The use of folklore in education contributes to children's normal psychological development, but children of minority cultures have difficulty in understanding and relating to European myths and legends. All folklore reflects universal social and psychological conflicts, but Native and European myths differ in the particular symbols or codes used to embody the message. There is an historical lack of respect for Native culture and literature in Canadian education, and the non-Native teacher may be unfamiliar with the content and structure of Native folk material. Such teachers find that Indian children lack the skills to predict events in Western stories, to recognize story scheme, and to compose structurally "good" stories, although these children may be quite competent in the context of their traditional narratives. Indian children are often bewildered by the white man's stories, particularly by the violence in Western fairy tales, and Indian adults, remembering these tales, produce endings and interpretations quite different from those given by non-Natives. The oral tradition still exists among Native North Americans, and the teacher who wishes to use Native myths and legends in the classroom should enlist the aid of parents and elders. The paper includes 13 references. (SV)