CULTURAL GROUP STUDY PROJECTAMERICAN INDIANS

Jacey Ageno, Jessica Biles, Lisa Dubuc, Elysse Sato, Joy Senff & David Short

HOME COUNTRY

HOME COUNTRY Location- United States Size- 3.79 million square miles  Population- Over 310 million

people  Demographics

White 79.8% Hispanic (of any race)

15.4% Black 12.8% Asian 4.5% American Indian and Alaska

Native 1.0% Native Hawaiian and Pacific

Islander 0.2% Two or more races 1.7%

Languages Spoken-311  Literacy Rates- 99% of total

population can read and write ages 15+

History Indigenous people of the U.S.

believe to have migrated from Asia 1492 arrival of Spaniards European colonists spread

Christianity 1700’s Indigenous population

drastically declines from disease and warfare

1802 Indian lands exchanged for U.S. services

1830 Indian Removal Act 1924 Citizenship granted to all

Indians Current Problems

Economy struggles/Unemployment        

Terrorism Education Alcoholism

LANGUAGE

CHINUK WAWA, CHINOOK JARGON, CHINOOK PIDGIN

Regional language in the Pacific American North Coast - Oregon to Panhandle Alaska

Was spoken extensively in British Columbia and much of the Pacific Northwest for most of the 1800s and the early 1900s

It provided a means of communication between speakers of different First Nations’ languages, as well as between First Nations speakers and Europeans

U.S. Ethnic population: 119 (2000 census) and decreasing

Many words are still used and enjoyed throughout Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and Alaska

Old-timers still remember it, although in their youth, speaking this language was discouraged as slang

The Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde community of Oregon is taking steps to preserve Chinook Jargon use through a full immersion head start/preschool

The Confederated Tribes also offer Chinuk Wawa lessons at their offices in Eugene and Portland, Oregon

Nearly extinct

A Little History Now

THE LANGUAGE ITSELF Chinuk-wawa (also known as Chinook Jargon)

is a unique pidgin language that is a mix of tribal languages, French, and English. It is easy to learn and use. 

Example sentence "I speak Chinook Jargon“   Naika wawa chinook wawa

Vocabulary Teach to: mam’-ook kum’-tuk Child: ten’-a Yes: áh-ha; e-é

Hear it for yourself!

CULTURAL VALUES

Native American (Traditional Indian Values)     Non-Indian

(Dominant Society Values)

GROUP (take care of the PEOPLE) <<< >>> SELF ( take care of #1)

TODAY is a Good Day! <<< >>> PREPARE FOR TOMORROW

A RIGHT time/RIGHT place <<< >>> TIME (use EVERY minute)

AGE (knowledge-wisdom) <<< >>> YOUTH (rich, young, beautiful)

COOPERATE <<< >>> COMPETE!

Be PATIENT <<< >>> Learn to be AGGRESSIVE

LISTEN (and you'll learn) <<< >>> SPEAK UP

GIVE and share <<< >>> TAKE and save

Live in HARMONY (with all things) <<< >>> CONQUER Nature

Great MYSTERY/intuitive <<< >>> SKEPTICAL/ Logical

HUMILITY <<< >>> (Ego) SELF attention

A SPIRITUAL Life <<< >>> Religion (a PART of life)

Extended Families

Strong roles for women

Traditional, bicultural, or assimilated

Historically adversarial relationship with schools

Cooperation

Group Harmony Modesty

Autonomy

Placidity

Patience Generosity

Indifference to work ethic

Moderation in speech

Careful listening

Careful observation

Time is relative

Focus on the present

Pragmatism

Respect for elderlyRespect for nature

Spirituality

Avoidance of eye contact

Native language retention

Caution

SpiritualityCultural pluralism

ADAPTATION & ADJUSTMENT ISSUESINSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

ADAPTATION & ADJUSTMENT ISSUES

Many American Indians live on reservations

Disadvantages of reservations Lack of access to capital Lack of natural resources Isolated High cost of transportion Instability of tribal government

They rank at the bottom for many social statistics

Highest teen suicide rate of all minorities: 18.5 per 100,000

Highest rate of teen pregnancy Highest high school drop out rate: 54% Lowest per capita income Unemployment rates between 50% to 90%

Prejudice, Discrimination, and Racism Loss of language Assimilated to the white culture or “White-

washed” Culture isn’t represented at school and in

the curriculum Native American Holidays?

Books Elementary

Jingle Dancer by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Cheyenne Again by Eve Bunting

Middle School My Name is Sepeetza by

Shirley Sterling Crossing the Starlight Bridge

by Alice Mead High School

Wolf That I Am: In Search of the Red Earth People by Fred McTaggart

Everyday Life Texts

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

Finding culturally relevant material is a challenge

What’s relevant to one group might not be relevant to another

Text should build upon background knowledge Text should be culturally relevant and

meaningful Ideas for creating culturally relevant

stories Involve the local community members in story

telling Have stories recorded and in writing available to

students Allow children to develop their own stories

When choosing appropriate material ask yourself these questions:

Is the American Indian culture evaluated from the perspective of Indian values and attitudes rather than those of another culture?

Does the literature recognize the American Indian as an enduring race, not a vanishing or assimilated people?

Does the literature portray realistic roles for American Indian women?

Do not persistently look directly at American Indian students when speaking to them, or expect them to look directly at you

Seen as a sign of defiance and hostility

When speaking they will often will look off in the same direction, not at each other

Do not put too much pressure on time Traditionally, native cultures have

relied on weather or other conditions to determine when something must be done, rather than using a clock

Promote relaxed communication, native students need to be able to ask questions without hesitation and feel that they can discuss problems freely

Do not try to motivate students by competition.

In many native groups, a person who shows himself/herself to be superior (as opposed to an equal and cooperating member of the group) is ostracized and belittled

Culturally Relevant Materials Teaching Strategies

COMMUNITIES IN OREGON

AMERICAN INDIAN TRIBES IN OREGON Burns Paiute Tribe in Burns

• Language – Paiute• List of words on their website

Confederated Tribes of the Coos – Lower Umpqua – Siuslaw Indians in Coos Bay• Languages – Milluk (Coos), Hanis (Coos), and Siuslaw & Lower

Umpqua• Audio cassettes on their website for learning their language

Confederated Tribes of Grande Ronde (Umpqua, Molalla, Rogue River, Kalapuya & Chasta)• Common Language – Chinuk Wawa• Chinuk Wawa immersion preschool

Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians• Language – Athabaskan• The Siletz language program is actively teaching classes on

the Athabaskan language to tribal members

AMERICAN INDIAN TRIBES IN OREGON CONTINUED The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs

• Languages – Kiksht (Wasco) only 5 fluent speakers left, Numu (Paiute) only 5 fluent speakers left, and Ichishkiin (Sahaptin) about 50 fluent speakers left

• The Tribal Language Program is taking steps to bring the language back to the people.

Cow Creek Bank of Umpqua Tribe of Indians (Roseburg)• Language – Takelma – no mention on efforts to revive language

Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation• Languages – Cayuse (extinct today except a few words spoken), Sahaptin• Education department has created a language program in an effort to

restore the language The Klamath Tribes (Klamath, Modoc & Yahooskin)

• Language – Klamath• The Klamath Tribes Language Project – basic course in writing &

pronunciation Coquille Indian Tribe

• Language – Milluk, Hanis & Athapaskan (Coquille) mostly extinct now among tribal members

RESOURCES Americans in the United States. (2010). Wikipedia. Retrieved December 6, 2010,

from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_Americans_in_the_United_States Burns Paiute Tribe. (2010). Retrieved December 2010, from Burns Paiute Tribe:

http://www.burnspaiute-nsn.gov/ Chinook Jargon. 2006. Yinka Déné Language Institute. Confederated Tribes of Grande Ronde. (2010). Retrieved December 2010, from

Confederated Tribes of Grande Ronde: http://www.grandronde.org/ Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. (2010). Retrieved December 2010, from

Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians: http://www.ctsi.nsn.us/ Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua, Siuslaw Indians. (2006).

Retrieved December 2010, from Confederated Tribes of the Coos, Lower Umpqua, Siuslaw Indians: http://www.ctclusi.org/CTCLUSINEW/default.aspx

Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. (2010). Retrieved December 2010, from Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation: http://www.umatilla.nsn.us/

Coquille Indian Tribe. (2002-2005). Retrieved December 2010, from Coquille Indian Tribe: http://www.coquilletribe.org/

Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians. (2010). Retrieved December 2010, from Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians: http://www.cowcreek.com/

Eller, J. (2009). http://cw.routledge.com/textbooks/9780415485395/

RESOURCES CONTINUED Garcia, E. (2002). Student cultural diversity: Understanding and meeting the challenge.

Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Google. (n.d). Retrieved from: http://www.google.com/imghp Keller, E. (2005, April 12). Strategies for teaching science to Native Americans. Retrieved

from http://www.as.wvu.edu/~equity/native.html Lewis, M. Paul (ed.), 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World,

Sixteenth edition. Dallas, Tex.: SIL International. Online version: http://www.ethnologue.com/

Native Languages of the Americas. (2007). Native languages of the Americas: American Indian children’s books and literature. Retrieved from http://www.native-languages.org/children-books.htm

Oregon's Indian Tribes. (2009). Retrieved December 2010, from Oregon Blue Book: http://bluebook.state.or.us/national/tribal/tribal.htm

Smith, K. (2007). Native issues. Retrieved from http://web.utk.edu/~utaises/nativeissues.htm

Teaching and Learning With Native Americans. (2010). Contrasting Values. Retrieved from http://www.literacynet.org/lp/namericans/values.html

The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. (1999-2010). Retrieved December 2010, from The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs: http://www.warmsprings.com/

The Klamath Tribes. (2008). Retrieved December 2010, from The Klamath Tribes: http://www.klamathtribes.org/

United States. (2010). Wikipedia. Retrieved December 6, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_Americans_in_the_United_States