Volume 16 Spring 2005 Issue No. 3
In This Issue
Indigenizing Education
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Resources for Teachers to Indigenize Education
by Mary Hermes, Ph.D. Internet section by Gary Babiuk
Tribally-controlled community colleges all over Turtle Island are revitalizing culture, surrounding academics with Native thought, and beginning to re-define what academics are according to Native epistemologies. Our tribal schools have been doing this for more than 30 years. We have taken schools that were the epitome of assimilation and internment and are turning them around, 180 degrees. Turning around something this big, this far is a process.
My colleague and I have compiled resources that may help you on this journey. We write this for non-Native teachers at tribal colleges, for Native American instructors who were likely schooled in Western-oriented universities, and for veterans who have taught since the college started but who still ask, “How DO we teach math in an indigenous way? Or a Navajo way? How do we teach basic writing skills in an Ojibwe way?"
The answers are beyond me. My recent work in an indigenous language immersion school has made me think that it is not so much the content but more the world view framing what we teach. Think of it as two steps: 1) teaching through an indigenous lens and 2) finding appropriate content for this specific nation. While language learning and in-depth curriculum research are long-term goals, there are short cuts or at least steps in the right direction. Use these resources for those steps.
We thought of creating this guide by discipline, but higher education is too specialized and fragmented. We have grown beyond superficial or pan-Native resources, but tribal colleges and universities serve over 27 different tribal nations. Thus, providing tribal-specific resources also was too overwhelming. Instead, we provided some of our favorite resources, some for specific subjects and some about teaching Native students.
A wonderful resource guide like the one envisioned above could be created only by drawing on our collective knowledge. We invite teachers to submit your own favorite resources or your comments on these resources to the Tribal College Journal website, www.tribalcollegejournal.org.
BOOKS
For Indigenous Language Courses or Language-Teaching Methodologies
Hinton, L., & Hale, K. (2001). The green book of
language revitalization in practice. New York: Academic Press.
This book is a must for those involved in language revitalization. It is a
hands-on, how-to oriented collection of papers from all around the world (including
Hawaii, Maori, Blackfeet, Karuk, Navajo, and others). It demonstrates the
impact that a few individuals can have on an entire community. Chapter topics
include: overview of revitalization, language policy, language planning, maintenance
and revitalization, immersion, literacy, media and technology and training,
and sleeping languages.
Hinton, L. with Vera, M. & Steele, N. (2002). How to keep your language alive: A commonsense approach to one-on-one language learning. Berkeley: Heyday Press.
This short guide was originally the master-apprentice training manual. Complete with comics and other illustrations, this book is written for the non-linguist to get started learning an endangered language. The lessons are clearly written and applicable to a variety of language-learning settings. A book like this is a gem because many language methods books assume that written materials or a community of speakers exist. This book assumes neither.
Baker, C. (2001) Foundations of bilingual education handbook. Toronto: Multilingual Matters.
A bit more technical than the above citation, this is an excellent textbook for education or language methods courses. It provides a broad overview of the philosophy, politics, and approaches to bilingual education. Immersion is one of these. The book provides insight into why bilingual education is important for everyone; what the research on language learning and cognition really says; how students acquire a second language, and how bilingualism is very much a part of multicultural education. I personally considered this extremely interesting and seminal reading.
For GED, English, Writing, or Literature Courses:
These three are all easy-reading fiction or narrative books. They could be used as content for a GED course, a first-level literature course, or as models in a writing course. Because all are based on Native American stories, they should create some common ground for tribal college students. Two of them are written by or about Native women.
Penman, S. (2000). Honor the grandmothers: Dakota and Lakota women tell their stories. Minneapolis: Minnesota Historical Society.
This beautiful collection of narrative and photos (contemporary and historical) gives the reader personal insight into some well-known historical events. In the style of oral traditions, humor, Native voice, and spirit and persistence shine through in these life histories. Provides a good model for students doing oral histories.
Duke, W. (1997). Last standing women. Stillwater, MN: Voyageur Press.
Ishkwegaabawiikwe, Last Standing Women, tells the fictional story of seven generations of survival, resilience, and Ojibwe culture. Based on the history of the White Earth Reservation, this fictional story shows how indigenous life is sewn together with threads of humor, tragedy, and survival.
Kinsella, W. P. (1983). The moccasin telegraph. Boston: Godine Publisher Inc.
This collection of short stories exemplifies Indian humor. Concise, witty, and easy to believe, these stories lack only the tragic-romantic stereotypes that Hollywood has made common. This kind of collection would be useful in sociology or social work courses as well. It approaches social problems in a readable way.
For Pre-medical Fields:
Alvord, L. & Cohen Van Pelt, E. (1999). The scalpel
and the silver bear. New York: Bantam Books.
The first Navajo surgeon, Alvord tells her story of being Diné and a practicing surgeon. This book gives me great hope in the power of indigenous cultures to influence and bring systems back into balance.
For Elementary or Early Childhood Education:
Paley, V. (1992). You can’t say you can’t
play. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
I love this book, which I give to all the early teachers of our children. It gives the reader a new way to understand oppression -- one that we, as teachers, can do something about immediately. If tribal schools and public schools adopted this as a playground motto, our world would immediately improve.
Hirschfelder, A., Fairbanks Molin, P., Beamer, Y., & Wakim, Y. (1999). American Indian stereotypes in the world of children: A reader and bibliography. Lanham, MA: Rowman & Littlefield
We all think we know about American Indian stereotypes, but the combined effect of seeing stereotypes in toys, sports, textbooks, children’s books, holidays, and arts in this book makes stereotypes seem inescapable. A non-fiction collection of essays using primary sources.
For Community Organizing, Professionalism, or Social Work Classes:
Midwest academy manual for activists: Organizing for social change.
(2001). Minneapolis: Seven Locks Press.
This readable book contains a wealth of resources on organizing skills, strategies, fundraising, creating boards, and community partnerships. Geared towards social activist organizing, it is applicable to any organization. These are the basics for professionalism and creating functional organizations.
Ibanez-Carrasco, F. & Meiners, E. (Eds.) (2004). Public Acts: Disruptive readings on making curriculum public. New York: RoutledgeFalmer.
This edited collection of essays written by academics/activists provides models for creating change at the community level. May be useful for college instructors who are also active in the community. Also good for advanced students.
WEBSITES
American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) Virtual Library
Tribal college teachers and students have an excellent tool to assist them
in locating accurate information quickly: AIHEC Virtual Library’s resources
include a variety of freely available materials in the public domain, which
have been selected and organized by tribal college librarians to support the
classes offered at AIHEC colleges. The virtual library is searchable by keyword
or by subject, tribe, and location. This collection of websites meets high
standards and provides information similar to what one might find in a college
library, with a special focus on Native American studies. Jane Kirby, the
librarian, can be reached at virtuallibrarian2002@yahoo.com
www.aihecvl.org
Techniques for Evaluating American Indian Websites
This site outlines some helpful hints and techniques for evaluating American
Indian websites from an authority and content aspect. The guidelines were
developed at the University of Arizona, American Indian Studies Department.
Inquires can be made to Elaine Cubbins at ecubbins@u.arizona.edu.
www.u.arizona.edu/~ecubbins/webcrit.html
Native American Sites at the Department of Anthropology
The Smithsonian Institution’s Anthropology Outreach Office sponsors
this project, which is a general anthropological site. The third link down
on the home page deals specifically with Native American topics. It includes
bibliographies on topics such as language, healing and medicine, games, dance,
crafts, food, art and more. Queries can be directed to anthroutreach@nmnh.si.edu.
http://nmnhwww.si.edu/anthro/outreach/outrch1.html
The Smithsonian site includes a critical annotated bibliography of written
material on North American Indians for K-12, which deserves special attention.
The forward by Linda Skinner and the preface by Lisa Mitten provide a helpful
and critical overview of the portrayal of American Indians in literature and
the media. It is organized around geographic areas and includes fiction and
non-fiction titles. This is a great place to find text materials for course
resources or individual student projects.
http://nmnhwww.si.edu/anthro/outreach/Indbibl/index.html
Earth Math – Navajo Nation Studies
An integrated mathematics and science curriculum from a Native perspective
developed by Navajo Nation Rural Systemic Initiative. The material can be
adapted for local curriculum. This project is supported by the National Science
Foundation, U. S. Department of Education and Kennesaw State University. Contacts
are Chris Schaufele at christopher@frontier.net
and Linda Garcia at lvgarcia@dinecollege.edu.
http://earthmath.kennesaw.edu/main_site/navajo_nation.htm
New Horizons for Learning
This site outlines a program to increase the achievement of Native American
youth at high schools. The complete program plan is presented that guided
a number of secondary schools partnered with colleges in Washington state
to help students make a successful transition between high school and college.
They take college classes while still in high school. The project was led
by Linda Campbell (lcampbell@antiochsea.edu),
Keith Egawa (kegawa@antiochsea.edu),
and Geneva Wortman (gwortman@antiochsea.edu).
www.newhorizons.org/strategies/multicultural/campbell_egawa_wortman.htm
Native American Service-Learning Resources
This site is part of the National Service-Learning Clearinghouse, which is
administered by the Corporation for National and Community Service, part of
the USA Freedom Corps. It provides an annotated list of curriculum, courses,
workshops, model programs, and contacts that focus on service learning projects
from K-12 to college. General inquires can be made to nslc@servicelearning.org.
http://www.servicelearning.org/lib_svcs/bibs/tribal_bibs/nat_amer/
USC Native American Resources
Sponsored and maintained by the Center for Multilingual, Multicultural Research
at the University of Southern California, this site provides a collection
of resources, including Native American language resources, and full text
articles. For more information or questions contact cmmr@usc.edu.
www-bcf.usc.edu/~cmmr/Native_American.html
Teaching Indigenous Languages
This site includes information on teaching methods, selected resources, status
of languages, upcoming conferences, and much more. Contact Jon.Reyhner@nau.edu
http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~jar/TIL.html
American Indian Library Association
This site has a librarian focus with an excellent list of language resources
and other libraries included near the end of the page. Questions and comments
can be made to Lisa Mitten at lamitten@yahoo.com
www.Nativeculture.com/lisamitten/aila.html
Native American Sites
These sites were compiled by Lisa Mitten, a mixed-blood Mohawk urban
Indian who was a librarian for 14 years at the University of Pittsburgh. The
site aims to facilitate communication among Native peoples and between Indians
and non-Indians by providing access to home pages with solid information.
Topics include: Native Organizations and Urban Indian Centers, Tribal Colleges,
Native Studies Programs, Indian Education, Languages, The Mascot Issue, Native
Media, Pow Wows and Festivals, Native Music and Arts, Indians in the Military,
and Native Businesses. For any questions contact Lisa Mitten at lamitten@yahoo.com
www.Nativeculture.com/lisamitten/indians.html
Mary Hermes is a mixed-heritage Native person (Chinese, Fort Peck Dakota) currently teaching at the University of Minnesota Duluth Education Department. She is active in American Indian education and Ojibwe language revitalization in the community where she resides with her family, Lac Courte Oreilles, Hayward, WI. Her doctorate is in curriculum and instruction from the University of Wisconsin Madison.
Gary Babiuk is an assistant professor in the University of Minnesota Duluth Department of Education. He teaches Secondary and Elementary Social Studies Methods, On-line Graduate Research Methods, and Middle School Philosophy and Organization. His research interests include holistic education, integrated curriculum, and team teaching. To contact the authors, write to mhermes@d.umn.edu or gbabiuk@d.umn.edu.
TCJ Indian Education Resource Guides Several of the Resource Guides provided in previous issues of the Tribal College Journal are also relevant. They are available on the TCJ website, www.tribalcollegejournal.org. Click on “Previous Issues.”
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