"To remain an Indian" : lessons in democracy from a century of Native American education

Lomawaima, K. Tsianina 1955- (Author). McCarty, T. L. (Added Author).

Summary: "What might we learn from Native American experiences with schools to help us forge a new vision of the democratic ideal-one that respects, protects, and promotes diversity and human rights? In this fascinating portrait of American Indian education over the past century, the authors critically evaluate U.S. education policies and practices, from early 20th-century federal incarnations of colonial education through the contemporary standards movement. In the process, they refute the notion of ʺdangerous cultural differenceʺ and point to the promise of diversity as a source of national strength. This book features the voices and experiences of Native individuals that official history has silenced and pushed aside"--Book jacket/pbk. back cover.

Record details

ISBN: 9780807747162
ISBN: 0807747165
ISBN: 9780807747179
ISBN: 0807747173
Physical Description: print
xxv, 213 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.
Publisher: New York : Teachers College Press, ©2006.

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 177-198) and index.

Formatted Contents Note:

Choice and self-determination : central lessons from American Indian education: Schools as ʺcivilizingʺ and homogenizing institutions ; Safety zone theory : explaining policy development over time ; Key terms and concepts ; Methodological and theoretical approaches -- The strengths of indigenous education : overturning myths about Indian learners: Indigenous education versus American schooling ; How --and why-- do stereotypes endure? ; What is education? ; Native voices teach lessons of shared humanity ; Indigenous knowledge guides human societies ; Carefully designed educational systems ; Language-rich contexts for education ; Learning by doing ; A return to choice and local control -- Womenʼs arts and childrenʼs songs : domesticating Indian culture, 1900-1928: Indians as children : ʺinsensible wardsʺ ; Boarding schools versus day schools ; A political economy of school practices : the ʺdignity of laborʺ ; Jobs not available outside the schools ; Race and the safety zone : finding the right level ; A place for Native songs : ʺinnocent in themselvesʺ ; A place for Native womenʼs arts : ʺmost attractive jardinieresʺ ; Attempts to domesticate difference ; An unprecedented possibility : ʺto remain an Indianʺ ; Conclusion -- How to ʺremain an Indianʺ? : power struggles in the safety zone, 1928-1940: The ʺnewʺ vocational education ; Indian history and lore courses ; Native teachers in the federal schools ; The revival of arts and crafts instruction ; The keystone of control : reforms versus business as usual ; Conclusion -- Control of culture : federally produced bilingual materials, 1936-1954: Willard Walcott Beatty and Ann Nolan Clark ; Pueblo life readers ; Sioux life readers ; Navajo life readers ; Native translators and interpreters ; Legacies of the first translators ; New developments in bilingual materials -- Indigenous bilingual/bicultural education : challenging the safety zone: Seeds of transformation ; A ʺwindow of opportunityʺ ; The rise of indigenous community-controlled schools ; Taking up the challenge : ʺWhy Not?ʺ ; Lessons learned ; Confounding federal forces -- ʺThe new American revolutionʺ : indigenous language survival and linguistic human rights: Indigenous languages in and outside the safety zone ; Hawaiian immersion : ʺI think they thought weʼd give upʺ ; Navajo immersion : ʺbucking the tideʺ ; Keres immersion : ʺthe community must defend their rightsʺ ; Native youth language attitudes and ideologies ; Creating new indigenous-language safety zones -- Testing tribal sovereignty : self-determination and high-stakes tests: Race and intelligence testing in American education ; The present standards movement ; Consequences of the standards movement for indigenous students and schools ; The larger context : standards and dangerous diversity;- Reasserting local control : a Native charter school example ; Accountable to whom? : Alaska Native standards for culturally responsive and responsible schooling ; Concluding thoughts : beyond the safe versus dangerous divide -- Coda : Consummating the Democratic ideal: A vision of the future.