American Indian Culture and Research Journal

As Aaquumeh youngsters, we were constantly reminded to heed our elders, including the old ones who had lived before. We were encouraged to serve and respect them and to attend to their words, especially when they spoke of our heritage and past, so that we, in turn, could pass this knowledge on to the next generation. —Simon Ortiz American Indian children have systematically been denied the opportunity to learn about their origin stories and oral traditions in the mainstream American public school system and have suffered from approaches long documented as failing them. In fact, Indian Education: A National Tragedy—A National Challenge, a summary report of a special Senate subcommittee on Indian education, criticized schools as being ineffective and destroying the identity of Indian children. The report stated that “the goal, from the beginning of attempts at formal education of the American Indian, has been not so much to educate him as to change him.” The report emphasizes the need for more Indians to become involved in the education of their youth. Historically, Western European models of education did not take into consideration the rich resources available in American Indian communities, namely, elders and community members. Educators, researchers, and scholars genuinely interested in working with American Indian communities might do well to ask how traditional forms of Indian ways of learning about the world can be an integral focus of their work.