This bibliography is reformatted and customized by the Center for Positive Practices for the Positive Universe: Earth Protection Team website. Some of the authors featured on this page include Diane Dumanoski, Dennis McDonald, Erica Newman, Charlotte Tsoi Goodluck, Steven E. Silvern, Jon Reyhner, Washington National Council on Indian Opportunity, Ronald L. Trosper, Abby Abinanti, and Frank Waabu O'Brien.
(2013). Vibrations across a Continent: The 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act and the Politicization of First Nations Leaders in Saskatchewan, American Indian Quarterly. The 1983 Review of the Family Services Act (1973) and the Advisory Council meetings in Saskatchewan should be viewed against the backdrop of political changes taking place in North American society. Beginning with decolonization movements in both Canada and the United States, control over the provision of child and family services to indigenous children occupied a central position in discussions of self-determination. Control over child welfare provides a common language to what are essentially competing ideas of kinship and child rearing in indigenous and nonindigenous societies. To explore how activists framed aboriginal child welfare in the early part of the 1980s in Saskatchewan, the author will draw together four historically significant events that privileged certain explanations for aboriginal overrepresentation while silencing others. First, she addresses the 1978 passing of the US Indian Child Welfare Act, which gave tribal courts jurisdiction over the placement of children. Second, she examines the lobbying of the national and Saskatchewan Native women's movement, which sought an end to the gender discrimination in the Indian Act leading to the involuntary loss of Indian status and community membership. Third, there is the movement for self-government among indigenous peoples that resulted in the inclusion of protected rights in the repatriated Constitution of 1982, creating what one scholar has called an "uneasy and undefined relationship with the colonizing state." Finally, she discusses the influence of the local group named the Peyakowak Committee. [More] Descriptors: American Indians, Child Welfare, Gender Discrimination, North Americans
(2008). Negotiating Ojibwe Treaty Rights: Toward a Critical Geopolitics of State-Tribal Relations, American Indian Culture and Research Journal. In this article the author provides a case study of how differing geographical imaginations are at the center of state-tribal relations in the United States. Specifically, he focuses on the political conflict between the state of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Ojibwe over the continuing existence and exercise of Ojibwe off-reservation hunting, fishing, and gathering treaty rights in northern Wisconsin. Beginning in 1974, the tribe and state fought a seventeen-year legal battle over the existence, definition, and exercise of off-reservation treaty rights. Extensive negotiation accompanied this litigation and led to the resolution of some contested issues outside the courtroom. Historians and legal scholars have devoted a great deal of attention to litigation, legal rhetoric, and judicial interpretation in treaty rights cases. In this article the author turns his attention to the negotiation table as a site where state-tribal geographies are constructed, debated, and contested. Settlement negotiations, also utilized in a number of Indian water-rights cases, provide a window through which to understand how political actors use the negotiating table to contest and achieve a desired geographical result. By focusing on these specific negotiations he hopes to shed light on how differing geographical imaginations structure the goals, strategies, and actions of specific state and tribal institutions and individuals. This article is organized into four parts. First, the author discusses the importance of geographical imaginations for the political identity of the state and Indian communities and for the construction of state-tribal relations. Second, he provides a historical-geographical interpretation of the Wisconsin Ojibwe treaty rights conflict. Third, he focuses on the role of geographical imaginations in attempts to reach a negotiated settlement of the conflict. He concludes with a discussion of theoretical issues raised by this article. [More] Descriptors: Treaties, American Indians, Conflict, Court Litigation
(1995). Traditional American Indian Economic Policy, American Indian Culture and Research Journal. Examines aspects of American Indian world views and values relevant to economic development policy; specifically, sense of community, connectedness of everything, consideration of future generations, and humility toward nature. Discusses constraints on economic development arising from these values and the relevance of common property ownership (usufruct rights plus community control). Provides examples from the Menominee and Taos Pueblo. Descriptors: American Indian Culture, American Indian Reservations, American Indians, Conservation (Environment)
(1973). American Indian Law Student Associations Education Project. The American Indian Law Student Association (AILSA) at the University of New Mexico Law School developed and secured approval for a Indian clinical law program. Funded by the Donner Foundation, AILSA aided in the development of a student bill of rights and responsibilities for Bureau of Indian Affairs boarding schools. The law program is discussed in 3 phases, and a budget is given. Also presented are 8 appendices–e.g., addresses of students in the special law scholarship program for American Indians, and Bureau of Indian Affairs Manual Guidelines for Admission. Descriptors: American Indians, Budgets, Civil Rights, Due Process
(1987). Within the Law: The Establishment of Filipino Leasing Rights on the Yakima Indian Reservation, Amerasia Journal. Analyzes how Filipinos, working under a stratified polyethnic system which treated Whites, Native American Indians, Japanese, and Filipinos differently, were able to establish a permanent agricultural community in the Yakima Valley before World War II. Descriptors: Agriculture, American Indian Reservations, American Indians, Filipino Americans
(1989). Changes in American Indian Education: A Historical Retrospective for Educators in the United States. ERIC Digest. This brief retrospective outlines major points in the history of American Indian education and major issues in Indian curriculum and teacher training. From the arrival of Europeans until recent times, formal schooling for American Indians has been controlled by others–first missionaries, then the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). After World War II, American Indians began to actively promote self-determination and their own civil rights. Today all Indian schools are controlled by the local community or are operated by the BIA in conjunction with local Indian school boards. American Indian students' generally poor academic achievement has been attributed to sociocultural factors, such as differences between students' and teachers' languages, cultures, values, and learning styles. School improvement efforts either are based on studies of urban or suburban schools serving the dominant culture or follow the "whole language approach," focusing on getting students to read more "real literature" and to write more. Integration of American Indian language and culture into the regular school curriculum is critical to improving student achievement. Teachers of Indian children need systematic training about sociocultural influences on learning and about tribal cultures. Some tribal councils have formulated educational policies that mandate school instruction in the tribal language and culture. This digest contains 10 references. [More] Descriptors: American Indian Education, American Indian History, American Indians, Curriculum Problems
(1995). Intellectual Property Rights: Where Do American Indians Draw the Line?, Winds of Change. At a panel discussion held at Imagining Indians Native American Film and Video Festival (Scottsdale, Arizona, June 1994), Americans Indians debated and expressed their concerns regarding intellectual property rights and the effects of commercialism on the integrity of Native American cultural beliefs and practices. Tribes must decide which aspects of their culture they will share. Descriptors: American Indian Culture, American Indians, Business, Cultural Awareness
(1970). [Recommendations of Working Committees to Urban Indian Conference]. The main body of the document contains recommendations presented by working committees of National Council on Indian Opportunity (NCIO) to the Urban Indian Conference held in December of 1970. Recommendations as outlined and discussed by various committees of NCIO are presented for the following areas: housing, education, alcoholism and drugs, economic development, contracts and proposals, Indian centers, employment, land, health, communication, political affairs of Indian interest, and treaty rights. The document concludes with a recommendation to the President of the United States that a President's Commission on the American Indian be established to examine the rights, privileges, and administrative policies regarding the American Indian. [More] Descriptors: American Indians, Civil Rights, Committees, Conference Reports
(1978). American Indian Adoption Program: An Ethnic Approach to Child Welfare, White Cloud Journal. Sponsored by the Jewish Family and Children's Service of Phoenix, Arizona, the program places American Indian adoptees with their natural extended families or with families of the same tribe. Personal contacts, publicity, and national child welfare organizations help locate homes. Ensuring the child's tribal inheritance rights is yet to be accomplished. [More] Descriptors: Adoption, American Indians, Child Welfare, Foster Homes
(1983). Fiscal Year 1984 Budget. Hearings before the Select Committee on Indian Affairs, United States Senate, Ninety-Eighth Congress, First Session on the Fiscal Year 1984 Budget (February 23, 24, and 25, 1983). The Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs met in Washington, D.C. on February 23-25, 1983, to discuss the implications of the proposed budget for the 1984 fiscal year. Testimony by representatives of government agencies and American Indian tribes and organizations focused on five main topics: closure of the Intermountain (Utah) and Mount Edgecumbe (Alaska) Indian Schools; transfer of the Administration for Native Americans (ANA) to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA); termination of some educational assistance provided under the Indian Education Act; provision of housing, water, and sewer facilities on American Indian reservations; and provision of health care to American Indians. Government witnesses included representatives of the BIA, ANA, Office of Indian Education, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Indian Health Service, and Department of Education. Outside witnesses included representatives from the INMED Program, National Indian Health Board, American Indian Health Care Association, United Tribal Educational Technical Center, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, Native American Rights Fund, Intermountain Inter-Tribal School Board, National American Indian Housing Council, National Tribal Chairmen's Association, National Congress of American Indians, three reservations, and eight tribes. [More] Descriptors: Allied Health Occupations Education, American Indian Education, American Indian Reservations, American Indians
(2002). Spirits & Family Relations. This paper offers translations for about 300 names for spirits, relations, and kinships taken from the extinct American Indian languages of southeastern New England, Narragansett and Massachusett. Each section contains tables of three columns. On the left is the term being defined, as defined in the middle column, with useful comments on the right side. "Reconstructed" refers to a guess as to a word's meaning. The abbreviation "Narr." refers to the Narragansett language as recorded by Roger Williams (1643). The citation "Mayhew" refers to his unique letter of 1722, probably the only written description of the language given by a fluent speaker. The infinity symbol is used to refer to the sound "oo.""Native Spelling" means that old, original writings of a native speaker are quoted. The words in these languages for relations and relationships are very complex, not well-documented, and not well-understood. For example, the word "sister" may refer to many relations (a blood relation, a half-sister, a step-sister, or a foster sister). Pronunciation of the words is not attempted because of the scanty knowledge of this language. (Contains 16 references.) [More] Descriptors: American Indian Languages, Kinship Terminology, Translation, Uncommonly Taught Languages
(1975). Battling to Regain a Lost Past. Marthas Vineyard Indians Want Their Land Back, Civil Rights Digest. Notes that the American Indians actually have a chance of recovering their land from the present owner, for in addition to a moral claim it might have a solid legal claim to title as well. [More] Descriptors: American Indian Culture, Court Litigation, Cultural Context, Ethnic Groups
(2013). History of Transracial Adoption: A New Zealand Perspective, American Indian Quarterly. This article explores the New Zealand legal history of adoption and the effect it has had on Maori. The status of children within Maori and European societies before and during the early contact periods differed, and it is from here that the author begins this article. These two societies had their own terms in relation to the care of children by those who were not the biological parents. Europeans use the term "adopt," while Maori use the term "whangai." Although these terms relate to the care of children by those who are not the biological parents, they possess different ideals. Due to these differences, European society was faced with challenges when informally adopting a child. These challenges led to the establishment of the 1881 Adoption of Children Act. While this act initially had no effect on the practice of "whangai," by 1901 the Native Land Act required "whangai" to be registered and then recorded in the "New Zealand Gazette." Over time a number of changes made to adoption laws that affected Maori were based on the issue of who had rights to land succession. [More] Descriptors: Adoption, Parents, Foreign Countries, Racial Differences
(1970). What Price Ingles, Civil Rights Dig. Discusses the problems of educators who do not face or accept situations which occur when English is an individual's (with particular reference to American Indians and the Spanish-Speaking) second language. A model for bilingual innovation is included. Descriptors: American Indians, Bilingual Education, Cultural Awareness, English (Second Language)
(1989). Stuck in the Horizon: A Special Report on the Education of Native Americans, Education Week. This special newspaper edition is a collection of articles based on a journalist's interviews with American Indian educators in urban public schools, Bureau of Indian Affairs schools, and tribally controlled school districts. The introduction, entitled "The High Cost of Endurance" outlines the high risk status of Native American children, discusses the diversity of American Indian tribes and American Indian education, and suggests that American Indian education must focus on survival. "Education: The First Condition" reviews the history of American Indian education since the white man's arrival and describes current trends and issues in the Federal Government-Indian relationship. "From 'No Power' to Local Power?" discusses the issue of Indian control over Indian children's public school education; cites recent court cases involving discriminatory hiring of teachers, unfair treatment of Indian students, and violations of voting rights in school board elections; describes the success story of the tribally controlled Zuni Public Schools; and examines the problems of inexperienced tribal governments, low priority of Indian programs at the state level, and dwindling federal funding. "Indian People Just Want To Be Themselves" outlines Indian educators' struggle to devise an instructional model that meets both the academic and cultural needs of Indian students; describes opposition to bicultural education in some Indian communities; and discusses bilingual education, American Indian learning styles, and traditional teaching methods. Descriptors: Acculturation, American Indian Culture, American Indian Education, Biculturalism