Part of a larger report on the Four Directions Project, an American Indian technology innovation project, this section includes 13 "pathfinders" to locating information on Native American and other indigenous cultural groups. The pathfinders were designed by students in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the…

The Phoenix Indian School, which served as a coeducational federal boarding school for American Indian students between 1891 and 1990, was partially excavated in 1995. Drawing upon written records, books, student recollections, and the school newspaper, this report summarizes what was learned from the excavation about life at the school. The first…

A qualitative field study employing participant observation revealed that the Nisga'a, a Native people of northwest British Columbia, Canada, believe that education is a total way of life, with teaching and learning being a lifelong process. Traditionally, education was conducted by one's parents; extended family, especially maternal aunts and…

In Plains Indian tradition, a warrior gained honor and glory by "counting coup," touching his enemy in battle and living to tell the tale. This is a modern story of counting coup that follows a talented young woman named Sharon LaForge, a gifted basketball player and a descendant of one of George Armstrong Custer's Indian scouts.…

This bibliography presents 75 annotated entries on counseling and psychotherapy with American Indians. Entries include journal articles, books, book chapters, newspaper and newsletter articles, and conference papers, published 1964-96. Topics covered include counseling approaches and techniques, mental health services for Native Americans,…

Examines traditional Native Americans' emphasis on the value of understanding the learning process and a holistic curriculum and the Native Americans' perspective toward teaching and learning. Discusses how contemporary educators can learn from a traditional Native American learning model. (LC)

By teaching children in the manner in which they themselves were taught by their elders, female Papago, Pima, and Pueblo artists are continuing the role of traditional tribal arts (basketry, painting, pottery) among their people. Their use of traditional materials is occasionally innovative, but usually reflects traditional design. (SB)

A curriculum developed by the University of California for American Indian natural resource workers blends traditional knowledge of ecology and management with Euro-American scientific principles. The trophic pyramid provides an example for teaching the underlying principles of natural resource management, including reciprocity and interdependence…

Maintains that the complimentary perspectives of social studies and science contribute a deeper understanding to the study of other cultures. Includes four lesson plans utilizing material culture, chemistry, astronomy, folktales, and literature to investigate the world of the Anasazi Indians. Each lesson plan includes a bibliography. (MJP)

The Chulupi Indians of Paraguay use a humorous tale containing an incest sequence to transmit information and approved social attitudes toward incest to members of their culture. Accounts of incestuous rape need to be included in United States prevention programs to deter this destructive form of child sexual abuse. (JDD)

A summer science enrichment program addressed the cultural and academic needs of middle school students living on the Cattaraugus and Allegany reservations of the Seneca Nation (New York). The program integrated language arts skills and science content with Seneca culture and language. Learning activities included vocabulary lessons, critical and…

American Indian students have had inadequate opportunities for success in school, particularly in mathematics and science, because of how they are typically taught. The article identifies sources of the problem, discussing education reform, assumptions about mathematics and science, culture-based variations in ways of knowing, and methods of…

Presents a lesson plan for teaching the history of the southeastern United States from the time of the first Spanish explorations to the time of colonization. Includes preparatory activity for students, a shared reading, suggested questions for classroom discussion, and a session utilizing maps. Discusses decimation of the society and debate…

Presents a lesson designed to analyze cultural practices from the perspective of U.S. laws. Proposes a legal philosophy continuum ranging from universalist to relativist positions. Provides student handouts that present legal case studies involving cultural contexts. (CFR)

A professor of American Indian law describes an interdisciplinary curriculum approach that combines legal and historical perspectives, focusing on issues of tribal sovereignty, tribal experience, and tribal persistence and continuity despite formidable legal and historical obstacles. Course content, strategy, objectives, and the law-history…