Widening the Circle

Culturally Relevant Pedagogy for American Indian Children

Beverly J. Klug, Patricia T. Whitfield

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2012
• ISBN:
  9781136063381
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Recognizing the need for a pedagogy that better serves American Indian students, Beverly J. Klug and Patricia T. Whitfield construct a pedagogical model that blends native and non-native worldviews and methods. Among the building blocks of this new, culturally relevant education are language-based approaches to literacy development, the use of oral histories to supplement traditional texts, and a re-evaluation of the knowledge base these students need for success in tribal enterprises.

1

REACHING ALL OF OUR CHILDREN

TEACHER TRANSFORMATION AS BICULTURAL BEINGS

Although the children in our nation's schools have become increasingly diverse, the composition of the teaching force has remained predominantly White, middle class, and female, and it shows little indication of changing in the near future (DeWitt Wallace-Reader's Digest and Recruiting New Teachers, 1993; Zimpher & Ashburn, 1993). The dissonance in cultural frameworks and values between teachers and their students has profound implications for the success of non-Euro-American students. This is especially true for American Indian students whose cultural values differ significantly from the Western European values present in the educational institutions in the United States.

Data from many sources inform us that the format of education for American Indian students fails to offer them many opportunities for success in school. The dropout rate for Indigenous students reaches highs of 40–60% in some parts of the country. For the nation as a whole, the number of American Indian students who dropped out of the 1992 graduation class was 25.4% (St. Germaine, 1995).

According to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), U.S. Department of Interior,

[of] the 79,885 public schools in the U.S., 1,260 schools have an American Indian/Alaska Native student enrollment of at least 25 percent (referred to … as schools with high Indian student enrollment). BIA/tribal schools and public schools with high Indian student enrollment are located mainly in rural areas and small towns.… Of the 445,425 American Indian and Alaska Native students in the U.S. enrolled in kindergarten through twelfth grade (K-12) classes in public and BIA/tribal schools, eight percent (35,339 students) attend BIA/tribal schools and 165,161 attend public schools with high Indian student enrollment. The majority of these students (56 percent or 254,925 persons) attend public schools with low Indian student enrollment. (U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, 1995, p. iii)

The figures dispel the myth that there aren't enough American Indian students to change our ways of teaching. Clearly, we must not allow the high rates of failure in our schools to continue. A new approach to education marrying Native culture and language with the standard curriculum must become a reality for schools serving American Indian populations. In this way, schools can become places connected to Native communities where American Indian students can maximize their learning potentials.

Arvizu (1992) argues that both parents and teachers must work together as transmitters of cultural knowledge. In doing so,

educators become active political beings who can innovate, mediate, and solve cultural problems.… For parents and teachers to become effective cultural and political brokers, it is imperative that they become proficient at building linkages and bridges between the home and school. (p. 49)¹

Our purposes for writing this book are many. Most important, though, is to make a positive impact on education for American Indian students. Most non–American Indian teachers have been exposed to false perceptions and negative stereotypes of Native American peoples. These preconceived ideas may impact our teaching of Native students without our awareness. Teachers may possess great ability to perform the technical aspects of the teaching/learning process. Yet if their dispositions, or attitudes, judgments, and values toward their students, are negative, they will have limited success teaching in schools with large American Indian populations.

From this premise, a conclusion can be drawn that teachers, not just students, need to become bicultural. In other words, they must be able to operate effectively within their own cultures and the cultures of their students. In the past, students have been expected to learn the language and ways of the dominant European culture. The numbers of children from underrepresented populations who fail in the educational system attest to the difficulties required of students in adjusting their cultural identities. Very few students survive the educational process intact.

Becoming bicultural does not mean that non-Native teachers will have membership in tribal Nations. It does imply that teachers must be willing to grow to understand their students and meet their needs. As Carl Grant explains, “prizing human diversity requires understanding of the ‘double consciousness’ that many students of color experience as they enter schools with a large population of white students and teaching staff” (1995, p. 12).

While the idea of developing a “double consciousness” may seem daunting, teachers can do so if they are willing to become students of the cultures in which they are entering. When we have spoken with educators who are members of the dominant culture in the United States, we have often heard statements that it is impossible for teachers to become bicultural. We expect students from underrepresented populations to adopt the values and ways of the dominant culture in this country, which has derived these features from the Western European cultures. Yet these students do not become Europeans. Do statements indicating teachers cannot become bicultural mean that we lack the intelligence, skills, or adaptability necessary to do so? No. Too many teachers do meet success with Native American students through making changes in their teaching styles for this to be the case.

The fear of many educators seems to be a loss of self in the process: “What will happen to me if I become bicultural?” is a question asked by many. “How will I relate to the world around me if I do not share the dominant worldview?” is another.

Rejection by other teachers, family, and friends is always a possibility when one takes a risk to become different. Fear of ridicule, as well as fear of failure, is always at the back of most professionals’ minds. Teachers are notorious for wanting to have control over their surroundings and interpersonal relationships. In making a conscious effort to become bicultural, teachers risk this lack of control. The following true story illustrates our point.

Joannie was a young college student who had just completed her student teaching in a school district located close to a reservation. She was offered an opportunity to apply for a first-grade teaching position at the reservation school. First, she met with the principal and a group of teachers who were interested in hearing about her philosophy of education. Then she was asked to spend a day or two teaching at the school so she could see what it would be like (and they could observe her work with the children).

Joannie was very nervous. While she was teaching, Joannie noticed that she became more comfortable after she began to remember some of the things she learned in her college classes about Native American cultures. Initially, she had tried to force eye contact with the children. Then she remembered the children on this reservation were very traditional, and it was not appropriate for them to make eye contact with adults.

A student's grandmother came into the classroom and observed while Joannie was teaching. At first Joannie was unnerved, but then she remembered the important role of elders in their communities. She began to relax as she walked around the room and worked with different children on their projects. She spoke softly to the children, and she allowed them to work together. Joannie went to children's sides and talked to them if they were not on task rather than calling their names aloud for all to hear.

At the end of the day, several children ran up to Joannie with smiles on their faces and gave her hugs. They left for home feeling good about what they had done at school that day. They knew Joannie would come back to be their teacher again for the next day.

Joannie was offered the position. She was thrilled with this opportunity, though she had never envisioned she would be teaching on the reservation. As she shared her news with her family and friends, she was dismayed by their responses. According to them, her teaching career would be forever doomed if she took this employment offer.

Against all advice, Joannie decided to take the position. She loved working with the children and seeing them grow and learn. She found that she was also changing in ways she did not expect, and she had a different appreciation for life than her family and friends. Joannie worked in the first-grade classroom for three years, and she planned to continue there for the rest of her career. (J. Pearson, personal communication, 1994)

Educators who decide that the success of our Native students ranks first consideration in our teaching are ready to take the risks required to become bicultural. We prepare to learn new information about our students and how to serve them best. We are then enabled to incorporate this information into daily activities with our students and the community at large.

GOALS OF THIS BOOK

The topics explored in this book are designed to provide you with a more holistic view of American Indian students and their cultures. While reading, keep in mind there are 510 federally recognized tribal Nations in this country (St. Germaine, 1995) and several other state-recognized tribal entities. The information presented here consists of generalities concerning Native American cultures with related examples. Not all tribal Nations have the same practices and belief systems. The material included here will provide you with knowledge useful as a starting point for you as a teacher of Native American students. It will be up to you to then begin your own exploration of the culture(s) of your Native students.

There are four goals for this book:

1. To describe the process of becoming bicultural as it is presently understood and as we have experienced it so that you may be more successful in teaching American Indian students;

2. To provide a short history of American Indian Nations from the time of European contact, including educational practices and legislation for education of Native American students;

3. To assist you in developing a more thorough understanding of the concept of culture; and

4. To present examples of culturally responsive pedagogy, including relevant curricula and pedagogical tools that will allow you to partner effectively with Native American communities in your school(s).

Before we proceed, we need to develop a better appreciation of our American Indian students and who they are. Different terminology is used throughout the country to designate people who are indigenous to the Americas: Native Americans, American Indians, Native peoples, Indigenous/indigenous Americans, Indigenous/indigenous peoples, and/or Indian. We have decided that it is most appropriate to represent all terminology used as a reflection of preferences by Indigenous peoples themselves, wherever they may live. In addition, we have capitalized White in keeping with capitalization of other ethnicities, and chosen to add s to the end of words indicating American Indian peoples in order to counteract the idea that all Native peoples represent one cultural ethnicity. We have been consistent with these changes, except in cases of direct quotes that we have chosen for this book.

WHO ARE OUR AMERICAN INDIAN STUDENTS?

According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census (1990), one of about every nine (11.18%) Americans has American Indian heritage. These numbers have risen greatly in the 2000 Census (2000 U.S. Bureau of the Census). False perceptions held by many citizens are that (a) Native Americans are extinct, or (b) they all live on reservations. It may come as a great surprise to many readers that there are large numbers of American Indians who are living in urban areas throughout the country. Teachers and administrators may not be aware of the role played by the government in relocating Native American populations to cities in the 1950s (Sheffield, 1997). American Indians living in the state of Oklahoma, once designated as “Indian Territory,” do not live on reservations. In many areas of the West and Southwest, some Native peoples choose to live off the reservations for a variety of reasons, but they may still be actively involved with their communities.

REQUIREMENTS FOR DECLARING AMERICAN INDIAN ETHNICITY

Who, then, fits the definition for being considered an American Indian? The requirements for tribal Nation enrollment vary from tribal Nation to Nation, and sometimes from government agency to government agency (Pewewardy, 1998; Gonzales, 2001). Most tribal Nations rely on blood quantum as a measure of “Indianness.” At one time, it was thought blood carried genetic material that determined your race and ethnicity (Sheffield, 1997). One-quarter blood quantum is often required for individuals to be enrolled as members of particular tribal Nations, rancherias (California), or pueblos (American Southwest).

In situations where people have married across tribal Nation affiliations, the children will frequently enroll in the father's tribal Nation. In matrilineal Nations, such as the Navajo, Hopi, or Zuñi, enrollment is in the mother's clan (Yenne, 1986). For some groups, such as the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes in Ft. Hall, Idaho, if either the mother or father is enrolled and lived on the reservation at the time of their children's births, these children may enroll. Exceptions can be made for purposes such as service in the armed forces (J. Hendricks, personal communication, 1999). The Cherokee Nations have the most liberal requirements for enrollment, requiring lineage to be traced back to an ancestor whose name appears on the Dawes Rolls (Bureau of Indian Affairs, 1998). Unfortunately, in some instances, intermarriage with other tribal Nations may result in a child's being completely American Indian, but not qualified by blood quantum to enroll in any particular tribal Nation (Klug, 1996). This has become especially true in the case of American Indians who reside in urban areas throughout the United States (Gonzales, 2001).

An important variable for determining who is actually American Indian involves the question of cultural identity. A person could be one-quarter blood quantum, but choose to identify only with the dominant culture, thereby lacking an Indigenous cultural identity. Is this person an American Indian? Or a person could be one-quarter blood quantum, be raised traditionally, adhere to cultural values, and be blond and blue eyed. This information leads us to the question raised by Pewewardy (1998): “Who is the real Indian?”

The issue of who qualifies as an American Indian is important for a number of reasons. Most significantly, the number of people enrolled in tribal Nations influences economic conditions for American Indians. Government benefits from federal and state offices, including health and education, are available only if individuals qualify as enrolled American Indians and have a Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood (CDIB), which certifies their lineage (Snipp, 2000).

How Financial Resources Are Impacted. During the Roosevelt administration in the 1930s, the results of the Meriam Report (Meriam, 1928) convinced the administration that efforts to assimilate American Indians had failed dismally. Poverty among Indigenous peoples was rampant, and reservation conditions were squalid. The poorest tribes were also the ones who had lost their traditional arts (Sheffield, 1997). The administration developed the “Indian New Deal,” the Indian Reorganization Act of...

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Chapter 1: Reaching All of Our Children
• Chapter 2: A Brief History of American Indian Education
• Chapter 3: Legacies of Colonization
• Chapter 4: Language and Cultural Values: Defining Who We Are
• Chapter 5: American Indians and Their Cultures
• Chapter 6: Refusing to Believe in the Doctrine of Failure: Culturally Responsive Pedagogy for American Indian Children
• Chapter 7: School Organization, and Family and Community Involvement
• Chapter 8: Case Studies
• Chapter 9: Ongoing Concerns in American Indian Education
• Chapter 10: Conclusions and Recommendations: Effective Schools for American Indian Children
• Notes on Permissions
• Index