It is of vital importance that children develop positive attitudes about ethnicity and race at an early age. Young children are not born with a racial bias, but by the time they reach high school they have often adopted the prejudices to which they have been exposed. In this article, the author discusses ways to help elementary school teachers deal with stereotypes in the classroom. Elementary school teachers must be aware of the language used, not only in history textbooks and children's literature, but also in discussions about American Indians. The terms they use and descriptions they provide may never please all listeners, but teachers can do much to include diverse views--and point out the complexities and shortcomings of words--when describing the clash of cultures. (Contains 8 notes.)