Cultural Group Study Project American Indians

1. Cultural Group Study ProjectAmerican Indians JaceyAgeno, Jessica Biles, Lisa Dubuc, Elysse Sato, Joy Senff & David Short

2. Home country

3. 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

4. Language

5. Chinuk Wawa, Chinook Jargon, Chinook Pidgin A Little History Now • 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

6. 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“   • Naikawawachinookwawa • Vocabulary • Teach to: mam’-ookkum’-tuk • Child: ten’-a • Yes: áh-ha; e-é • Hear it for yourself!

7. Cultural Values

9. Respect for nature Careful listening Respect for elderly Generosity Patience Cultural pluralism Spirituality Placidity Extended Families Caution Strong roles for women Careful observation Spirituality Focus on the present Cooperation Group Harmony Modesty Moderation in speech Autonomy Indifference to work ethic Time is relative Traditional, bicultural, or assimilated Native language retention Pragmatism Avoidance of eye contact Historically adversarial relationship with schools

10. Adaptation & Adjustment IssuesInstructional Materials

11. Adaptation & Adjustment Issues Instructional Materials Everyday Life Texts • 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

12. Instructional Strategies Culturally Relevant Materials Teaching 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

13. Communities in Oregon

14. 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

15. 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

17. 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. YinkaDéné 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/

18. 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