Sharpe, Michael N. (1998). Disproportionate Representation of Minorities in Special Education: A Focus Group Study of Professional and Parent Perspectives. Final Report III: Asian American. This document is the report of one phase of a Minnesota study to examine the problem of disproportionate representation in special education of African American, American Indian, Latino, and Asian American students. Phase 3 of the study focused on factors which have led to the underrepresentation, rather than overrepresentation of Asian American students in special education. Two focus groups were conducted, one of professionals who serve Asian American populations and the other of parents of Asian American students with disabilities. Focus groups addressed questions concerning what works, what doesn't work, what the contributing factors are, and what needs to be done. Two main themes were found in responses of both groups concerning "what works": first, the importance of involving parents in the special education process and, second, the due process system approach to ensuring input from parents. Themes concerning what doesn't work that contribute to disproportionate representation focused on the complexity and overall effectiveness of the system; referral and assessment practices; differing cultural perceptions; language barriers; and lack of knowledge by parents of due process rights. Concerning what needs to be done, the groups stressed training initiatives for both parents and education staff, a need for parent advocates to facilitate home school communication, and more community outreach efforts. Appended are a summary of key issues from the study's three phases, the action plan of Phase 1 and 2, and an annotated bibliography. Contains 46 references.    [More]  Descriptors: American Indians, Asian American Students, Cultural Differences, Disabilities

Association of Aroostook Indians, Houlton, ME. (1975). Aroostook Sunshine: An Educational Simulation about Life in Maine. Designed for instruction at the secondary level, this curriculum guide focuses on simulated classroom experiences in prejudice and minority race relations and content materials relative to Northeast Woodland American Indian history and culture. Knowledge of the following are cited as major unit objectives: (1) Indian cultural contributions; (2) major highlights of Maine history; (3) minority white relationships; (4) the social problems having racial implications faced by Maine Indians today; (5) the way in which contemporary society influences the self-image of both on-and off-reservation Indians (Maine); and (6) identification of prejudice in self and others. Included in this guide are: (1) a map and description of a fictitious town (population and schools by racial distribution, economy, neighborhoods, citizen responsibilities, and group beliefs); (2) descriptions of the beliefs of integrationists, segregationists, neutralists (via social relations, education, jobs, housing, crime, and civil rights); (3) class member identity cards (simulated address, age, ethnic background, occupation, education, income, beliefs, and general circumstances); (4) terms to be identified (vocabulary); (5) 23 special research projects; (6) "pressure cards" (e.g., a strike); (7) a chart of contemporary American vs. traditional Indian goals; (8) a simulated town council meeting; (9) Maine Indian history; (10) a film rental list; and (11) a bibliography.   [More]  Descriptors: American Indians, Bibliographies, Cultural Background, Culture Conflict

Ballard, Michael (1999). The Future of Affirmative Action. Grade 11 Lesson. Schools of California Online Resources for Education (SCORE): Connecting California's Classrooms to the World. Executive Order 11873 was introduced in June 1965 by President Lyndon B. Johnson in a speech at Howard University. This order began the first of the federal government's affirmative action programs. Since that time, these programs have become a major topic among not only government officials at all levels of government but the general population of the United States. In this lesson plan, students represent particular interest groups before a Senate subcommittee charged to determine the future of federal affirmative action programs. Some of the groups represented will be the American Indian Movement, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, United Farm Workers, Christian Coalition, National Organization for Women, Eagle Forum, Republican Party, and Democratic Party. Noting that some of these groups will be in favor of affirmative action and some will be against it, the lesson states that each student's role will be to represent the position of the organization he/she is assigned and to prepare a presentation (and an essay) that has the evidence necessary to convince the subcommittee which course of action to pursue. Students are provided with background information, detailed instructions, and online resources. The teacher's notes describe the unit's purpose, explain the application of history/social science standards, and suggest teaching strategies. (Contains a transcript of the Lyndon B. Johnson speech.)   [More]  Descriptors: Academic Standards, Affirmative Action, Civil Rights, Essays

Hamilton, Ty (2003). The Representation and Appropriation of Indigenous Cultures at Ontario Summer Camps, Pathways: The Ontario Journal of Outdoor Education. Interviews with directors at five Ontario summer camps found that three camps exposed children to stereotypes of Indigenous peoples and to cultural appropriation. This is inconsistent with goals of educating campers about and showing respect for Indigenous cultures. Given the current issues of land-claims and Aboriginal rights, non-Indigenous North Americans must move beyond mythical understandings of Indigenous peoples. Descriptors: American Indian Culture, American Indians, Camping, Canada Natives

Farris, Pamela J. (1977). Equal Rights Versus Equal Numbers. Three current basal reading series were examined to determine the racial and sexual characteristics of the main characters of the stories and in the illustrations. All of the textbooks from preprimer through the sixth grade level were included in the analysis of the Ginn; Holt, Rinehart, and Winston; and Macmillan series. Eight-hundred sixteen main characters were counted in the 1975-77 editions of the three series. As each story was read the sex and race of the main character was noted. The five categories of race noted were: white, black, Hispanic, Asian, and American Indian. The total number of main characters was 816–329 females and 487 males. In every category except Hispanic, male main characters outnumbered female main characters. Three previous editions of the same series were examined to see if a shift had been made in the make up of the characters; there was a decrease of 204 in the total number of males and an increase of 104 in the number of females. When illustrations were analyzed according to the major figure, males again outnumbered females. Descriptors: Basal Reading, Characterization, Elementary Education, Ethnic Groups

Davis, Charlotte D., Ed.; Stickney, Edith P., Ed. (1972). The Emerging Minorities in America: A Resource Guide for Teachers. This book has been prepared as a specific reference and resource guide for teachers, and is designed to provide assistance in curriculum development through incorporation into the curriculum of the cultural and historical contributions of minority groups. In general, the criteria used for selection of entries for the book required that: (1) the contribution or achievement must have directly affected the state or national population in regard to its history or culture and (2) the contribution or achievement (a) must have been significant to a particular ethnic group, (b) must have furthered the cause of the minority group, and (c) must have been made or gained in spite of various obstacles. The teachers' guide is divided into five parts. The first four parts contain biographical data for selected members of each of the following minority groups: Afro-Americans, Asian Americans, Indian Americans, and Mexican Americans. Each part consists of four sections: (1) Historical Perspective (An overview of the minority group in relation to the majority group within the American culture); (2) Biographical Summaries (Specific information regarding name, birthdate, education, and a brief statement of significance followed by a biographical sketch. Each entry is keyed in the upper right hand corner of the narrative to provide the teacher with the source of information); (3) Bibliography of sources Used; and, (4) Other References. Descriptors: American Indians, Biographies, Blacks, Chinese Americans

Churchill, Ward, Ed. (1991). Critical Issues in Native North America, Volume II. IWGIA Document No. 68. This collection of articles forms the second of two volumes designed to impart to readers some sense of the crucial importance of what is and will be happening to the indigenous peoples of North America. "The Present and Future Status of American Indian Nations," by Robert T. Coulter argues from the perspectives of ideology, power, law, and human rights that the political existence of Native American nations and their governments, in relation to the United States and other governments, is legally and practically tenuous. "Who Will Govern Indian Country?" by Rudolph C. Ryser examines theoretical and practical jurisdictional problems related to the existence of independent sovereign states within another sovereignty and suggests that intergovernmental agreements recognizing tribal governments as the sole governing authority on reservations would eliminate current jurisdictional chaos. "The Political Economy of Radioactive Colonialism," by Ward Churchill and Winona LaDuke discusses the "new colonialism" (the expendable relationship of indigenous peoples to multinational resource-extraction corporations); and suggests that tribes must choose between Third World "development" and a Fourth World strategy of disengagement. The remaining articles address more specific issues and events such as the Pit River Indian land claim dispute, the Western Shoshone landrights struggle, the "Navajo-Hopi Land Dispute" and related inter-tribal conflicts, the Garrison Dam related land dispute, and the process of implementing Indian Treaty Fishing Rights. Descriptors: Alaska Natives, American Indian Reservations, American Indians, Colonialism

Seig, Louis (1976). Development of the Hopi Reservation. Repeated encroachments by Mormons and Navajos upon Arizona lands traditionally inhabited by the Hopi American Indians occasioned the Executive Order of December 16, 1882 and creation of the Executive Order Reservation. However, assignment of lands was not limited to the Hopi, for the Order stated that the lands should be "set apart for the use and occupancy of the Moqui (Hopi) and such other Indians as the Secretary of the Interior may see fit to settle thereon". Though never officially settling the Navajo on this reservation, the U.S. government did not take action to prevent further encroachment, and the Navajo continued to use these lands for grazing. Section 152, Title 25 of the Code of Federal Regulations gave the Navajo grazing rights on the Navajo reservation, which encompasses Hopi lands, and on all Hopi lands except Land Management District Number Six. Consequently, a joint-use policy has been applied to the lands in question, but such a policy has occasioned conflict between the Hopi and the Navajo. Differences in lifestyle (sedentary vs nomadic) and the Hopi's religious attachment to certain specific land formations have contributed to continued conflict between the tribes, but Public Law 93-531, enacted in 1974, has provided for final settlement of the conflicting rights and interests of the Hopi and Navajo tribes.   [More]  Descriptors: American Indian Reservations, American Indians, Conflict, Cultural Differences

Rhoads, Robert A. (1998). Student Activism in an Age of Cultural Diversity. ASHE Annual Meeting Paper. This paper examines the organizational context in which student protest is currently enacted and finds a new generation of campus activism organized around multiculturalism. Qualitative methods are used to analyze five case studies of student protest: (1) the Mills College (California) strike of 1990; (2) the Chicano studies movement at the University of California (Los Angeles) in 1993; (3) gay rights demonstrations at Pennsylvania State University from 1991 to 1993; (4) African American student resistance at Rutgers University (New Jersey)in 1995; and (5) financial aid protests involving American Indian students at Michigan State University from 1994 to 1996. Data collection involved 110 interviews with students, alumni, faculty, staff, and community members and analysis of documents and other artifacts of campus incidents and student organizing efforts. Each case study is presented in terms of a general description of the particular movement and its relationship to identity concerns, the precipitating events that escalated to highly visible campus demonstrations, the student response to the precipitating events, and organizational outcomes associated with a particular student movement. The study finds that all five cases were fundamentally linked to issues of multiculturalism and identity struggle. (Contains 46 references.)   [More]  Descriptors: Activism, American Indians, Blacks, Case Studies

Cashman, Holly R. (2006). Who Wins in Research on Bilingualism in an Anti-Bilingual State?, Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. Despite its multilingual heritage, the USA has a history of linguistic intolerance. Arizona, in the country's desert Southwest, is decidedly anti-bilingual although it has significant non-English-speaking groups, especially Spanish-speaking Mexicans/Mexican-Americans and indigenous groups such as the Navajo, Hopi and Yaqui tribes, among many others. This anti-bilingual ideology has resulted in the passage of legislation restricting residents' linguistic rights, such as Proposition 106 to make English the sole official language of all state business and Proposition 203 to eliminate bilingual education in state-funded schools. Several explanations have been put forth to account for this anti-bilingual ideology, from racism to ignorance to fear. In this paper I argue that researchers of bilingualism in a state ideologically opposed to language minority groups' bilingualism have certain responsibilities vis-a-vis the members of language minority groups who are the participants in their research. I suggest that each explanation, were it true, would require a different approach from researchers working to protect and advance language minority groups' rights. I conclude that it is crucial for sociolinguists to take their responsibilities to the communities they research seriously due to the pressing political situation engendered by the latest wave of linguistic intolerance and repression.   [More]  Descriptors: Language Minorities, Language Research, Linguistics, Bilingual Education

US Commission on Civil Rights (2006). The Benefits of Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Elementary and Secondary Education. A Briefing before the United States Commission on Civil Rights Held in Washington, D.C., July 28, 2006. Briefing Report. On July 28, 2006, a panel of experts briefed members of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights on the putative benefits of racial and ethnic diversity in elementary and secondary education. Four experts presented written statements to the Commissioners that assessed the social science literature on this issue. They also addressed whether or not racial and ethnic diversity in public schools should be mandated by the state and whether the net benefits of state-mandated diversity are different from the benefits that this diversity may yield when achieved through purely voluntary behavior. The experts also presented a number of studies to the Commission assessing the putative educational and social benefits of racial and ethnic diversity in elementary and secondary education. This volume presents the following papers: (1) The Outcomes of School Desegregation in Public Schools (David J. Armor); (2) Testimony Prepared for the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Regarding the Educational Benefits of Diversity in Elementary and Secondary Education (Arthur L. Coleman); (3) The Benefits of Racial/Ethnic Diversity in Elementary and Secondary Education (Michal Kurlaender); and (4) Demographic Perspectives on Diversity, Racial Isolation, and the Seattle School Board's Plan to "Cure" Residential "Segregation" (Stephan Thernstrom). A bibliography is included.   [More]  Descriptors: Public Schools, Civil Rights, School Desegregation, Secondary Education

Streiff, Paul R. (1975). School Management Options for American Indians. In response to the Presidential/Secretarial Educational Objective of 1975 which called for a statement from American Indian communities relative to their educational management preferences, the Office of Indian Education Programs (OIEP) established a program for gathering and disseminating educational management options to Indian people. A seven program series was developed by OIEP which included the following: (1) Introduction to the Series: Management Decisions in Indian Education; (2) Selecting Educational Goals and Assessing Educational Needs; (3) The Federal School; (4) The Public School; (5) The Tribal-Private School; (6) The Combination School; and (7) Another Look: It's Your Move (a review of all options). While 78 schools participated in the FY 1975 project, there has been a reluctance to officially determine community preferences as some people see the right to no decision as inherent in the definition of self-determination. Other Indian people are simply generally suspicious of any government program, believing the only real option to be that of the contract school which is perceived as just another avenue toward termination. Employing a more gradual approach to the transition period and allowing for an Indian definition of self-determination, the OIEP has extended the Objective through FY 1976 and has added 30 more schools to the project.   [More]  Descriptors: Administration, American Indians, Community Involvement, Decision Making

Rhoads, Robert A. (1998). Freedom's Web: Student Activism in an Age of Cultural Diversity. This book examines student activism in the 1990s and finds its sources in the struggle over multiculturalism and issues of social justice and equality. It is argued that identity politics is a reaction to the cultural hegemony reinforced through longstanding monocultural norms of the academy. A case study methodology used such data as formal and informal interviews, open-ended surveys, document surveys and analysis, participant observation, key informants, and artifact interpretation. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to student activism and its origins. Chapter 2 reviews student activism from the 1960s (the civil rights, free speech, and peace movements) through the acquiescence of the 1970s and the South Africa divestment movement of the 1980s. The following five chapters present case studies of specific acts of student activism in the 1990s. These are: (1) the Chicano Studies Movement at the University of California, Los Angeles; (2) the Mills College Strike, a movement against making Mills, a women's college in California, a coeducational institution; (3) the struggle of American Indians at Michigan State; (4) gay liberation at Pennsylvania State University; and (5) African American resistance at Rutgers (New Jersey). The final chapter summarizes how the case studies demonstrate development of a student activist identity and the growing influence of multiculturalism. (Individual chapters contain references.) Descriptors: Activism, Case Studies, College Students, Cultural Differences

Henry, Jeanette, Ed. (1972). The American Indian Reader: Education. Analyzing American Indian education, the book is the second in a series designed for classroom use, teacher preparation, and the general reader. A collection of the most important articles published in "The Indian Historian" during the last 7 years, the book also introduces new materials prepared specifically for the series. The contents cover 7 educational areas: approach and philosophy; lessons of history; problems of today; critique and evaluation; film and book reviews; "relevant" education; and a curriculum sampling. Subjects have been arranged for resource use and suggest a guide to study in each area. This book attempts to present ideas as well as information. Certain ideas are offered to stimulate discussion and to develop more student participation, i.e., teachers must recognize that identity with one's heritage is natural, usually a cherished possession that cannot be demeaned, discredited, or devalued. Descriptors: American History, American Indian Reservations, American Indians, Civil Rights

Jeffers, Dennis W.; Marks, Andrew J. (1980). Perceptions of Media Performance in Reporting the Current Conflict in Michigan Over Indian Fishing Rights on the Great Lakes. A study was conducted to gain an indication of how the mass media are perceived in the performance of their reporting of the conflict over American Indian fishing rights in the state of Michigan. Respondents in the study were 42 participants at a conference on Indian fishing rights sponsored by the National Science Foundation and Central Michigan University in February 1980. The invited participants were representatives from the commercial fishing industry, sports fishing associations, governmental agencies, tribal councils, and educational institutions. Results indicated that (1) all participants were dissatisfied with the accuracy, amount, fairness, and frequency of the news coverage of the conflict; (2) native Americans were more dissatisfied than the non-Indian participants; (3) most participants believed that the mass media should give top priority to reporting the status of treaty litigation rather than to the political concerns of the special interest groups involved; and (4) all respondents obtained most of their news and information from the same types of media, with newspapers as the most important source of information about the conflict. Descriptors: American Indians, Attitudes, Civil Rights, Conflict

Watras, Joseph, Ed. (2001). American Educational History Journal, 2001, American Educational History Journal. This 2001 annual publication contains 31 articles on topics germane to the history of education. Each year, this journal publishes papers presented at the annual meeting of the Midwest History of Education Society. After the "Introduction" (R. J. Taggart) articles in this year's issue are: "Origins of the American Federation of Teachers: Issues and Trends between the Two Great World Wars" (D. T. Martin); "Class, Race, and Curriculum in Small Pennsylvania Mill Towns of the 1960s" (B. Frey); "Textbooks for Confederate School Children Pursuit of National Identity during the American Civil War" (O. L. Davis, Jr.); "Elma Neal, 'The Open Door' Readers, and Mexican American Schooling in San Antonio, Texas" (M. D. Davis; O. L. Davis, Jr.); "Defense as Preparation: Houston, Texas, Schools Face the War to Come, 1939-1941" (J. Hammer; O. L. Davis, Jr.); "William Guardia: Who Does So Much for So Many" (C. Elam); "'The Medium Is the Message': Lloyd Reynolds and the Origins of Italic Handwriting in Oregon Schools" (R. Christen; T. Greene); "Why Did Social Studies Become Popular?" (J. Watras); "Give Peace a Chance: College Students Protest and the Civil Rights Movement, 1960-1975" (W. M. Davis; C. Dulski); "The Kaiser Child Service Centers: A Brief Report" (C. J. Anderson); "Analysis of Midwest School Attendance on the Eve of the Civil War: Study of Washtenaw County, Michigan, in 1860" (A. Vinovskis); "Effect of Enlightenment Thinking and Early Nineteenth Century Imagery on Twentieth Century Views of American Indians" (G. Noley; J. Smith); "The Struggle to Reshape the American Mind: Antidotes to Popular Images of Germans in United States Schools" (D. Witkosky; S. Hood); "Flora J. Cooke: Making the Secondary Schools Progressive" (G. L. Kroepel); "Teachers in America: At Odds with the American Ethos" (R. J. Taggart); "Reflection of the Past: Desegregation in Goliad, Texas" (R. Garza); "Drawing from the Past: The Chicago Art Institute and Chicago Public Schools 1879-1914" (D. Corcoran); "Flappers, Bathtub Gin, and Gangsters: The Nature and Purpose of Character Education in Two Curriculum Models" (K. L. Riley; J. Brown); "Using New Computer Technology for Oral History Interviews and Archival Records" (T. Fogg); "'There's No Place like Home': The Modern Home School Movement, 1980-Present" (D. K. Winters); "Historic Perspectives of Multicultural Education" (C.  Young); "Paternalism's Reckoning in the Success of the Special Education Movement" (M. McKenzie); "Ellsworth Collings: A Re-Introduction" (A. W. Garrett); "Islamic History of Education in Uzbekistan" (T. Boyd; T. Owens); "'Phu Anuman Rajadhon' (1888-1969): On Knowledge and Learning" (J. Gasigijtamrong); "The 'Practicality' of Foreign Language in World War II" (L. Colangelo); "School Reorganization Act of 1961 and Its Impact on Pennsylvania School Reform" (B. Frey); "Reconsidering Paul Hanna's Content Sequencing Theory" (Y. Kim); "Educational Reform and the Unstilled Voice of Progressivism in the Twentieth Century" (J. Smith; C. Vaughn; D. Ketchum); "The Reform of Reform: How Business-Led Reformers Have Changed Their Tune" (R. Taggart); and "The Status of Social Studies Curriculum for World Understanding after World War II: 1945-1950" (S. Kim).   [More]  Descriptors: Educational Change, Educational History, Educational Practices, Elementary Secondary Education

Bland, Laurel LeMieux (1975). American Native Oral Tradition: Legal Safeguards and Public Domain–A Discussion. Demonstrating the fact that the United States recognizes tribal groups (American Indians, Eskimos, and/or Aleuts) as sovereign bodies and conducts business and civil affairs with them accordingly, this paper examines an area in U.S. Law that is either unclear or entirely lacking–the treatment of tribal right to ownership or control of the accumulated literary and intellectual heritage of a tribe and its right to protect its members from exploitation regarding their personal knowledge of tribal cultural heritage. In light of existing law and custom, several approaches to solving the problem or clarifying the situation are described. The paper concludes that: morally and ethically, elements of cultural heritage which lend themselves to ethnographic research methods and electronic or photographic recording are, by virtue of a priori right and possession, the intellectually created property of the tribes and their members; there is ample evidence that the capability and structure are present for tribes to control and administer ethnographic research with the power to receive the results as communal property of the tribal authority; and in accordance with its constitution, the federal government has a duty and obligation to initiate action in keeping with the policy statements of its leaders to render unto the Indian people that which is theirs by inheritance and possession and to clearly differentiate between that which is theirs and that which is held in common bond by the populace. Descriptors: American Indians, Civil Liberties, Constitutional Law, Cultural Background

McCoy, Melody (1998). Cooperative Agreements in Indian Education. Indian Education Legal Support Project: "Tribalizing Indian Education.". The Indian Education Legal Support Project emphasizes the legal rights of tribes to control the formal education of their members. The project's work includes developing tribal education laws and reforming state and national Indian education legislation. This document compiles 10 voluntary cooperative agreements among federal, public, and tribal schools and between Indian organizations with regard to various Indian education matters as of October 1, 1998. The agreements are voluntary because, while federal, state, and tribal laws may authorize such agreements, no law requires them. Summaries of the 10 agreements are presented, followed by the full text of the agreements. Five agreements between a public school district and a tribe, tribal school, or Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) school address creation of a joint school board; joint operation of a public school, a tribal or BIA school, and a new program for at-risk tribal students; and distribution of state funding for American Indian students in a public school district. Three agreements among tribal schools address cooperative arrangements for student bus transportation, cooperative sponsorship of student sports, and shared special education services. The other two agreements establish an interdistrict consortium of six public school districts to meet the needs of Native students, and formalize the relationship of two national Indian organizations on Indian education matters. Descriptors: American Indian Education, Educational Cooperation, Elementary Secondary Education, Institutional Cooperation

Klasky, Philip M. (2001). The Storyscape Project Preserves Indian Cultures and Lands. Their Way Home, Winds of Change. A nonprofit indigenous rights organization in California helps indigenous communities safeguard their lands and culture. Recordings of the last speakers of endangered languages and their tribes' stories and creation songs are used in language restoration programs and to establish historical evidence of tribal land use through landmarks described. Intellectual property rights are retained by those who were recorded. Descriptors: American Indian Culture, American Indian Languages, Audiotape Recordings, Conservation (Environment)

Nelson, Melissa; Klasky, Philip M. (2001). Storyscape: The Power of Song in the Protection of Native Lands, Orion Afield: Working for Nature and Community. An indigenous rights organization works to preserve and revitalize indigenous communities and their lands by recording tribal creation songs. The songs spiritually reconnect Native people with their land, establish indigenous territorial rights, and preserve endangered languages. An ethnographic audio recording training program will enable tribes to create their own educational and language tools. Descriptors: American Indian Culture, American Indian Languages, Audiotape Recordings, Conservation (Environment)

Diamond, Tom (1974). State Responsibilities for American Indians — Texas. The Tiguas of El Paso, Texas; the Coushattas of Louisiana; and the Tortugas of Las Cruces, New Mexico share a common background in that they represent American Indian tribes who, having lost their land base, have been abandoned by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and have experienced recent circumstances of poverty. Since Indian rights stem from their original ownership of land, the BIA generally takes the position that it will not assume responsibility for an Indian group without a land base. However, Title 25 of the U.S. Code (Section 334) states that equal treatment should be afforded all Indians regardless of place of residence. Due to recent efforts on the part of the Tiguas, the Texas State Legislature has assumed full legal responsibility for these El Paso Indians. While the Coushattas and the Tortugas have not been as successful, the Tiguas have provided a precedent and a blueprint for recognition of tribes without a land base. Recognition is a relationship between a unit of government (State or Federal) and a tribe, wherein the government provides services for the tribe which are not provided for the general public. A suggested blueprint for recognition involves procurement of: (1) an anthropologist to document tribal history; (2) an attorney to accept responsibility for coordinating the effort; and (3) an effective public relations man. Descriptors: American Indians, Equalization Aid, Federal Government, Land Acquisition

Lukaczer, Moses; And Others (1971). A Guide to the Rights of the American Indian to Food Programs — In Federal Schools for American Indian Children and in Public Schools Subsidized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Written for all American Indians and Alaska Natives, this guide is designed to provide information relative to the Native American's rights to food programs in Federal schools and in public schools subsidized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). Aimed at stimulating Native Americans to assume a more active role in the development and assessment of these food programs, this handbook presents the following information: (1) Food Programs in Schools and Dormitories Operated by the BIA (number of federally recognized Indian children of school age; different kinds of BIA schools; BIA nutrition responsibilities; unknown nutritional status of "other" Indian children; BIA boarding schools, dormitories, and day schools; general food policy issues–tests, monitoring, and surplus foods); (2) Food Programs in Public Schools Funded by Authority of the Johnson O'Malley Act (JOM), (Indian children covered; service standards vs JOM regulations; parent costs; definitions of selected federally funded food programs; BIA regulation needs for administration of JOM lunch monies; BIA responsibility for Indian children in JOM funded schools; inequities in JOM fund administration; unaggressive use of JOM funding device; findings of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights' survey of JOM schools; the School Breakfast Program; phasing out JOM funding; policy considerations). Descriptors: Alaska Natives, American Indian Reservations, American Indians, Boarding Schools

McKinley, Francis; And Others (1970). Who Should Control Indian Education? A History, Three Case Studies, Recommendations. Conducted in 1967 by the Far West Laboratory for Educational Research and Development at the request of the National Indian Youth Council, this 1-year study was made on American Indians at the following sites; Loneman, South Dakota; Ponca City, Oklahoma; Crow Agency, Montana; Fort Berthold, North Dakota; Nondalton, Alaska; South Nek Nek, Alaska; Mescalero Apache Reservation, New Mexico; Papago Indian Reservation, Arizona; Seattle, Washington; and Indian boarding schools. The report describes the state of education available to American Indian children, presents 3 case studies, and offers a set of recommendations for improvement. Collection of base-line data included obtaining information on school administration, curriculum and teaching methods, student achievement, attitudes of teachers and administrators, and unique characteristics of the schools attended by the Indian children. Conclusions were that education provided for Indian children is a failure and has not succeeded in preparing them to be productive citizens in the larger society. In addition to the study activities, 3 pilot projects were developed at various sites: (1) educational materials libraries in Head Start schools, (2) a tutoring program for junior high students, and (3) a nonprofit organization for community development.   [More]  Descriptors: Administration, American Indians, Attitudes, Civil Rights

Gerlach, Ernest J. (1977). Indian Employment in New Mexico State Government: 1977. To update a 1974 report on the status of American Indian employment in the state of New Mexico, a 1977 study on the composition of the state's work force was undertaken, including descriptions of the overall distribution of state employment by job category, grade, and salary level. Despite progress, it was found that: (1) Indians still constituted only about 2% of the state's merit system work force; (2) Indian employees continued to be concentrated in a few agencies, with 60% working for the Employment Security Commission, Health and Social Services, and the Highway Department; (3) few Indians were employed even in areas where large proportions of Indians resided; (4) American Indians continued to be concentrated in low skill, low pay jobs with little upward mobility (almost 40% of all Indian employees were classified as paraprofessionals or in service/maintenance); (5) improvements notwithstanding, a disproportionate number of Indian employees remained concentrated in lower salary levels and in lowest grade levels (more than 72% of Indian employees were between grade levels 01 and 10 compared to almost 55% of entire work force, and only 9% were at or above level 15 compared to more than 20% of total employees). The report contains numerous statistical comparisons broken down by race/ethnicity and sex.   [More]  Descriptors: Affirmative Action, American Indians, Black Employment, Employed Women

Senese, Guy; Wood, Gerald (2009). Like the Other Kings Have: A Theory of Sovereignty and the Persistence of Inequality in Education, Journal for Critical Education Policy Studies. Public education discourse is dominated by nostalgia for an idea of humanity, which has existed more strongly in high culture discourse than it has in public schools. Political liberal and conservative discourses agree that the process of compulsory public education is an expression of the state as it works to justly distribute "life chances" through the exercises of schooling and the credentials that ensue from those exercises. The debate is centered on whether the exercises are just. This paper is an attempt to apply a developing scholarship on the concept of sovereignty to this old problem, and particularly to help explicate a deeper level of resistance to change regarding educational inequality. Drawing from Hannah Arendt, Carl Schmitt, and from the Italian philosopher and philologist Georgio Agamben, this re-visitation of the concept of sovereignty is a Foucauldian excavation of the substrate of feudalism and imperial Romanism, whose ancient tropes of property and humanity work like a parasite on the body of public education, appearing periodically right under its skin. This work suggests the power of pre-Christian even pre-"European" enlightenment ideas, toward a deeper archeology of exclusion.   [More]  Descriptors: Credentials, Equal Education, Tribal Sovereignty, Public Education

Thompson, Morris (1974). Self-Determination: First Steps. The year 1974 marked the first full year in which the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) officially embarked on a policy of advising and assisting American Indian tribes to assume the administration of their own affairs (self-determination). It seeks to strengthen and stabilize tribal governments while continuing to maintain and fulfill its trust responsibilities. BIA trust responsibilities consist of protecting the Indians' land, water, minerals, forests, and other resources. Some positive accomplishments regarding these responsibilities have been the three-stage format for inventorying water resources affecting reservations; the Catalog of Rights Issues, which identifies a multitude of Indian rights problems; the Menominee Restoration; and the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.  In the area of education, new initiatives are emerging such as more community involvement. Indian services provided by the BIA include: (1) the Tribal Government Development Program, which encourages the growth of self-determination by using program funds to establish effective tribal governments; (2) the implementation of the court decision which restored the off-reservation fishing rights of 14 tribes in western Washington State; (3) housing for Alaska Natives; (4) faster action on roll appeals; and (5) development of tribal resources, such as setting up new enterprises and expanding old ones.   [More]  Descriptors: Agency Role, American Indian Reservations, American Indians, Community Control

Leitka, Eugene (1974). Sources of Financial Aid for American Indian Students. Some 22,000 American Indian students requested assistance for higher education from the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in 1973, but the BIA only had funds for 11,395 students. While funds theoretically were available from other sources, only 3,000 out of 12,000 eligible students were able to benefit from them. A cooperative agreement between the U.S. Office of Education, the BIA, and the Office of U.S. Civil Rights is pending release. The agreement is designed to eliminate discrimination against Indian students seeking financial aid from other available Federal sources and is directed toward the educational institutions as recipients of Federal funds, placing them under contractual compliance procedures and making it their responsibility to serve all races without discrimination.  A proposed draft was produced in January of 1974 by the U.S. Office of Civil Rights, which if adopted will bring about clarification of college responsibilities in this matter. The directive states: (1) that funds provided under the Basic Educational Opportunity Grant or other Federal programs are to be made available to all eligible Indian applicants on an equal basis without regard to their eligibility for assistance through programs operated by the BIA; and (2) that the level of Indian need is not to be projected as lower than that of non-Indians. Descriptors: Agency Role, American Indians, Civil Rights, College Programs

Ford Foundation, New York, NY. (1977). Ford Foundation Assistance to Native Americans. During the past decade the Ford Foundation has assisted American Indians to improve their educational opportunities, assert their legal rights, and preserve their traditional culture and way of life. The Foundation has funded various efforts in the areas of school planning and finance, leadership development, undergraduate and graduate fellowships, establishment of Indian colleges, legal challenges, economic and community development, communications, and culture. Among the numerous Foundation-supported programs have been the Leadership Development Program which has given promising young Native American teachers and community workers from rural areas opportunities for innovative and advanced training; programs to help talented young Indians serve as links between their own culture and the larger society by assuming leadership positions in school systems and community agencies; an Upper Division Scholarship Program to help talented graduates of community colleges go on for bachelor's degrees at four-year colleges and universities; a one-year advanced study fellowship to faculty members with some graduate work who want to study full-time for their doctorates; a doctoral fellowship program designed for students entering graduate school and planning careers in higher education; the Native American Rights Fund, a nonprofit legal organization which has helped Indians throughout the country launch a comprehensive litigation campaign to secure and protect their rights. Appended is a listing of Ford Foundation grants concerning Native Americans. Descriptors: Alaska Natives, American Indians, Community Development, Cultural Awareness

General Accounting Office, Washington, DC. Resources, Community, and Economic Development Div. (1988). Indian Affairs: Statistical Data on Indian Rights Cases Handled by Justice. Fact Sheet for the Honorable Harry Reid, U.S. Senate. This fact sheet was written in response to a Senatorial request for information that would quantify litigation costs, in time and money, associated with federal efforts to defend and promote the rights of American Indians from 1982 through 1987. Costs incurred on behalf of Alaskan Natives were to be excluded in the report. It was found that for fiscal years 1982 through 1987, the Indian Resources Section of the Justice Department spent about $5.1 million to carry out its mission of litigating Indian rights cases. Of that amount, about $3.9 million was for personnel compensation and benefits while the remaining $1.2 million was for other expenses. The funds supported approximately 10 attorneys and 4 staff members each year, or 84,638 staff hours on 654 cases for the 6-year period.  The information is contained in a response letter and in several statistical tables showing data on Indian Rights cases handled by Justice's Indian Resources Section. The tables show numbers and status of Indian cases, hours attorneys worked, staff and salary costs, and costs of expenses. A list of major of contributors to the fact sheet is included.   [More]  Descriptors: American Indians, Civil Rights, Clerical Workers, Court Litigation

Journal of American Indian Education (1999). The Coolangatta Statement on Indigenous Rights in Education. Presents the 1996 revised Coolangatta Statement on Indigenous Rights in Education, a framework for discussing indigenous educational rights and self-determination, generated by an international task force. Lists task force members and fundamental principles for further discussion. Descriptors: Access to Education, Civil Liberties, Culturally Relevant Education, Educational Principles