How can indigenous peoples react to a situation of change that has a particularly strong effect on their youth? This article attempts to understand whether young Crees, who today find themselves all too often in a situation of double social exclusion, can complete their schooling, thus qualifying for work in the dominant society, while at the same…

In this article, the authors were asked by the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes to teach a one-week, three-credit-hour course in American Indian literatures to a group of mostly Cheyenne and Arapaho students in El Reno, Oklahoma, in association with Redlands Community College. Though they knew there would be grueling eight-hour days in the classroom,…

Tribal Child Care and Development Fund administrators work each day to ensure that the children and families in tribal communities have the child care services that best meet their needs. The Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), a federal block grant for States, Tribes, and Territories, is a key resource to help increase the availability,…

A personal and tribal history outlining the steps that the Coquille took to strengthen the claim to tribal sovereignty through investment in tribal education, active participation in academic research, and the reestablishment of relationships through gift giving is presented. Coquille scholars initiated the tribe's most successful endeavors, the…

We present data from interviews with 401 youths on the relationship of personal, familial, and environmental strengths to the outcomes of urban and reservation American Indian youths. Urban youths consistently nominated more strengths than tribal youths, except in the area of tribal strengths. Quantitative data show how those strengths relate to…

This performance guide provides students with an introduction to Lakota Sioux history and culture and to the dances performed by the Lakota Sioux Indian Dance Theatre. The Lakota Sioux believe that life is a sacred circle in which all things are connected, and that the circle was broken for them in 1890 by the massacre at Wounded Knee. Only in…

The Michif language, spoken by descendants of French Canadian fur traders and the Cree and Ojibwe Indians of western Canada and the northern United States, is a difficult and unique language because it uses French for nouns and Cree for verbs, therefore comprising two different sets of grammatical rules. This book employs historical research and…

The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwas in Minnesota developed casinos and invested the huge revenue in two new schools that teach their language, history, and culture. The article provides a history of the development of the schools and several tribe members' opinions of the casinos and the way the revenue is used. (SM)

Following the passage of the 1972 Indian Self-Determination Act, the volume of tribal government records has exploded. This manual is a guide to establishing a system for the effective organization, maintenance, and disposition of such records. Section A discusses the major goals of a records management program, defines relevant terms, suggests…

Of all the states in the U.S., Maine is the only one that has American Indian tribal rePresentation in its legislature. The earliest records of Maine Indian representation are 1823 (Penobscot) and 1842 (Passamaquoddy), but Massachusetts' records indicate that Indian representation had probably been going on since or before the Revolution. Due to…

This is a report on the motives of North American Indians in holding their athletic games. Data were researched from "Annual Reports of the Bureau of American Ethnology" published between 1881 and 1933. Anthropologists, artifact collectors, artist-writers, and historians provided primary evidential sources for athletic game motivation.…

Describing the values and moral orientations associated with the Cannibal Dance Ceremony, this article emphasizes the Kwahiutl's belief in the free will to choose between good or selflessness and evil or selfishness. (JC)

Describing the Iroquoi's Maple Sugar Festival, this article details the symbolism of renewal, becoming, and regeneration celebrated by the Iroquoi as the sap from the maple trees begins to flow each year. The symbolic role of woman, the sweet sap itself, and man's fellow creatures are described. (JC)