In this paper, we explore the importance of being conscious of the needs of indigenous students within the education system in order to increase their learning process and decrease their dropout rates. Specifically, we discuss how Mayan language, culture, and ideologies affect the educational outcome of Mayan students in mainstream classes in…

Mi'gmaq, an Algonkian language of northeastern North America, is one of nearly 50 surviving Indigenous languages in Canada that are usually not considered to be viable into the next century. Only Inuktitut, Cree, and Ojibwe presently have enough younger speakers to provide a critical mass for long-term survival. In one Mi'gmaq community, however,…

This article is the result of a theoretical investigation and a reflection guided by a revision of literature and a set of interviews conducted of two members of the Nasa community: Adonias and Sindy Perdomo, father and daughter who belong to a Nasa sub-community located in Tierradentro, Cauca, southwestern Colombia. The article addresses three…

The vitality of most Indigenous languages in North America, like minority languages in many parts of the world, is at risk due to the pressures of majority languages and cultures. The transmission of Indigenous languages through school-based programs is a wide-spread approach to maintaining and revitalizing threatened languages in Canada and the…

Educators who focus on American Indian or First Nations languages often have the privilege of bringing tape recordings of songs and stories to their students in the classroom. Learning the protocols for such sharing of the treasured gifts of ancestors is made easier by the good examples of teachers in and out of the classroom, who share such gifts…

This article proposes a pedagogy of multiliteracies for Mexican indigenous groups. Using the Multiliteracies Framework developed by the New London Group (Cazden, Cope, Cook, Fairclough, Gee, et al., 1996), specifically the notions of "multimodality" and "design," it is argued that many "illiterate" indigenous people…

Culturally based education (CBE) grounds high quality instructional practices in culturally and linguistically relevant contexts. CBE is more than teaching language and culture as special projects, it is a systematic approach fully incorporating and integrating specific cultural ways of thinking, learning, and problem-solving into educational…

The underlying foundations for all elements of this "Cree Language and Culture 12-year Program Guide to Implementation (Kindergarten to Grade 3)" are Cree values--those viewpoints and ways of being that characterize the Cree way of life. They are as important today in educating students in the Cree language and culture as they have ever…

This guide will provide the reader with the tools needed to plan a successful Cree language experience in the classroom. As a teacher, you will choose appropriate activities with your students from the Sample Teaching and Learning Activities. The activities and assessment strategies are samples you can add to and adapt to fit your classroom…

This document discusses the teaching of Indigenous languages. Immersion programs have become very popular over that past few years, and serve as an effective tool to teaching languages. In addition to language immersions, conferences and language revivals are also effective tools in teaching languages. This document provides an overview of these…

The article discusses how Sinte Gleska University (SGU), South Dakota, has been promoting Lakota language since its inception. SGU is the first tribal-based university in the U.S. White Hat, a teacher from SGU, has been promoting Lakota language through his impressive style of teaching. The university requires every SGU student to opt for Lakota…

This article contains a description of the Dual Proficiency (DP) program in an urban elementary school located in the heart of a large south-western city, as well as the teachers who designed and now implement DP, and the immigrant community participating by choice in DP. We write from a context where, ironically, the number of English language…

Materials for teaching the Lakhota language, developed by the University of Colorado Lakhota Project, are written in a special new orthography. A careful description of and uses for this orthography are presented in this article. (Author/AH)

"Tumaqcat" in the Yupiaq language literally means putting the pieces together. This case demonstrates how Ms. Nancy Sharp, a Yupiaq immersion teacher, seamlessly creates a classroom space that honors and adapts her home culture while she simultaneously meets school-based mathematical standards. Ms. Sharp's Yupiaq immersion class makes patterns…

Framed by the English language and positioned as a distinct subject, Ojibwe culture and language are often appreciated by students rather than taught for a deeper understanding or fluency, or used as the language of instruction in tribal schools. Ojibwe culture and language have been "added on" to existing school curriculum, an approach that…