nation" gives KTNN the "symbolic" power to affect linguistic change, as well as the unenviable position of being held to a high language standard although no such…

The Kayenta Unified School District (KUSD)(Arizona) transition program helps prepare Dine (Navajo) special education students for postsecondary opportunities within their own communities and outside the Navajo Reservation. The senior transition class entails a year-long course that focuses on the application process for tribal and federal…

This paper describes systemic thinking in support of the recently established Navajo Nation Rural Systemic Initiative (RSI). The RSI aims to create a standards-based student-centered teaching and learning environment in mathematics, science, and technology in the 173 elementary and secondary schools on or near the Navajo Nation, including public,…

This paper describes a pilot project of Los Alamos National Laboratory (New Mexico) to translate a science education curriculum for junior and senior high school students into Navajo. The project consisted of translating a video, a teacher's guide, and an interactive multimedia product on the 1993 hantavirus outbreak in the Four Corners area…

Navajo students have a 31% dropout rate, and it has been getting worse. Although considerable research has examined the reasons behind this dropout rate, little attention has been given to parental expectations of their children's education. Interviews with 45 parents of students attending Montezuma Creek Elementary School, a public school on the…

Internalizing symptoms, which include anxiety and depression, may be the most common pattern of psychopathology found in children. However, the knowledge base targeting internalizing symptomology in Native American children of the Southwest is surprisingly limited. This paper reports on a study of prevalence rates of internalizing disorders among…

This paper draws on the stereotype threat hypothesis and social identity theory to examine the influence of positive and negative ability beliefs on Navajo students' achievement goals. Data were collected on 829 Navajo students in two reservation high schools. The results support the notion that Navajo students hold both positive and negative…

A study examined the degree to which families with disabled children in remote areas of the Navajo Reservation were aware of and used family support services. Twenty-five undergraduate students enrolled in special education teacher training courses designed, implemented, and assisted in data analysis. Interviews and surveys were completed by 89…