Jain, Samvit (2009). Leader and Spokesman for a People in Exile: Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce, History Teacher. This article discusses Chief Joseph's surrender that marked the beginning of his diplomatic stand for justice in Indian Territory, where his tribe was forcibly exiled in accordance with American Indian policy of the time. Joseph battled for the repatriation of the Nez Perce through protests and other legal means, winning the support of the growing Indian rights movement of the 1880s. Through his efforts, Joseph forced the government to act on his demands, leaving a foundation for American Indian rights activism and policy reform in the twentieth century. As part of the surrender negotiations, Chief Joseph was promised that his people would be returned to the Idaho reservation in the spring of 1878. In the following months, however, federal officials at the highest levels of the military and Indian Bureau decided to override the surrender terms. Joseph's diplomacy led many to conclude that they had not studied the Nez Perce view of the war or its origins, and his demands stirred the conscience of government officials and the public. Joseph's diplomatic success as an influential individual in history set the stage for major legal changes in American Indian policy, and inspired the Nez Perce to continue the battle for their aboriginal rights.   [More]  Descriptors: American Indians, American Indian Education, Federal Indian Relationship, Civil Rights

Wiedman, Dennis (2012). Upholding Indigenous Freedoms of Religion and Medicine: Peyotists at the 1906-1908 Oklahoma Constitutional Convention and First Legislature, American Indian Quarterly. In the five hundred years of European and American globalization of the world, seldom have Indigenous peoples been invited to a constitutional convention and first legislature to express their perspectives and concerns. Rarely in the five-hundred-year history of the European and American colonization of the world were the rights of the Indigenous peoples considered at the juncture when new political entities established their constitutions and first laws. Typically, nation-states attempt to extinguish Indigenous rights to land and resources, refuse to grant their political legitimacy, and severely persecute traditional healing and religious practices. Not until 1978 did the United States grant religious freedom to Native Americans. Peyotists were not protected by federal law until 1994, when President Clinton signed the amendments to the American Indian Religious Freedom Act. Not until September 2007 did the United Nations declare that nations recognize Indigenous rights to their spiritual and religious traditions as well as their traditional medicines and health practices. This article portrays a critical juncture in 1907 when the American nation-state imposed its full legal, economic, political, and value system upon more than forty Indigenous nations by merging Indian Territory and Oklahoma Territory into the state of Oklahoma.   [More]  Descriptors: Freedom, Religion, Medicine, American Indians

Nelson, Melissa K. (2011). The Future of Native Studies: A Modest Manifesto, American Indian Culture and Research Journal. In the author's presentation at the gathering and celebration of forty years of the American Indian Studies Center, she focused on emerging, positive trends and developments in Native American/American Indian/indigenous studies (NAS) and on areas to move toward as educators expand the field in order to make it more current and relevant to the lived experiences of Native Americans today. In this short essay, the author summarizes these trends and encourages further exploration and development of other themes in the unfolding field of NAS. She offers these observations as an Anishinaabe/Metis woman who has served as a professor of American Indian studies in California for eight years and as the executive director of a Native American indigenous rights nonprofit organization for seventeen years.   [More]  Descriptors: American Indian Studies, American Indians, Nonprofit Organizations, Futures (of Society)

Phillips, John (2011). Building on Tradition–Tribal Colleges Can Lead the Way to Food Sovereignty, Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education. Fort Belknap Indian Reservation's food system typifies that of many rural communities. Most food is grown and processed hundreds or thousands of miles away and transported long distances before it reaches the local grocery shelf. Like oil and gas, food prices are largely determined by international commodity markets driven by global supply, demand, and speculation. Demand and profitability often determine what products lie on a store's shelf–not health and nutrition. Strengthening a community's local food system means relying less on outside food supplies and taking control of food choices. The Fort Belknap Demonstration Garden is one important strategy being employed to build the local food system on the reservation. Food sovereignty refers to policies that express the rights of peoples to define their own food systems and includes agriculture, livestock, and fisheries systems. For American Indian tribes, food sovereignty is also an expression of tribal sovereignty. That means food sovereignty expands tribal rights and powers to food systems and traditional plants, animals, and knowledge related to food production. In practical terms, food sovereignty encompasses promoting nutritious diets and diabetes prevention, boosting food-related income and decreasing food costs, protecting the environment and natural resources, managing tribal land and water rights, restoring and preserving cultural food knowledge and practices, and increasing the resilience of tribal communities against natural or man-made disasters. These issues require long-term strategic thinking and action at all levels within the tribe. This article discusses how tribal colleges can lead the way to food sovereignty.   [More]  Descriptors: Food, Health Promotion, Water, Tribal Sovereignty

Nishioka, Vicki (2013). Eliminating Disparities in School Discipline, Principal Leadership. Disparities in suspension rates for White, Black, Hispanic, and American Indian students are more often a result of inequitable disciplinary actions than differences in behavior. Exclusionary discipline undermines students' academic achievement by weakening their connection with school and removing them from the classroom. Students who experience multiple suspensions are at risk for academic failure, dropping out, substance use, and delinquency. Consequently, exclusionary discipline may explain some of the achievement gap between White students and students of color. Inequitable application of school discipline that is based on race, ethnicity, sex, or disability also raises concerns about equity and the school's legal responsibility to protect the civil rights of each student. Although it is challenging, eliminating disparity in school discipline is an achievable and worthwhile goal. This article highlights nine features that schools have used to address this issue successfully. These features are: (1) Lead through collaboration and by example; (2) Use data to identify problems and inform decision making; (3) Develop positive, caring relationships with each student; (4) Establish high expectations for each student; (5) Teach social and emotional learning skills; (6) Structure school and classroom environments; (7) Provide teachers with professional development and resources; (8) Involve parents early and often; and (9) Use preventive and proactive discipline practices.   [More]  Descriptors: Principals, Instructional Leadership, Discipline, Academic Achievement

Palmer, Mark H. (2011). Sold! The Loss of Kiowa Allotments in the Post-Indian Reorganization Era, American Indian Culture and Research Journal. The fragmentation of large nineteenth-century reservations resulted in the creation of American Indian allotment geographies in the United States. Federal Indian policy, namely the General Allotment Act of 1887, allowed the US government to break up large reservations, allot land to individual Indians, and sell the surplus to non-Indian settlers. More than ninety million acres of land transferred from Indian to non-Indian ownership during the past 130 years. Reduction of land-allotment areas concerned tribal governments, Indian landowners, and the US Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Implementation of the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) in 1934 encouraged the preservation of Indian culture, the development of tribal government, educational opportunities, and the protection of Indian land. However, many American Indians sold their allotments, and land bases continued to decrease following the passage of the IRA. The purpose of this study is to investigate the allotment problem at a local scale, using historical land maps and BIA documents to determine why Indian-owned land bases continued to decline after 1934. The author's tribal affiliation with the Kiowas of southwestern Oklahoma led to the selection of their land base as a subject of inquiry and a geographical focal point. This research contributed to a broader collection of literature regarding the dispossession of Indian land in the United States.   [More]  Descriptors: American Indians, Tribes, United States History, American Indian History

Boulard, Garry (2006). Solving the Funding Riddle, Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. Some education officials with expertise in American Indian scholarship programs say a lack of available money and information continue to limit American Indian enrollment in higher education. Pamela Silas, director of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) in Albuquerque, New Mexico, says they help more than 100 students a year. Despite its name, the organization also awards scholarships for American Indians studying agricultural science, architecture, business and law. However, she thinks they really end up serving only about one-third of the applications they get. There remains a very large unmet need. Part of the problem is finding the money for the scholarships. An equally daunting challenge is getting that money into the hands of needy students, says Bonnie Mausia, scholarship coordinator with American Indian Services in Provo, Utah. Silas also says she thinks some of the many American Indian community programs in rural and isolated sections of the country have been less successful, because the scholarship sponsors "just don't have the relationships they need with these various communities. They don't know where to go to get the information into the right hands." Even in the face of such challenges, Quinton Roman Nose, education director with the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma, says the percentage of American Indian and Alaskan Native students in higher education is going to continue to increase, due in large part to the simple existence of so many scholarship options.   [More]  Descriptors: Higher Education, Scholarships, American Indians, College Students

Krueger, Karla (2009). "Treaties with American Indians: An Encyclopedia of Rights, Conflicts, and Sovereignty", School Library Media Activities Monthly. This article provides an overview of the three-volume reference set, "Treaties with American Indians: An Encyclopedia of Rights, Conflicts, and Sovereignty" published by ABC-CLIO. This reference work is edited by Donald Fixico, Arizona State University, and dedicated to the people of his tribes: (1) Shawnee; (2) Sac and Fox; (3) Seminole; and (4) Muscogee Creek. The advisory board includes members with tribal affiliations and the set boasts 150 contributors. The content and organization fill a niche for schools because it takes students beyond the typical Native American encyclopedias' overviews of Native American tribes, locations, and leaders. (It can, however, be used for student studies about native groups, locations, and leaders through the information about treaties as they relate to various tribes, leaders, and locations from which, or to which, native peoples were removed.) A focus on treaties involving Native Americans is the common link for the extensive list of topics and issues covered in this three-volume set. Topics and issues include treaties and American Indian Schools; treaties and hunting, fishing, and gathering; treaties and related court cases; treaties and water rights; treaties and land and natural resources; treaty descriptions; primary documents; and locations, people, and events related to treaties.   [More]  Descriptors: Treaties, American Indians, Encyclopedias, Tribes

Denson, Andrew (2012). Native Americans in Cold War Public Diplomacy: Indian Politics, American History, and the US Information Agency, American Indian Culture and Research Journal. This essay examines the depiction of Native Americans by the US Information Agency (USIA), the bureau charged with explaining American politics to the international public during the Cold War. In the 1950s and 1960s, the USIA broadcast the message that Americans had begun to acknowledge their nation's history of conquest and were working to redress old wrongs through an activist government. That message echoed the agency's depiction of the African American Civil Rights Movement and allowed the USIA to recognize Indian resistance to assimilation. It offered little room for tribal nationhood, however, during these early years of the modern American Indian political revival.   [More]  Descriptors: United States History, Civil Rights, American Indians, Politics

Moody, Heather Ann (2013). "Before We Teach It, We Have to Learn It": Wisconsin Act 31 Compliance within Public Teacher Preparation Programs, ProQuest LLC. Wisconsin Act 31 was established for the purpose of addressing American Indian history, culture, and sovereignty within K-12 schools as a response to treaty rights issues in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Yet, in the 21 st century there remain issues with compliance throughout not only K-12 schools but also institutions of higher education. The research addresses how public institutions of higher education factor into compliance with regard to teacher preparation programs. Through a mixed methods approach, instructors from nine University of Wisconsin System institutions were surveyed regarding their professional and personal background in relation to American Indian Studies as well as their understanding of Wisconsin Act 31. In addition, a document analysis was performed on the syllabi from teacher-licensing certified courses. The results provided an overall understanding of the issues within teacher preparation programs that affect future educators. A distinction became apparent between courses that are education-related and those that are discipline specific. Majority of the courses are education-related and provide an emphasis on the general human diversity elements of Wisconsin Act 31. Alternatively, discipline specific courses address the foundational topics of Wisconsin Act 31 including culture, history, sovereignty, and contemporary issues. The differences between the types of courses that fulfill the Wisconsin Act 31 teacher-licensing requirement signify a need for further investigation into bringing together University of Wisconsin institutions, the Department of Public Instruction, and American Indians to fully address Wisconsin Act 31 requirements. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.%5D   [More]  Descriptors: State Legislation, Compliance (Legal), Teacher Education Programs, Public School Teachers

Pierce, Alexandra (2012). American Indian Adolescent Girls: Vulnerability to Sex Trafficking, Intervention Strategies, American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research: The Journal of the National Center. The Minnesota Indian Women's Resource Center offers harm reduction programming to at-risk adolescent American Indian girls, including outreach, case management, advocacy, healthy sexuality education, and support groups. To evaluate program impact, participants are assessed at intake and every 6 months afterward for current vulnerability to commercial sexual exploitation, violence, and addiction. Evaluation results indicate frequent exposure to sex traffickers and suggest that harm reduction methods can help girls reduce risk of commercial sexual exploitation.   [More]  Descriptors: Social Support Groups, Intervention, Females, American Indians

Ruiz, Eddy A. (2008). UCLA Community College Bibliography: Tribal Colleges–The Path to Self-Determination, Community College Journal of Research and Practice. This bibliography explores tribally controlled colleges, an area of research that is often neglected by mainstream academia. Unlike other American minorities, Native Americans make up sovereign nations. American Indian tribal members retain their rights to land and self-government, and since 1924 they hold dual citizenship in their Native communities and the United States. The referenced articles, dissertations, and reports provide historical, qualitative, quantitative, and case study evidence pertaining to the triumphs and struggles of American Indians in higher education beginning in 1968 with the creation of Navajo Community College–now Dine' College–the first formal tribally controlled higher education institution.   [More]  Descriptors: Higher Education, American Indians, Navajo (Nation), American Indian Education

Faircloth, Susan C.; Tippeconnic, John W., III (2010). The Dropout/Graduation Crisis among American Indian and Alaska Native Students: Failure to Respond Places the Future of Native Peoples at Risk, Civil Rights Project / Proyecto Derechos Civiles. This paper examines the graduation/dropout crisis among American Indian and Alaska Native students using data from the National Center for Education Statistics. Data from 2005 is drawn from the seven states with the highest percentage of American Indian and Alaska Native students as well as five states in the Pacific and Northwestern regions of the United States. Findings indicate that the number of American Indians and Alaska Natives who graduate continues to be a matter of urgent concern. On average, less than 50% of Native students in these twelve states graduate each year. (Contains 8 tables, 1 figure, and 22 footnotes.) [This paper was produced by the Center for the Study of Leadership in American Indian Education at the Pennsylvania State University.]   [More]  Descriptors: American Indians, Alaska Natives, Dropouts, American Indian Education

Mirich, Denise L.; Cavey, Laurie O. (2015). Lacing Together Mathematics and Culture, Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School. In this article, the authors drew on the cultural traditions associated with the Shoshoni-Paiute tribes to design a lesson to engage students in problem solving and making arguments for their strategies. The reservation school is in an isolated rural community 100 miles from any other larger town and the participants for this article were the sixth-grade class, composed of twenty students, eight boys and twelve girls. Historically there has been a cultural mismatch between the traditional school math perspective and the cultural orientations of Native American Indians, but it became clear that the Shoshone-Paiutes have a rich mathematical heritage. For example, measurements are often determined by making comparisons with known quantities, and the food gathered is measured according to different-size handmade bags. The lesson goal for the students was to find the approximate area of a moccasin pattern (that they created) by decomposing the figure created by that pattern into rectangles and right triangles. The lesson was designed to span three days. At the conclusion of the lesson, a whole-class discussion was held to debrief, ask questions, and clarify misunderstandings. Students were asked if they were surprised how much math was included when making their moccasin patterns. In summary, this experience has been a reminder of the importance of encouraging students to recognize and understand mathematics in many cultures, especially their own, and feel good about their mathematical learning.   [More]  Descriptors: Mathematics Instruction, Secondary School Mathematics, Rural Schools, Middle School Students

Nesper, Larry (2012). Twenty-Five Years of Ojibwe Treaty Rights in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota, American Indian Culture and Research Journal. The recognition and implementation of American Indian treaty rights beginning in the last quarter of the twentieth century are transforming the ways in which landscapes are managed, tribal and state institutions are structured, and civic identities are constructed in a number of states that surround Indian nations. This national treaty-rights movement first antedates, catalyzes, and finally comes to be coextensive with the passage of federal legislation that operationalizes tribal self-determination. This synergy has had the effect of politically transforming indigenous polities, their relationships with each other, and their relationships with other sovereign bodies. This article discusses the meaning and magnitude of the exercise of the rights by describing the institutional developments in the tribal communities that have facilitated and resulted from that exercise. It aspires to document the dimensions of the distinct and measurable renaissance that has taken place in the Ojibwe communities of the Western Great Lakes. This ramifying rebirth has been facilitated in large part by the Ojibwe tribes authorizing and developing the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC), an intertribal natural resource agency. It is the twenty-fifth anniversary of GLIFWC that occasions this retrospective.   [More]  Descriptors: Treaties, Federal Legislation, American Indians, Natural Resources