A comparison of frequency and directionality of 13 Navajo and 7 Caucasian preschool children's oral-linguistic and nonoral-visual behaviors in an urban classroom and playground revealed Navajo children to be far less oral-linguistic, considerably less oral-nonlinguistic, and strikingly more nonoral-visual than the Caucasian children. (NEC)

Compared to their Euro-Canadian counterparts, Canada Native students express less favorable self-evaluations in terms of four success and achievement characteristics, but similar self-evaluations in terms of five traits emerging from interpersonal relationships. Available from Canadian Ethnic Studies, The University of Calgary, 2940-24 Avenue…

Describes the world's only solar electric village power system, a photovoltaic conversion installation in a remote Papago Indian Reservation village. Notes comparative costs, electric output, and potential applications of the system, a prototype for remote rural communities and developing nations. Notes outstanding questions and key issues in…

The number of Black, Hispanic, Asian American, and American Indian students earning doctorates in 1996 continued a decade-long rise. Total number of doctorates also rose, fueled chiefly by increases in degrees to foreign students. Numbers and percentages of earned doctorates are presented by field and student characteristics, and numbers are…

Promotes teacher training and culturally sensitive curricula to help alleviate the discrepancy between low-teacher and high-student expectations for student academic success. (YKH)

Since the 1950s, ethnic relations in Tenejapa (Chiapas, Mexico) have shifted toward greater equality and less antagonism between formerly dominant mestizos and formerly dominated "indigenas" (Maya Indians). An important cause is the long-term promotion of indigenous education by a national agency, Instituto Nacional Indigenista,…

Traumas from the Canadian residential school system have been transmitted through generations of Canada Natives, which has interfered with learning. Curricula need to be developed by and for First Nations people. Strategies are presented for working with Native learners and for developing language instructional materials. To become fluent in…

Provides a conceptual framework and concrete guidance for Navajo language teaching that follows an immersion approach. Explains key theoretical starting points for immersion instruction and program development; then describes in step-by-step fashion how to go about implementing immersion language teaching in various classroom contexts. (Author/TD)

Diabetes among American Indians has become epidemic since World War II, due to dietary changes and a possible genetic predisposition. Innovative community-based programs teach prevention and management of diabetes through exercise, diet, and blood sugar monitoring. Traditional American Indian lifestyles and diets prevented diabetes. Sidebars…

Educators are challenged to develop specialized programs to serve the varied cultural norms, beliefs, and values espoused by different Native American tribes. To counter bureaucratic pressures toward uniformity, individual schools must foster development of shared school-community culture. To assist at-risk students, schools and communities must…

Passage of the Tribally Controlled Community College Assistance Act of 1978 is examined via document reviews and interviews with constituent representatives. Findings highlight the remarkable unity of purpose exhibited by the tribal colleges throughout this process, including the initial proposal to Congress in 1974, debates over tribal control in…

The National Science Foundation funds a two-year course in environmental resources management at Northwest Indian College on the Lummi Reservation (Washington). The course emphasizes co-articulation of tribal and Western knowledge, a non-abandonment policy toward students, an interdisciplinary approach, and developmental education that begins at…

A program for Canadian middle school students addressed bias, specifically bias toward First Nations people, through the arts. Students progressed through an antibias continuum containing four stages: no awareness of bias, awareness of bias, political correctness, and transfer to personal life. A survey of 123 students attributed program success…

Examines how a discipline-based approach to multicultural art augments multicultural education. Focuses on Native American arts. Illustrates how symbols, colors, natural materials, and methods differ among tribes. Suggests teaching activities, including focusing on a particular artist to raise specific questions about specific symbols. Profiles…

Analysis of an exemplary lesson by a Yupik first grade teacher reveals that the teacher contextualized the lesson by choosing a cultural activity, using an interactional style of teacher demonstration and student observation and demonstration, and emphasizing the importance of the activity to community and kin. Contains 27 references. (SV)