On the Fajada Butte in New Mexico, 11th-century Anasazi constructed a site that marks the high and low points of the orbits of the sun and the moon. This unit on astronomy challenges students to think differently about the moon and about the ability of native people to understand the natural world. Includes resources for further study. (PVD)

Cross-sectional study compares psychosocial factors associated with alcohol use among sixth- and eighth-grade White and American-Indian students. Risk factors were largely similar. Alcohol use rates were higher for American-Indian students, suggesting that prevention may need to begin earlier. (EMK)

The new president of Miami University (Ohio) recounts the controversy he encountered over the name of the university's athletic teams, considered racist and insensitive by some, and his approach to the issue. Public discussion of the volatile issue, led by the president, took a large amount of time but was felt to be worthwhile. (MSE)

Describes five demonstration projects intended to stimulate innovative community approaches to developing entrepreneurial activities for Native American youth. Each of the projects is charged with meeting the community's need to train young persons with relevant entrepreneurial orientations and management skills to improve economic development.…

A phenomenological study examined experiences of eight urban American Indian women participating in a 6-week intervention aimed at reclaiming and adapting Native women's traditional roles as part of bicultural resynthesis. Psychoeducational methods were used to uncover past ethnic shame, facilitate a return to American Indian pride and identity,…

A Gathering of Waters is a community-based art and activism project to raise awareness that the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo is a desperately endangered river, connect communities dependent on the river, and galvanize those communities into action. Activities provided actual and symbolic experiences of river water for American Indian, Hispanic, Anglo, and…

Describes how dance was incorporated into African and Native American cultural study units. Notes that when dance was used, children's participation level was high and they showed evidence of integrating new knowledge into current information. Provides suggestions for educators to teach dance to students through increasing body awareness,…

Describes general development assistance available to rural areas through federal programs that fund housing, extension education and research, rural community development, rural business development, resource conservation, and development activities in American Indian reservations and disadvantaged rural areas. (SV)

In remote Navajo Mountain, Dine children have no formal educational opportunities after eighth grade. A U.S. District Court judge's late-1970s ruling that spread responsibility among the U.S. Government, the Navajo Nation, Utah, and the local school district has proved unworkable. Any negotiated settlement must begin with identification of shared…

Examined whether associations between prenatal substance use and birth and infant outcomes varied by maternal age and race. Data on all singleton live births in Minnesota from 1990-98 indicated that poor birth outcomes and infant death were generally lower for whites than for African Americans and American Indians. Prenatal substance use varied by…

Describes the new teaching methods at Fort Peck, which include the combination of language-immersion and Montessori methods of teaching. The Montessori method, grounded in spiritual traditions, integrates all subjects and includes cultural immersion and parental involvement. (YKH)

Describes the memorandum of agreement created by the American Indian Higher Education Consortium and the Secretary of Agriculture in an effort to assure that tribal colleges can participate fully in federal agriculture programs. Discusses the activities and improvements of tribal colleges made possible by four $50,000 grants from the United States…

Describes a project for graduate students in teaching that asked them to see from another cultural viewpoint by working out a way to erect a tipi. The success of the lesson with graduate students resulted in its adaptation for elementary school students as a multicultural science lesson. (SLD)

Examines the complexities of postsecondary education for First Nations people in the Yukon. Discusses the importance of maintaining a balance between mainstream and traditional educational goals and values, the role of northern colleges in overcoming the deficiencies of public schooling, and the development of culturally relevant programming at…

Presents a poetic and metaphoric rendition of "data" collected by an Aboriginal faculty member exploring the usefulness of traditional knowledge and ceremony in contemporary Western university classrooms. Includes Elders' teachings and institutional and student responses related to the use of smudge in the classroom. (Author/SV)