Many American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth are repeatedly exposed to opportunities to participate in self-destructive and illegal behaviors. This digest examines risk factors associated with four contexts: peers, family, school, and community. Recent research has shown that, relative to national averages, AI/AN youth have higher rates of…

The article examines the effects of the history of education on the Navajo, reviewing influences by a complex society and revealing relationships between the Navajo and the United States through the educational process. (Author/SB)

"Recipe for Reading," a highly structured phonetic approach to reading, helped remediate Navajo students having reading difficulties and equip younger students with essential decoding skills. The program could serve as supplementary material or program basis in developmental or remedial settings. Recommendations for teaching reading to…

Discusses benefits of combining traditional agricultural techniques with the concepts of "permaculture," a framework for revitalizing traditions, culture, and spirituality. Describes school, college, and community projects that have assisted American Indian communities in revitalizing sustainable agricultural practices that incorporate…

Discusses Navajo acculturation and language loss. Argues that Navajo parents must understand the importance of their involvement in the bilingual classroom, the services and funding available to meet their children's needs, teacher skills necessary for effective bilingual classrooms, and what schools must do to optimize parental involvement in…

Discusses land-grant legislation of the past century and how it has, and will continue to, affect tribal colleges and rural America. (YKH)

This case study explored culturally relevant practices in an urban American Indian secondary alternative school and three students' responses to them. The most vital factor contributing to student success was culturally responsive teachers. Other factors were small school size, flexible school formats, and governance structures. Implications for…

A British Columbian Native teacher education program is guided by a team of First Nations educators and elders, university faculty, a representative of the teacher federation, and students. Aboriginal languages are incorporated into a Native cultural studies course using a holistic approach based on the Medicine Wheel that empowers students to…

A Guatemalan program teaches Indigenous working children where they work--in the streets. The teachers, who are also Mayan, accommodate student needs and involve parents. This program of popular education empowers poor children and adults to participate in public life and lead the way in the creation of a democracy. (Contains 20 references.) (TD)

Examines the career of Estelle Reed, federally appointed Superintendent of Indian Schools, 1898-1910. Discusses Reel's development of the Uniform Course of Study (a highly detailed, primarily vocational curriculum); racist ideology; girls'"domestic training" to transform Indian family life; instruction in traditional Native crafts; and…

The principal of Ganado Primary School on the Navajo Reservation relates his educational experience as the child of Polish immigrants to stress the important role of teachers in the intellectual and spiritual development of children. Through his poetry, the principal illustrates the relationship between teachers and students and how teachers can…

Reviews research on maintaining and revitalizing American Indian languages, focusing on the interrelationship of language and culture; Fishman's theoretical paradigm for reversing language shift; national and tribal language policies; and examples of native language instruction at the early childhood, elementary, secondary, and tribal college…

Describes the Salish Kootenai College (SKC) Cultural Leadership Program, in which students earn a higher education certificate while working closely with older Indian persons to learn the language, songs, plants, traditional healing, and spiritual ways unique to Indian culture. The program provides traditional education as well as cultural…

James Shanley, president of Fort Peck Community College (Montana), discusses the intertwined issues of unemployment, welfare reform, and economic development needs on American Indian reservations; the role of tribal colleges in job training and economic development; criticism of tribal colleges for not pursuing scholarship to validate indigenous…

American Indian and Alaska Native children have almost twice the injury mortality rate for all U. S. children. Recommendations to pediatricians working with Native patients cover communication strategies, collaboration with tribes and the Indian Health Service to develop community-based coalitions and culturally relevant accident prevention…