First Nations people have both a Constitutional and a Treaty right to education; however, the Crown's jurisdictional obligations to provide educational services have not lead to similar educational opportunities and attainment achievement for First Nations students as compared to Canadian students in provincial schools. Canada's Auditor General, in 2000, stated that Indian and Northern Affairs Canada could not demonstrate that it reached the objective to assist First Nations students on reserve...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Foreign Countries, American Indians, Educational Needs, Educational Attainment,...
Currently, the majority of American Indian families live in urban areas. A number of statistics demonstrate that urban American Indian families deal with a variety of stressors such as poverty and isolation. However, very little is known about how these families perceive their lives. This report provides an exploratory study examining the status of 20 urban American Indian mother/child dyads. Mothers were asked about the role of American Indian culture in their lives, their views of life in...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Urban Areas, Aggression, American Indian Culture, American Indians, American Indian...
This article presents the results of a pilot study on the use of conspiracy beliefs by American Indian (AI) men who have sex with men and their peers to explain the origins of HIV/AIDS. We found that one-third (N = 15) of the individuals surveyed believed that HIV/AIDS was intentionally created by "Whites, White Christians, or the Federal government" and purposely spread among minority populations. Conspiracy beliefs, we argue, should be looked at as a potential form of power...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Whites, Etiology, Public Health, Males, Federal Government, American Indians,...
Collaboration between Alaska Native communities and the academe is very important. This project focused on disseminating research findings to communities in a manner that is culturally appropriate and useful in planning the communities' next steps. The project relied on a collaborative process, described in terms of the activities that transpired, the approaches taken, the challenges, the lessons learned, and some examples of the final disseminated material. (Contains 3 figures.)
Topics: ERIC Archive, Cooperation, Public Health, Alaska Natives, Cultural Awareness, Well Being,...
This study examined the risk for alcoholism, diabetes, and depression (triADD) in American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) populations in the U.S. Using the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, a series of descriptive statistics and regression models were used to examine the interrelationships among these disorders in AI/AN populations. Despite a small sample size, results indicate that AI/ANs are at elevated risk for the individual and combined presence of triADD (OR = 12.5) when compared...
Topics: ERIC Archive, At Risk Persons, Alcoholism, Diabetes, Depression (Psychology), Alcohol Abuse, Alaska...
Much of the data reported here regarding American Indian (AI) people has originated from specific areas with particular peoples. Thus, one must be cautious in applying information from one tribe to the hundreds of tribes living across the United States. As with any people, psychiatric disorder may be a pre-existing rationale for using alcohol. Or alternatively, alcohol may lead to various psychiatric disorders, such as organic mental conditions, posttraumatic stress disorder, or other...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Psychiatric Services, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, American Indians, Mental...
The devastating impact of substance abuse on American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) is reviewed with an emphasis on psychological and physical effects. Co-morbidity of substance abuse, trans-generational trauma, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and depression among AI/ANs is also discussed since each condition may cause, impact, and/or exacerbate the others. The Medicine Wheel, one respected and accepted treatment approach developed by AI/AN communities, is described in detail since it...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Substance Abuse, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, American Indians, Alaska Natives,...
Historically, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder (DSM) gave little attention to cultural variations in mental disorder. DSM-IV includes a cultural case formulation outline. The current paper presents a case formulation of an American Indian client who presented with depressive symptoms and a history of substance dependence. (Contains 1 footnote.)
Topics: ERIC Archive, American Indians, Mental Disorders, Cultural Differences, Depression (Psychology),...
Of all Indian Health Service areas, the Aberdeen Area has consistently had the highest infant mortality rate. Among some tribes in this area the rate has exceeded 30/1000 live birth and half the infant deaths have been attributed to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, a rate four to five times higher than the national average. The Indian Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the Aberdeen Area Tribal Chairmen's Health...
Topics: ERIC Archive, American Indians, Prevention, Mortality Rate, Child Health, Infant Mortality,...
The quantity, frequency, and variability of alcohol and other substance use is described in a random sample of 1,436 enrolled members of four tribes from the northern United States. Overall, males begin regular drinking at an earlier age than do females (17 vs. 18.1 years), and more males drink alcohol than females (70.7% to 60.4%). There are some very heavy drinkers who drink daily in these populations, but most drinkers are binge drinkers. On any typical day abstinence from alcohol is the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Substance Abuse, Females, Incidence, American Indians, Drinking, Epidemiology, Males,...
The development and dissemination of culturally relevant health care information has traditionally taken a "top-down" approach. Governmental funding agencies and research institutions have too often dictated the importance and focus of health-related research and information dissemination. In addition, the digital divide has affected rural communities in such a way that their members often do not possess the knowledge or experience necessary to use technological resources. And, even...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Information Dissemination, Technical Assistance, Rural Areas, Public Health, Health...
Data from the Evidence-based Treatment Survey were used to compare providers serving families in American Indian and Alaska Native communities to their counterparts in non-American Indian/Alaska Native communities on provider characteristics and factors that influence their decision to use evidence-based practices (N = 467). The findings suggest that providers affiliated with American Indian/Alaska Native communities are similar to their non-AI/AN community-affiliated counterparts in terms of...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Surveys, Familiarity, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Comparative Analysis, Medical...
A preliminary review of substance abuse treatment admission data from 2001-2005 was conducted to explore the use of methamphetamine among American Indians in treatment programs funded by Los Angeles County. Comparisons were made between primary methamphetamine users and users whose primary drug was a substance other than methamphetamine. In that period, the number of American Indians reporting methamphetamine as their primary drug in Los Angeles County significantly increased, particularly...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Substance Abuse, Counties, American Indians, Comparative Analysis, Females, Drug...
American Indians residing on-reservation were interviewed regarding their substance use and treatment utilization. One-third had a current substance abuse problem. Predictors included gender, tribe, age, employment status, household income, and educational attainment. Almost two-thirds of those with substance abuse problems had received no treatment within the past year. A combination of formal and informal treatment was the most common approach. Treatment utilization was predicted by gender,...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Income, Employment Level, Health Insurance, American Indians, Educational Attainment,...
Despite increasing prevalence of asthma among American Indians and/or Alaska Natives, little is known about their use of traditional healing in its management. A convenience sample of 24 Navajo families with asthmatic members (n=35) was interviewed between June 1997 and September 1998. While 46% of families had previously used traditional healing, only 29% sought traditional healing for asthma. Use of traditional healing was unrelated to use of biomedical therapies, hospitalizations, or...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Therapy, Diseases, Cultural Context, Biomedicine, Alaska Natives, American Indians,...
American Indians are among the most underrepresented and underserved groups in higher education. Fifty-one out of every 100 American Indians graduate from high school. Of these 1, only 7 percent will enroll in college and ultimately earn a bachelor's degree within six years. Some American-Indian students fail to complete their studies for financial reasons. Financial aid--whether in the form of grants, loans or student employment--is of critical importance for American Indians. There are a...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Student Employment, American Indians, Federal Aid, Scholarships, Paying for College,...
This study examines an elementary teacher education certification program delivered by a state university to Native American teacher aides on the reservation. Data were collected over two semesters using a Freirean critical theory framework to analyze the data and to explicate the problematic nature of Native American education. Analysis of the data indicated that the program reproduced Euro-American cultural values, was insensitive to Native American history or values, and did little to...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Preservice Teacher Education, Critical Theory, Teacher Aides, Teacher Education...
The recognition, development and implementation of multicultural education in America is a relatively new and emerging idea. Prior to the middle of the previous century, the concept of addressing and providing a meaningful educational experience for all students, including students of color, was non-existent. In recent years, through the work of numerous educators (Banks, 1993; Banks, J. & Banks, C., 2004; Baptiste, 1979/1986/ 1994; Bennett, 1995; Boyer & Baptiste, 1996; Garcia, R.L.,...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Multicultural Education, Educational Policy, Presidents, Educational Innovation,...
As a Native American with advanced college training in the field of education in northwest lower Michigan, the author has increasingly encountered denial on the part of educational professionals in the region as a response to statistics on race. During 2002, she spent nine months reviewing and renewing her statistical sources for use in nonfiction essays and presentations. Those statistics that she has been able to renew have been consistent with sources she used a decade ago, indicating very...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Ethnic Groups, American Indians, Racial Integration, Case Studies, Etiology, Social...
Consistent with results of previous needs assessments for urban American Indian and Alaska Native populations, a needs assessment in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area for the Native American Rehabilitation Association Northwest revealed high levels of co-occurring conditions for American Indian and Alaska Native clients, often combining chronic health problems, substance abuse histories, and mental health diagnoses. Focus group results suggest the need for crisis care as well as specific...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Substance Abuse, Needs Assessment, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Focus Groups,...
This study investigated the relationship between family history, sedentary behaviors, and childhood risk for type 2 diabetes. Participants were 480 students attending schools on or near an American Indian reservation. Data were collected through survey and BMI measurement. Children who frequently watched television or played video games did not significantly differ in BMI compared to peers. However, children with a parental history of diabetes had significantly higher BMIs than children...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Risk, Video Games, American Indians, Diabetes, Genetics, Surveys, Body Weight,...
The present experiment investigated whether the gambling of American Indian (AI) and non-AI participants would be sensitive to the actions and/or ethnicity of another gambler (i.e., a confederate) when playing a slot-machine simulation. Eight male AIs and eight male non-AIs participated in five gambling sessions. In one, the participant gambled alone. In the other four, the participant played in the presence of a confederate of the same or different ethnicity who gambled the entire session or...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Ethnicity, American Indians, Behavior Patterns, Comparative Analysis, Counseling...
The objective of this study was to describe the predictors of substance use relapse of American Indian (AI) women up to one year following substance abuse treatment. Relapse is defined as any use of alcohol or drugs in the past 30 days at the follow-up points. Data were collected from AI women in a 45-day residential substance abuse treatment program. Predictors include distal (in time) proximal (recent), and intrapersonal factors. Results indicated that intrapersonal factors showed the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Substance Abuse, Females, Self Efficacy, American Indians, Recidivism, Predictor...
The United States system of education is far removed from the historic system of education in many American Indian communities, yet most American Indian students attend state-run public schools, often with little or no input from tribal communities. Something is clearly not working because many American Indian students experience high levels of educational failure and many drop out of school. In this article, the authors present an alternative to the traditional state-run public school for one...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Public Schools, American Indians, Adolescents, White Students, Teaching Methods,...
The U.S. Department of Education (USDOE, 2004) administers a formula grant program to states that is intended to increase the academic achievement of students in mathematics and science by enhancing the content knowledge and teaching skills of classroom teachers. Partnerships between high-need school districts and the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) faculty in institutions of higher education are at the core of these improvement efforts. These programs articulate the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Mathematics Education, Rural Schools, Educational Change, Rural Areas, Grants,...
Fifty years ago, the Supreme Court ruled in "Brown v. Board of Education" that: "Segregation of white and Negro children in the public schools of a State solely on the basis of race, pursuant to state laws permitting or requiring such segregation, denies to Negro children the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment--even though the physical facilities and other "tangible" factors of white and Negro schools may be equal." Even with a...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Poverty, Economically Disadvantaged, American Indians, Asian Americans, Court...
Reunifying children placed in foster care with their birth parents is a primary goal of the child welfare system. Yet, relatively little is known about the reunification process. This article analyzes new data on trends in family reunification and discovers: (1) Although most children still exit foster care through family reunification, exit patterns have changed over the last 8 years. Currently, reunification takes longer to happen, whereas adoptions happen earlier; (2) A child's age and race...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Racial Factors, Child Welfare, Foster Care, Well Being, Family Relationship, Parent...
Are there students with physical disabilities who are so severely impaired that their culture can not be taken into consideration? Growing numbers of preschool and school age children with such disabilities are from non-European countries including Africa, South America, East Asia, and the Caribbean Islands. In addition, children who are American Indian/Alaska Natives, African American, or Hispanic are also represented in special education programs. Psychologically, familiar food, music, and...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Educational Needs, Physical Disabilities, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Foreign...
This article examines the efforts of a team of educators in a mid-western urban university in Omaha, Nebraska, to understand why so few persons of color enter the teaching profession and to identify actions that can be taken to attract them. The questions that were posed included the following: (1) What does past research say about recruiting teachers of color?; (2) What is known about various students of color and their career selections?; (3) What information can people gain from mid-west...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Urban Universities, Minority Groups, Teacher Recruitment, Career Choice, Teacher...
This article is about bridge building: building cultural bridges of authentic collaboration between the university and the Navajo and Hopi nations; building curricular bridges between the White, European culture and the cultural worlds these nations seek to preserve; and building bridges between languages, the language of the colonizers--English--and the Navajo and Hopi languages that are vulnerable to extinction. As bridge builders the authors locate their work between the future--with a...
Topics: ERIC Archive, American Indian Education, American Indians, Partnerships in Education, Universities,...
This report reviews service learning activities performed by student teachers in the American Indian Reservation Project in their placement communities across the Navajo Nation. Parameters for this required, academic assignment included the selection of activities independent of their schools' academic or extracurricular programs; completion of activities with supporting Navajo community members; and adherence to the "three R's:" "realistic" tasks serving the community, a...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Student Teachers, Navajo, Navajo (Nation), American Indians, Service Learning,...
There is a general knowledge about the United States governments' deliberate attempts to destroy American Indian cultures. History books tell of American Indian students being locked in week long routines to keep them out of mischief, underfed to break down resistance and being given deadening rounds of simple, repetitious chores bereft of challenges to numb their intelligence, and taught dominant western values and language. Possibly, too few people are aware that assimilation of American...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Boarding Schools, American Indians, American Indian Education, Educational Practices,...
The research literature on gambling behavior indicates that American Indians (AIs) suffer from pathological gambling at a greater rate than the majority population. The literature also suggests that dispositional factors, such as sensation seeking, can influence gambling. However, situational factors, such as the payback percentage of a slot machine, may not. The present study recruited 12 AI and 12 non-AI participants to play a simulated slot machine in three different sessions. Half of the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Personality Traits, Pathology, American Indians, Simulation, Personality, Behavior...
Although educational attainment and physical activity levels tend to be positively associated in majority populations, this relationship has not been investigated in American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) elders. This study examined the association between education and physical activity among AI/AN elders (N = 107) using self-report and behavioral outcomes. Regression models showed that higher education was significantly associated with total caloric expenditure for moderate-intensity...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Physical Activities, Older Adults, Health Behavior, Health Promotion, Program...
Legalized gambling is growing substantially and provides both a dilemma and an opportunity for those in the health promoting professions. Gambling represents a form of economic development and, for certain segments of society, improved health and quality of life. On the other hand, gambling is a known addiction, with a host of sociological problems associated with its practice. Consequently, a number of opportunities and responsibilities emerge for health educators. This paper provides both...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Economic Development, Health Education, Quality of Life, Self Destructive Behavior,...
One semester while attempting to help pre-service teachers learn how to make mathematics relevant to the lives of young children, it occurred to the author that many preservice teachers in teacher education programs were uncomfortable outside of their own personal cultural experiences. Having recently read some work of Claudia Zavslavsky (1996), who is considered to be the "mother of multicultural mathematics," the author decided to develop a course around that topic. Her aim in...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Multicultural Education, Lesson Plans, Mathematics Instruction, Mathematics...
This case study examines the teaching and learning strategies employed by a Zapotec weaver in Oaxaca, Mexico, to draw attention to the personal agency of indigenous artisans participating in the tourist economy, and to examine ways in which non-formal and informal education in skills and understandings related to art can function in the lives of real people, especially members of less privileged cultural groups. Among the strategies employed by this artisan are intergenerational transfer,...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Educational Strategies, Informal Education, Incentives, Art Education, Learning...
Latinas/os form the largest minority group in the U.S. and they are growing more rapidly than any other ethnic group in this country. However, the number of Latinas/os in chemistry is not proportional to their population; they are noticeably absent from the physical science fields. Little research has explored the circumstances that Latino students encounter in high school chemistry. In this exploratory study, four Mexican American students and one Native American student were interviewed and...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Nontraditional Education, Student Attitudes, Mexican Americans, American Indians,...
Using the NAEP nationally-representative data collected from eighth-graders, we investigated the relative exposure of American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) students to mathematics teachers who are knowledgeable about standards, participate in standards-based professional development, and practice standards-based instruction; American Indian/Alaska Native student reports of standards-based classroom activities; and how student reports of classroom activities and teacher reports of their...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Class Activities, Learning Activities, Grade 8, Mathematics Teachers, Professional...
For many years, notes Alex Piquero, youth of color have been overrepresented at every stage of the U.S. juvenile justice system. As with racial disparities in a wide variety of social indicators, the causes of these disparities are not immediately apparent. Some analysts attribute the disparities to "differential involvement"--that is, to differences in offending by minorities and whites. Others attribute them to "differential selection"--that is, to the fact that the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Social Control, Disproportionate Representation, Social Indicators, Juvenile Justice,...
Understanding the extent of commitment to and identification with traditional cultural experiences is essential for working with American Indian people (Whitbeck, 2006). The purpose of this study was to determine the usefulness of a practical measure of enculturation for AI people by examining its reliability and validity within the context of three previous studies. (Contains 2 tables.)
Topics: ERIC Archive, American Indians, Counseling Techniques, Counseling Effectiveness, Identification...
The author discusses the content included in an online course on "Multicultural Materials for Young Adults and Children." This graduate course (LIS 5937) for Library and information Science students at the University of South Florida, is a very popular offering for those who plan to work with youth in libraries. The class teaches students how to respond to the reading needs of our diverse patron base by understanding aspects of their values and customs as well as their ways of...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Information Science Education, Online Courses, Young Adults, Information Science,...
The purpose of this qualitative study, conducted in two Navajo Nation chapters, was to learn what makes Navajo marriages strong because no research has been done on this topic. Twenty-one Navajo couples (42 individuals) who felt they had strong marriages volunteered to participate in the study. Couples identified the following marital strengths: (1) maintain communication, (2) nurture your relationship, (3) learn about marriage, (4) be prepared for marriage, and (5) have a strong foundation....
Topics: ERIC Archive, Navajo (Nation), Marriage, Marital Satisfaction, Interpersonal Communication,...
Drug use among American Indian (AI) youth continues at higher levels than those found among other youth. While the rates are higher, the patterns of increases and decreases over the past 30-year period have been similar, indicating that AI youth are part of the larger adolescent culture. There is a set of secular influences that affect the rates of drug use in both groups in the same manner. The major implication of these findings is that effective interventions in non-AI groups may also be eff...
Topics: ERIC Archive, American Indians, Dropouts, Drug Abuse, Trend Analysis, At Risk Persons, Young...
Understanding the extent of commitment to and identification with traditional cultural experiences is essential for working with American Indian people (Whitbeck, 2006). The purpose of this study was to determine the usefulness of a practical measure of enculturation for AI people by examining its reliability and validity within the context of three previous studies. (Contains 2 tables.)
Topics: ERIC Archive, American Indians, Counseling Techniques, American Indian Culture, Cultural Relevance,...
With the increased focus on issues of diversity and multiculturalism in the United States and abroad, educators and clinicians have become more and more concerned about the feasibility and validity of their assessment instruments and practices for children and adults from nonWhite backgrounds. Many researchers emphasize that when working with racially diverse groups in multiple settings, issues relating to their cultures often differ from those of the dominant group and thus warrant different...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Multicultural Education, Psychological Evaluation, Cultural Pluralism, Evaluation...
For minority serving institutions, policies that support learners call for decisions about equity, quality, cost, impact on national economic performance and international global relationships.
Topics: ERIC Archive, Minority Groups, Equal Education, Higher Education, Access to Education, Educational...
This qualitative case study explores one American Indian (AI) woman's experience of intimate partner violence and the subsequent murder of her abusive partner. The lens of complex personhood (Gordon, 1997) has been applied as a method for understanding "Annie's" multiple identities of AI woman, victim of intimate partner violence, mother, and convicted felon. The aim of the current case study was to uncover implicit and explicit meanings embedded in the experiences of moving from a...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Family Violence, American Indians, Phenomenology, American Indian Culture, Females,...
Dreams hold particular relevance in mental health work with American Indians (AIs). Nightmares are a common sequelae of trauma and a frequent defining feature of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Despite mounting evidence of the prevalence of trauma and PTSD among AIs and the important cultural role of dreams, no work to date has directly examined nightmares in trauma. Drawing from epidemiological and clinical sources, data are presented about nightmares among Northern Plains AI veterans....
Topics: ERIC Archive, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, American Indians, Sleep, Cultural Context, Veterans,...
This article investigates the interactions between identity and career aspirations among Taiwanese Aborigines and American Indians. While many similarities exist between the two indigenous groups, several differences remain as well. In comparing the identity issue between these two groups, this study shows that American Indians generally live in a more multicultural society than Taiwanese Aborigines. American Indian students do not experience the same degree of stereotype or racial...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Racial Discrimination, American Indians, Foreign Countries, Affirmative Action,...