This digest considers issues, possible solutions, and successful efforts in dealing with Native language loss, maintenance, and restoration in American Indian and Alaska Native communities and schools. The preservation and maintenance of the remaining 210 tribal languages is a major cultural and education concern in Native communities. The problem…

According to a national survey, about 80% of American Indian and Alaska Native youth have experimented with alcohol or drugs, compared to about 50% of youth nationwide. Particular risk factors for Native youth include low self-esteem, post-traumatic stress, and culture conflict arising from differences between traditional Native values and values…

Two recent studies clarify the growing importance of tribal college libraries in the overall tribal effort to educate Indian people. Cheryl Duran (1991) applied Flamholtz's organizational development model to the role of libraries in the development of tribal colleges. During the new venture, expansion, professional, and consolidation stages,…

The educational approaches, programs, and services developed for American Indians at both tribal colleges and non-tribal community colleges can be used as models by other institutions seeking to serve minority populations better. The community college is an important avenue for American Indians pursuing postsecondary degrees; in 1988, 50,400 of…

American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students regularly face obstacles during the transition to high school and have the highest dropout rate of all U.S. racial and ethnic groups. Educational theorists and researchers have various explanations for this high failure rate, each with its own prescriptions. These explanations include: (1) deficit…

Historical trauma may be a significant cause of the well-documented disparities between the health of American Indians and the general population. The inability to resolve past injustices against American Indians may continue to have health consequences as long as this history continues to repeat itself. Schools can play a role in healing American…

American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students strive to maintain their heritage while learning to be successful in the dominant culture. Although academic and career success are worthy goals, AI/AN students can pay a heavy price to achieve them. To provide effective and responsive career and academic guidance for AI/AN youth, teachers and…

Selected materials produced by Title IX Ethnic Heritage Studies Program projects, funded from 1974 through 1978, are evaluated in this catalog. The materials were selected by three panels of evaluators using three areas of criteria: (1) appropriateness for use in learning situations; (2) ethnic authenticity of content, and (3) technical quality…

Case studies are used to illustrate issues in the identification of gifted and talented American Indian children and the development of appropriate programs that respond to individual needs and cultural values. Emphasis is placed on the identification of students who do not manifest their high intellectual and creative abilities in ways accepted…

According to non-Indian educators, American Indian children in public schools often pose discipline problems that cannot be handled with traditional non-Indian methods such as spanking, scolding, yelling, or isolation. The elements of Indian discipline (shaming, ridicule, threats of punishment by supernatural figures, storytelling, community…

Many American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth are repeatedly exposed to opportunities to participate in self-destructive and illegal behaviors. This digest examines risk factors associated with four contexts: peers, family, school, and community. Recent research has shown that, relative to national averages, AI/AN youth have higher rates of…

Focusing on the cultural issues facing students who are the first in their families to attend college, this volume addresses the difficulties in bridging the two worlds of college and home and describes campus programs to help students overcome cultural barriers. The issue contains the following chapters: (1) "Transformations: Cultural Challenges…