Interview examines the competing interests of U.S. national parks, which preserve Native American archaeological sites as the basis of cultural and historical interpretation to the public, and archaeologists, whose research excavations may destroy sites. National Park Service projects that encompass both stewardship and interpretation are…

Written accounts of the agricultural skill, settled nature, and moral fortitude of the Pima abound, extending back to 1694 when Jesuit priest Francisco Eusebio Kino made the first recorded observations of the Indians. These accounts concluded that the industriousness of the Pima was made possible by the river and was responsible for their…

There has been some controversy brewing around the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI). A bit of it is due to the dismay over the exclusion of so many tribes, which in time will be remedied, given that the exhibits are supposed to rotate every couple of years. But more fundamental is the debate over the museum's deliberate…

Since 1982, the Indian Family Exception Doctrine has been circumventing the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978. Although not clearly defined, the doctrine has been pivotal in several American Indian child welfare cases in the United States. Over time, the doctrine continues to evolve and self-define. Several phrases have become part of the…

The great American ballerina, Maria Tallchief, was born in 1925 in Fairfax, Oklahoma. Her mother was White and her father was a full-blood Osage. Her younger sister, Marjorie, also became a famous dancer. The Osage originally lived in western Missouri. They lived in lodges or tepees and were farmers and hunters. The U.S. Government moved them to…

This document, from the lesson plan series, "Teaching with Historic Places," examines the Native Americans who lived on the plains along the Knife River in what is now North Dakota. Following an introductory section, the document sets out student objectives, teaching activities, readings, and illustrations. The teaching activity…

Conference proceedings on the Native American Press in Wisconsin and the Nation present speeches and presentations pertaining to current American Indian publications and examples of analysis and synthesis created by Indian scholars. Topics of speeches presented include: an interpretive framework for Native American discourse; the early years of…

Discusses the enrichment of understanding about American Indians due to the development of new materials and approaches to the history of Indians in American society. Cites specific examples of books that characterize different stages in the development of literature on North American Indians. (AEM)

Reviews how the popular stereotypes of American Indians have changed since the colonization of North America. Once seen as noble savages by European settlers, the popular stereotypes changed to become less and less positive as colonization advanced. Urges teachers to vigorously challenge the stereotypes and negative images. (JDH)

Reviews INDIAN EDUCATION IN CANADA, volumes one and two by Barman, Hebert, and McCaskill (1986). States that the books are a valuable introduction to the field of Canadian Indian educational history as they present historical case studies and examine various aspects of the recent Indian self-determination movement. (GEA)

The Lakota ethnoastronomy project researches Sioux astronomical practices, celestial lore, mythology, religion, and view of the universe and traces them through the nation's history, and has resulted in both an improved understanding of Sioux tradition and legislation to return federally held land to the tribe. (MSE)

In this article, reprinted from the September 1898 issue of "McClure's Magazine," a Cheyenne Indian gives a first hand account of the defeat of General Custer by a force of three thousand warriors from the major Plains tribes at the battle of the Little Bighorn. (RM)

Describes the activities of the Indian Rights Association between 1923 and 1936, with particular attention to the adverse effect of the allotment policy (division of tribal lands into individually owned plots) on the Five Civilized Tribes. (MH)

This lesson is based on the National Register of Historic Places registration file "Horseshoe Bend Battlefield," documents from archives at Horseshoe Bend National Military Park, and other resources. The lesson can be used in units on American Indian culture, early 19th-century westward expansion, the War of 1812, European American and…

The Christian mission was an attempt to effect massive culture change upon American Indians by the introduction of European social and cultural values and institutions into Indian life. The Sillery Montagnais of Quebec were the subjects of a Jesuit experiment in 1632, which failed because it demanded cultural suicide. (Author/RTS)