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;…

Two catalogs inventory field-recorded wax cylinders which document the music and language of Indian tribes in northeastern and southeastern United States from 1890-1930. The Northeastern Indian Catalog contains entries for 738 cylinders comprising 16 music and spoken word collections from the Chippewa, Fox, Iroquois, Kickapoo, Menominee,…

This primary level reader developed for use in a bilingual education setting contains six legends in the Creek Indian language. Each legend is presented in large type and is illustrated by pen-and-ink drawings suitable for coloring. (AMH

This volume is intended as an addition to the limited resources available to Mohawk language teachers. The 95 legends, histories, anecdotes, omens, and poetry collected in this volume were written by Mohawk teachers from Caughnawaga and Oka, and have been handed down from generation to generation to form part of the Mohawk cultural heritage.…

Established by the Alaska State Legislature on June 9, 1972, the Alaska Native Language Center is responsible for: (1) studying languages native to Alaska; (2) developing literacy materials; (3) assisting in the translation of important documents; (4) providing for the development and dissemination of native literature; and (5) training Alaska…

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…

Analyzes the American Indian Movement (AIM) with respect to (1) the role of tradition in AIM demands; (2) militant Indian rhetoric as a form of ritual self-address; (3) how Indian religious/cultural beliefs restrict the ability of language to persuade Whites; and (4) how militant Indian rhetoric fulfills its function. (PD)

Explores aspects of math avoidance 'syndrome' among elementary and secondary students of American Indian and Alaskan Native backgrounds, emphasizing the role of linguistic factors and familiarity with traditional tribal strategies for mathematical problem solving. Available from Linguistic Association of the Southwest, Department of English,…

Fort Belknap College has embarked on an ambitious project in Montana to pull the Gros Ventre and the Assiniboine languages back from the brink. On the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, where there are two principal tribes, only a handful of Gros Ventre, or White Clay, members are still fluent in the traditional tongue. The "tribal…

Language loss is a concern for the Cherokee Nation in northeastern Oklahoma. As part of language revitalisation efforts, in 2001 Cherokee Nation opened the Cherokee Immersion Preschool in which teachers use only Cherokee throughout the day with their monolingual English-speaking students. Based on a study of the Immersion Preschool that spanned…

The hypothesis that minority self-concept may vary as a function of implicit ethnic and nonethnic evaluative criteria is investigated by testing 40 Mikasaki Seminole Indian children in their native language with Indian examiners and in English with Anglo examiners. The results indicate response stability across languages and time. (Author/DE)

The "Declaration of Indian Purpose" produced by the American Indian Chicago Conference in 1961 needs to be recognized and extended to meet the needs and common political concerns of American Indians today. This publication provides the complete text and the appendices to this earlier document, and includes papers in which Indian…

Brief descriptions of American Indians inhabiting New Mexico give current and historical information on geographical location, population, language, cultural background, and income sources. Eighteen pueblo communities and four Federal Indian reservations are discussed. (JH)

Presents an overview of the contemporary struggle of American Indians to relearn their native languages. Examines the loss of native languages resulting from assimilationist policies at federal boarding schools; bilingual programs of the 1970s that emphasized writing, reading, and "survival" vocabulary; and recent tribal language programs…

Focuses on bilingual education programs in Indian schools and communities in the southwestern United States. A social-historical analysis of bilingual education policy is presented, with findings from research on bilingual education. (59 references) (CK)