The Browning (Montana) school district on the Blackfeet reservation teaches Blackfeet studies, language, arts, and crafts. Discusses the benefits of Native studies for Native and non-Native students, the value of experiential learning and storytelling, and the importance of respecting elders' rights to impart certain knowledge at the right time…

Spoken word is a form of poetry that utilizes the strengths of the communities: oral tradition, call-and-response, home languages, storytelling, and resistance. Spoken word poetry is usually performed for an audience and must be heard. The authors are interested in investigating how spoken word can be utilized as a critical teaching tool that can…

This paper explores some forms of inquiry that are becoming influential within teacher education. In particular, the document focuses on forms of inquiry variously called "stories,""narratives,""personal knowledge,""practical knowledge," or in one particular genre "personal practical knowledge."…

This thesis focuses on the effects of the language of patriarchy on the power of Native American women, how these women have retained power in their own societies, and how an understanding of Native women's values can aid feminists. An examination of Native American women's literature provides a connecting bridge back to a time before patriarchy…

The life story of Esther Burnett Horne records the memories and experiences of a Native woman born in 1909, who was both pupil and teacher in Bureau of Indian Affairs boarding schools. An introduction by Sally McBeth examines methodological and cultural concerns of collecting and co-authoring a life history. In Chapter 1, Essie begins with oral…

In 1986, Colorado native Carolyn Kremers accepted an invitation to teach music and English at a school in Tununak, a remote Yup'ik Eskimo village on Nelson Island, Alaska. This memoir recounts her experiences as a teacher, and also her reflections on music, the outdoors, teaching, Alaska, and how she came to understand Yup'ik and Inupiat Eskimo…

Examines oral cultures in a world of literacy, assessment, and certification. Explores the oral youth culture of adolescent males in rural Jamaica. Utilizes an interactional sociolinguistical approach to document the young males sense-making strategies, which bypass scripted literacy as a means for learning and concentrates on oral and visual…

The Navajo Nation wants a 2-year Navajo language requirement for regional colleges. At the same time, literacy in academic English is required for Navajo students wishing to enter the sciences, medicine, and law. The difficulties students face as they make the transition from English to Navajo and from Navajo to English are described. Four…

Describes a project within a postgraduate course for inservice South African teachers. Small student groups create collaborative dramatic performances based on their literacy histories and utilizing their diverse cultural and representational resources. The project involves teachers at multiple levels. It creates comparative perspectives that…

Edward Ahenakew (1885-1961), a "second generation" reserve Cree, was a university graduate, Anglican minister, and director of mission work in Saskatchewan. He recorded Cree traditions and stories and sought to set down the feelings of Indians at a pivotal moment in history. This book has two parts. Part I presents stories of Chief…

Modern Western European ways of thinking are based on a print culture that uses verbal metaphors, and indigenous ways of thinking are based on an oral culture that uses visual metaphors. Visual metaphors provide a dominant mode of information processing and are used among indigenous groups to share cultural knowledge, yet Western culture is…

This book covers works of fiction, oral tradition, and poetry published from 1994 through 1999, and is deemed suitable for young people from preschool through high school. The book deals with four major ethnic groups within the United States: African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native-American Indians. It contains 561…

Folk culture is everyday culture. Since all students have a folk culture, a folklife unit is a good starting place for the study of personal, local, state, and national history, and by comparing similarities and differences, for the study of the folk traditions of others. The guide begins with an introduction to the field of folklife and the…

This curriculum guide describes a unit of study designed to help students learn academic and technical skills necessary for creating a video. Mayesville Elementary School (South Carolina) teachers and their students collaborated with a videographer and folklorist in a series of 3-week school residencies requiring students to develop stories using…

This guide emphasizes the inclusion of traditionally under-represented cultural groups by recognizing calendar events of multicultural significance. The approach presumes that activities centered in the cultural understandings and experiences of diverse students encourage general student involvement and build critical thinking skills. Strategies…