(2002). The Preservation and Use of Our Languages: Respecting the Natural Order of the Creator. As a world community, Indigenous peoples are faced with many common challenges in their attempts to maintain the vitality of their respective languages and to honor the "natural order of the Creator." Ten strategies are discussed that are critical to the task of renewing and maintaining Indigenous languages. These strategies are: (1) banking Indigenous languages by immediately recording elders and other fluent speakers on audiotape, videotape, or CD-ROM; (2) raising the consciousness of Aboriginal peoples about the history of their oppression and the importance of language to culture, world view, identity, and spirituality; (3) mobilizing human resources and raising money; (4) developing a full spectrum of language training and certification for language teachers, linguists, and others; (5) developing a comprehensive and appropriate curriculum to recreate the intergenerational transmission process in school and community programs; (6) engaging in meaningful research about… [PDF]
(1982). Ethnic Bilingual/Bicultural Programs in Canadian Public Schools. Canadian Modern Language Review, v38 n4 p648-57 May. It does not appear that bilingual (ethnic/official language) schools in the public sector will replace private ethnic schools. The latter often emphasize religious training and conduct much instruction in the community's native dialect, which most school boards would avoid, despite government and public support for bilingual/bicultural programs as enrichment. (MSE)…
(1994). Transforming Biology Curriculum at Navajo Community College to Include Navajo and Western Cultural Knowledge. Journal of Navajo Education, v12 n1 p18-22 Fall. Describes how a college teacher used Navajo traditional knowledge to rethink the teaching of college biology. Suggests that teachers intimidated by the intricate Dine Philosophy of Education may integrate Navajo knowledge into their courses through focused research guided by Navajo consultants. Includes five examples of redesigned curricula for teaching about taxonomy, evolution, origins of life, and other topics. (Author/SV)…
(2000). Sharing Our Pathways: A Newsletter of the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative, 2000. Sharing Our Pathways, v5 n1-5. Funded by the National Science Foundation, the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative (AKRSI) promotes systemic educational reform based in the culture and philosophy of the Alaska Native world view. AKRSI's first 5-year funding cycle ended in August 2000, and AKRSI was funded for a second 5 years beginning in November 2000. AKRSI activities are organized in five tracks, which rotate among Alaska's five cultural regions: Inupiaq, Athabascan, Yupik/Cupik, Aleut/Alutiiq, and Southeast regions. This document contains the five issues of Sharing Our Pathways, the AKRSI newsletter, published in 2000. Feature articles include: "Rural Alaska School Districts: Who Is in Control?" (Frank Hill); "The Time Is Right To Write" (Dorothy M. Larson); "Guidelines for Respecting Cultural Knowledge";"Identity-Creating Camps" (Angayuqaq Oscar Kawagley); "Report on Native Education Summit" (Frank Hill, Angayuqaq Oscar Kawagley, Ray Barnhardt, Andy Hope, Merritt… [PDF]
(1992). Native Peoples of the Russian Far North. "Northern minorities" is an official term for 26 indigenous peoples who live in a vast northern and Arctic territory (58% of the new Russia, mostly Siberia). These peoples include very different ethnic groups with different cultures and languages, but today they all live in a situation best described as "ethnic catastrophe." The period, covering the 16th-19th centuries was one of Russian colonization and annexation. From the 1920s onward, the official view in the USSR was that minority rights issues had been satisfactorily resolved through communism and the supposedly devolved administrative structure of the Soviet state. However, the rights of various nationalities existed more on paper than in practice. In the 1920s, schools were established in the North, Native languages were included in the curriculum, and 13 alphabets based on the Roman alphabet were developed for northern languages. However, in 1937, the Cyrillic alphabet was introduced and northern… [PDF]
(1998). An Examination of Factors Influencing U.S. Student Perceptions of Native and Non-Native U.S. Teacher Effectiveness. This investigation examines factors influencing United States student perceptions of native and non-native United States teacher effectiveness. A questionnaire employing measures of ethnocentrism, intercultural communication apprehension, willingness to communicate, and motivation was completed by 204 native United States undergraduate students. Further, students responded to affective, cognitive, and behavioral measures with regard to native and non-native teacher effectiveness. The results showed that native United States students significantly evaluated native United States teachers more positively than non-native United States teachers. Simple correlations between evaluation scores for the two teacher types (native and non-native United States) for each dependent variable suggest that students in this study responded very specifically to the different teachers (intracultural versus intercultural context) rather than on a general trait basis. The positive associations with the… [PDF]
(1991). Religious Radio Listening among Brazil's Indians: A Question of Cultural Hegemony and Freedom. A study examined the religious radio listening habits of Brazil's indigenous population. Subjects, 46 linguists (under contract to the Brazilian government to educate the population) who worked with 32 different Brazilian tribes, completed a 16-item survey. Results indicated that: (1) 13-20% of adult Brazilian Indians have access to a radio; (2) these tribespeople can receive an average of over 6 hours per week of intelligible Christian radio programming, with the average tribesperson listening to about 1.5 hours per week; (3) the most popular radio format in religious programming was traditional Brazilian religious music, followed by contemporary religious music; and (4) religious programming apparently has only a small impact on the religious practices, beliefs, and lifestyles of Brazilian Indians. Findings suggest that radio in Brazil is a free marketplace of ideas rather than a hegemonic monopoly. (Twenty-two graphs and 26 tables of data are included; all written responses to…
(1968). Conference Proceedings: Annual Conference on Women in the War on Poverty. (Second, Washington, D. C., May 15-17, 1968). The 300 delegates from women's organizations and State Commissions on the Status of Women met to discuss problems defined in the Report by the President's Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders. Federal Government poverty programs were discussed and speeches were given on the need for effective programs, the profile of the disadvantaged American, and plans and successes in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Ways of approaching problems of poverty and racism in home communities were outlined in workshops on education, employment, welfare, health, housing, and human relations. Workshops were aided by resource teams of program specialists from the Offices of Educational Opportunity and Education, Departments of Health and Welfare, Justice, Housing and Urban Development, and Women's Bureau of the Department of Labor. The point of view of the poor was provided in all sessions by program recipeints in Head Start, Job Corps, Vista, and Upward Bound. It was not the purpose of the conference to…
(1971). The Role of the Paraprofessional in Adult Basic Education. Research to Practice Series. The emerging role of paraprofessionals in Adult Basic Education (ABE) programs is discussed. A definition is provided of the term paraprofessional, and a brief description is given of the typical person who assumes that role. Certain unique contributions of a paraprofessional to ABE programs and the task of recruiting paraprofessionals are explored. Possible duties of the paraprofessional are examined by use of several descriptive models. A setting for paraprofessional training is briefly described. Nine references for additional study are provided. (For related documents, see AC 014 525-530, 532-534.) (DB)…
(1974). Creating the African University. Bulletin of the Association of African Universities, 1, 1, 20-5, May 74. A workshop of the Association of African Universities redefined the African university as a community of essentially African scholars committed to serve knowledge to its community and liberate the common man. The university's role in relation to the government and objectives for staff development and research development was formulated. (SW)…
(2004). Print Literacy: A Teacher's Story. Early Literacy and Assessment for Learning (K-3) Series. Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL) Hannah is a Pacific island grade 1 teacher in a local village school. She has been guided in her teaching practice by the values she learned growing up in an extended family. These values involved observing and listening to elders, and then practicing what she observed and participating in many conversations among family members. Written by the staff of the Pacific Communities with High-performance In Literacy Development (Pacific CHILD) project at Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL), this booklet, second of the five-part Early Literacy and Assessment for Learning (K-3) Series, shares a teacher's experiences learning how to create a rich learning environment that enhances literacy for young students…. [PDF]
(2000). Mesoamerican Indigenous Society at the Millennium: Historic and Contemporary Perspectives. Fulbright Hays Summer Seminars Abroad Program, 2000 (Mexico and Guatemala). This curriculum unit combines folk tales and art from Guatemala and Mexico. The unit introduces students to traditional stories and local art of the indigenous people, as well as some details about the culture and geography of the area. It contains four lesson plans: (1) "The Race of Toad and Deer" (Guatemala), mask and play, grades 2-4; (2) "People of Corn" (Guatemala), textile pattern bookmark, grades 6-8; (3) "The Woman Who Outshone the Sun" (Oaxaca, Mexico), animal sculpture, grades 4-8; and (4) "Cuckoo/Cucu" (Mexico), ornament and puppet and play, grades K-2. Each lesson details time needed, materials needed, objectives, evaluation methods, and activity procedures. (Contains a 4-item bibliography of Mexican and Guatemalan folk tales to go with the lesson plans and a 6-item bibliography of other folk tales.) (BT)… [PDF]
(2001). School Adjustment of Taiwanese Aborigine Girls at Jen-Te Junior College of Medical Nursing and Management. A study explored the school experiences of aboriginal female students (n=5) at Jen-Te Junior College of Medical Nursing and Management School in Miao-Li, Taiwan. The following research questions were addressed: (1) do aboriginal girls feel that their culture and background influences their schooling experiences? (2) what problems do aboriginal girls experience at school that may be a result of cultural background? (3) what strategies do aboriginal girls use to adapt to life in school? and (4) how can the educational system in Taiwan better meet the needs of aboriginal girls who are adapting to life in Taiwanese schools? An open-ended three-part qualitative interview was used. Part one reviewed personal information from the participants, part two contained several open-ended qualitative questions, and part three was developed as a result of new insights resulting from the open-ended qualitative question. Several findings emerged: (1) family culture and background influence the… [PDF]
(2002). Indigenous Minority Languages of Russia: A Bibliographical Guide. This publication is a printed version of 54 Web documents as they were at the end of March 2002. It includes selected lists of school textbooks, dictionaries, grammars, grammatical descriptions, and folklore collections in and on 54 indigenous minority languages of Russia, many of which are endangered. The 54 languages are arranged in the alphabetical order of their English denominations used in this publication. Most of the bibliographical data have been compiled from Russian language sources and translated into English by linguists affiliated with the Institute of Linguistics, Russian Academy of Science in Moscow. A classified index of languages according to the genetic relationships among them is included in the book. The 54 languages include the following: Abaza, Aghul, Akhvakh, Aleut, Alutor, Andi, Archi, Bagvalal, Bezhta, Botlikh, Chamalal, Chukchee, Chulym, Dolgan, Enets, Even, Evenki, Godoberi, Hinukh, Hunzib, Itelmen, Izhorian, Kaitag, Karata, Kerek, Ket, Khanty, Khvarshi,… [PDF]
(2002). Indigenous Intelligence: Have We Lost Our Indigenous Mind?. Native Americas, v19 n3-4 p14-16 Fall-Win. Eurocentric intelligence is restricted to rational, linear, competitive, and hierarchical thinking. Indigenous intelligence encompasses the body, mind, heart, and experience in total responsiveness and total relationship to the whole environment, which includes the seven generations past and future. Implementation of major changes to indigenous communities requires being well educated in the indigenous way of being. (TD)…