Describes Lakota belief systems connected with the stars and how those beliefs directed Lakota existence, movements during the year, and ceremonies. Discusses winter camps, associated cultural practices such as storytelling, ancient wisdom, the concept of mirroring (constellations and corresponding land forms on earth), and the Black Hills annual…

Argues that to manage a tribe's investment portfolio well requires knowledge of the tribe's needs as well as of the money management industry and its concepts and language. Discusses opportunities for the investment of tribal funds, examining mutual funds, the use of investment advisors and consultants, diversification, and levels of risk. (MAB)

Addresses specific National Park Service (NPS) responses to executive memorandum on collaboration with federally recognized tribes, and to Executive Order 13007 on Indian sacred sites: extent of consultation, confidentiality, access, avoiding adverse effects, collaborative planning, notification procedures, training managers, and suggested changes…

Illustrates implementation of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act in the three-year collaborative efforts of tribal representatives, anthropologists, archeologists, Park Service staff, and other experts to excavate, analyze, and rebury human remains found in the Lake Meredith National Recreation Area (Texas). Lake Meredith…

Why are some tribal organizations more effective than others? Does political capital--connections, influence and power--enable or constrain the ability of a tribal organization to work successfully within its Native community? This paper explores these questions within the context of American Indian higher education by using political capital…

Croatans did not take their community's identity for granted, nor did they blend in with one or another dominant ethnic identity. They continually reinforced their distinctiveness as a community by employing strategies as diverse as maintaining long-distance kin ties and accommodating racial segregation.

The results of a structured interview with members of a southeastern American Indian tribe on attitudes about disabilities and experiences with people with disabilities are reported. For nearly a century and a half, members of this tribe lived an isolated existence, resulting in the development of a rare recessive genetic disorder,…

The tribal reactions to and struggle over the issues of Indian-white conflict, factionalism, and liquidation of tribal assets are discussed. The termination efforts of the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s provide a crucible through which the Salish and Kootenai realized that only with a strong, determined, and unified tribe led by capable officials,…

In Osage writer Carter Revard's short story, "Report to the Nation: Claiming Europe," the narrator claims much of England, France, Spain, Italy, and Greece for the Osage Nation. After asserting his claim, the narrator questions whether or not the French actually understood that their country therefore belonged to the Osage Nation. When…

The diversity of customs and habitats under which the aboriginal peoples of North America lived in the past--and in which they live today--is one of the many possible topics for consideration in the social studies classroom. Along with an examination of the tribes, social studies educators can teach about the experiences of the explorers and the…

Tribal leaders in Cherokee established the payment program known as the "per capita". All enrolled members of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee--adults and children alike--receive yearly sums. Upon graduation, students from the tribal-run school system are eligible to receive lump-sum payments, with the amount $36,967.78 per person. The money comes…

Western New York's Allegany Seneca Reservation was a troubled place. John Peirce, one of many Allegany chiefs, could only lament in 1821 how a political situation had spiraled out of control: "war had risen amongst them." Within a span of a few years, Quakers operating a schoolhouse on Seneca lands had ripped apart the Allegany people.…

"Maine appears out of the woods," the editor of the "Lewiston Evening Journal" opined, after President Jimmy Carter signed the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act in 1980. That sigh of relief was heartfelt. During the 1970s, two Native American tribes, the Passamaquoddies and Penobscots, had sparked a long, statewide nightmare…

How can indigenous peoples react to a situation of change that has a particularly strong effect on their youth? This article attempts to understand whether young Crees, who today find themselves all too often in a situation of double social exclusion, can complete their schooling, thus qualifying for work in the dominant society, while at the same…

We present data from interviews with 401 youths on the relationship of personal, familial, and environmental strengths to the outcomes of urban and reservation American Indian youths. Urban youths consistently nominated more strengths than tribal youths, except in the area of tribal strengths. Quantitative data show how those strengths relate to…