This article traces the history of policy development in Native American education from the second term of President William J. Clinton and his signing of Executive Order 13096 of August 6, 1998 on American Indian/Alaska Native education, through the passage and implementation of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act and initial consideration of its…

Since 2005, the National Indian Education Study (NIES) has provided educators, policymakers, and the public with information about the background and academic performance of fourth- and eighth-grade American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students in the United States. This report, the second in a two-part series based on the 2009 NIES survey,…

This report presents information about the educational, home, and community experiences of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) fourth- and eighth-grade students that was collected during the National Indian Education Study (NIES) of 2007. AI/AN students represent about 1 percent of the student population in the United States. Approximately…

Outlines moves to preserve and protect America's native languages. Discusses the positive and negative roles that schools can play. (Author/VWL)

This article summarizes the development of the Tanacross practical orthography, highlighting the crucial differences between practical and technical orthography used in some linguistic publications. Three stages of Tanacross orthography are exemplified in research from the 1980s. A fourth stage is a hybrid of the second and third stages,…

Both Indian and Eskimo-Aleut languages are covered in this annotated bibliography of Alaska native languages. Listings for each language are broken down into general works, reference works, materials on bilingual education where there are any available, and educational materials. In many cases the last category is extensive enough to require…

This dictionary contains lists of nouns in the Deg Xinag or Ingalik language as spoken in the Yukon River villages of Anvik, Shageluk, and Holy Cross, and the Kuskokwim River village of Stony River. After a presentation of the Ingalik alphabet, the nouns, with English equivalents, are listed according to the following categories: mammals; fish;…

In the United States and Canada, the number of radio stations operated by Native Americans has greatly increased in recent years, as have the amount of programming in native languages and the number of native language instructional programs. Such programming can play a role in maintaining vigorous native languages and revitalizing endangered…

This dictionary contains lists of nouns in the Holikachuk Athabaskan language as spoken by about twenty people, most of whom live in the village of Grayling, Alaska. The Holikachuk alphabet and sound system are presented. The nouns with English equivalents are listed according to the following categories: animals, fish, insects, birds, plants,…

Languages reflect and reinforce cultural values, giving insights into their speakers' world view and relationships to the natural environment. Indigenous languages help us to respect local knowledge and extend our sense of community to the larger world. However, despite bilingual education in schools, all Native American languages are endangered;…

Languages reflect and reinforce cultural values, giving insights into their speakers' world view and relationships to the natural environment. Indigenous languages help us to respect local knowledge and extend our sense of community to the larger world. However, despite bilingual education in schools, all Native American languages are endangered;…

A historical-comparative study of the sonorant system of Athabaskan, Eyak, and Tlingit, American Indian languages of Alaska, is presented. In this study, sonorants are considered as a class rather than as a constituent of the general consonant group. An opening section looks at the development of the generally recognized Proto-Athabaskan (PA)…

This annotated bibliography lists over 400 books on Alaska recommended for consideration for Alaskana collections in public libraries. The core list is arranged in the following broad subject categories: (1) reference; (2) biography, memoirs, travel; (3) fiction; (4) history; (5) native culture/history; (6) native language dictionaries; and (7)…

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…

Recommended for use in classrooms (no specific grade level is assigned) throughout Alaska, this base E sized wall map (4 feet by 3 feet) is color coded (number coded for the ERIC system) to reflect the 20 Alaska Native languages. Designating language dialect areas and boundaries, this map details the language relationships of the four Eskimo…