Many Navajos, or Dines, and Native American people in general, are archaeologists or are becoming archaeologists. The distinction between "Native Americans" and "archaeologists" in academia, or elsewhere, is no longer accurate. This fact should not come as such a surprise. As the epigraph, a quote by Richard Begay,…

One Navajo legend attributes the creation of the primary stars and constellations to Black God. Today, a famous star cluster--the Pleiades--often appears on the traditional mask worn by chanters impersonating Black God during special ceremonies. In this case study, students learn about the Pleiades in Navajo cosmology while honing their…

An example of the way finding process when using verbal and other traditional maps among the Navajo Indians of the southwestern United States is presented. The scholarly literature on the Southwest offers examples of verbal maps that construct both linear space, such as trails, and broad geographical space, including hunting territories and large…

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…

Sandpainting is very much a part of the heritage and culture of the Navajo Indians of the American southwest. To separate the Navajo from their art is like trying to separate them from their land. One of the most unique art forms from the American southwest region is sandpainting. This column describes how to introduce sandpainting into the…

In the 1960s an increasing number of Native Americans began to express the need for an Indian college or university. Three major developments of the decade inspired them. The first was the rise of Indian activism in the 1960s. The second major development was the package of socioeconomic reforms of the Great Society, inaugurated by President…

This paper examines preliminary findings from an ongoing federally funded study of Native language shift and retention in the US Southwest, focusing on in-depth ethnographic interviews with Navajo youth. We begin with an overview of Native American linguistic ecologies, noting the dynamic, variegated and complex nature of language proficiencies…

This document presents results of a study to identify employers on the Navajo reservation conducted for the purpose of helping vocational rehabilitation counselors place American Indians with disabilities living on the reservation into appropriate jobs. The study identified 962 businesses on the reservation, not including churches. Businesses are…

As part of a unit on Native American art studies, students researched Navajo sand painting. They used Navajo image resources to develop designs for their sand paintings. The process and precautions for this lesson are described in this article.

This article is about bridge building: building cultural bridges of authentic collaboration between the university and the Navajo and Hopi nations; building curricular bridges between the White, European culture and the cultural worlds these nations seek to preserve; and building bridges between languages, the language of the…

Metaphorical teachings derived from objects and observations of daily life may provide a way to bridge the gap between the deeply religious values at the center of life for Navajo elders and the mechanized, fast-paced world of Navajo youth who find traditional teachings confusing or irrelevant. Examples of such teachings are provided. (SV)

This study investigated 52 Navajo family caregiver perceptions about early intervention services and supplemental information was gathered from 15 early interventionists identified by caregivers. Overall, caregivers were satisfied with services. Caregivers' perceptions of program family-centeredness had a strong positive relationship with…

Describes a site-based, rural teacher education program for Navajo students (the Pinon Partnership Program) which infused foundations throughout the program and used the Council of Learned Societies in Education's (CLSE) Social Foundations standards as its framework. Specific examples of how the six CLSE principles played out in the author's…

Discusses the use of satellite technology as an option for public schools to access the Internet. Examines costs and available technology. Presents two examples of school-satellite usage, including its use by the Navajo Nation to provide Internet access for its students who are spread out across 26,000 square miles. (GR)

Hantavirus, caused due to close contact with mice in a dwelling, first emerged in the spring of 1993 on the Navajo Reservation and although it is by no means an Indian disease, there are four times as many cases of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome (HPS) among non-Indians. Inadequate rural housing, especially common in western Indian Country,…