Smoke signals., February 01, 1992, HEALTH and EDUCATION, Image 5

r HEALTH & EDUCATION
NATIONAL REPORT FAULTS SCHOOLS FOR LOSS OF LANGUAGE,
CULTURE AND FAILURE TO EDUCATE NATIVE STUDENTS
CONGRATULATIONS.
for a job well done!
Eleven-year-old Eric Bass, a 6th grader
attending Lane Middle School, made the
honor roll with a grade point average of
3.88. Eric is the son of April and Steven
Snoddy of Portland.
Keep up the good work Eric!
GENERAL EDUCATION
The GED classes continue this term at the Meal Site
from 9:00AM to 11:00AM, on Mondays and Fridays.
For more information and applications, contact the
education department at 879-5211 .
(AP)-A national report released December 9th
urges creation of a partnership among schools,
tribes and parents to push for academic success
among Indian students.
The report, called "Indian Nations at Risk: An
Educational Strategy for Action," said America's
schools have contributed to the erosion of American
Indian language and culture while failing to
educate many Indian children.
The report said the government should
highest priority to improving Indian
schools and academic achievement. By
the year 2000, it said, all Indian chil
dren should have access to early
childhood education providing "the
language, social, physical, spiritual and
cultural foundations they need to
succeed."
And by then, they also should have
safe, alcohol-free and drug-free
schools; the opportunity to maintain
and develop tribal languages as well as
English, math and other basic subjects;
skills needed for high school gradua
tion; high-quality Indian teachers and non-Indian
teachers and schools designed to meet their needs.
The report prepared by a national task force of
educators recommended getting parental involve
ment in school events, holding schools accountable
for results, promoting high expectations in school,
making curricula academically challenging and
enforcing a code of conduct for students, teachers
and administrators.
The task force said local governments should
remove any social or political barriers preventing
f give
i i
i i
Indians from election to school boards and
additional federal funding should be provided for
early childhood education, prenatal care and
parent training programs.
The task force was created by the U.S. Depart
ment of Education last year.
Among problems it identified in the report were
low expectations, relegation to low academic tracks
in school, high rates of dropout, overt and subtle
racism in schools, limited library resources, lack of
Indian teachers as role models, teachers
inadequately trained to teach Indians and
Western or European perspective in
texts, ignoring Indian perspectives.
The report pointed out some success
ful Indian education programs, includ
ing Santa Fe Indian School and the
Zuni public schools in New Mexico.
"i think the report is a good assessment
of where we're at and what we need to
do," said Hayes Lewis, superintendent of
thej Zuni Public School District and a
member of the national talk force. "We
certainly have a lot that must be done."
Virginia Allery, executive director of the
Bernalilo-based New Mesico Indian Education
Center for Excellence, said the report lines up with
surveys her organization has done, as well.
"Among the tribes we work with in New Mexico,
there are concerns about losing the culture and the
language," Allery, a Chippewa-Cree from North
Dakota, said.
"The challenge now is to have a plan of action
that will work for us," she said.
Courtesy of News from Indian Country
Chemawa Students Show Off Their Culture
By Jill Newsom
Stayton-O'Brian Daly watched wide-eyed as the
group of American Indians pounded on a giant drum
and girls danced in jingle dresses.
"I've never seen Indians dance before," he said. "I
learned new music they use different instruments."
O'Brian, 7, was one of about 500 students at
Stayton Elementary School who were treated to a
display of American Indian culture Thursday.
A group of 11 students from the Chemawa Indian
School in Salem performed music and dances for the
children, , '' 11 ' f 1 ' ,'; ' ; ', ! ' 1 ; ;: 'ft i: ! ,1 ; '"' ; . i , ' , I ,:
Shelly Andrews, 16, wore a jingle dress to perform
a combination of traditional and fancy dances. ,
The dress takes its name from the many shiny tin .
Copenhagen chewing tobacco lids that are sewn onto
it. The lids make a jingling noise when a dancer
moves. Empty bullet shells were used for the same
effect in the 1800s, her sister, Rochelle, said.
Rochelle, 18, wore a Plains dress, covered with
shells and fringe.
"The fringe represents waterfalls: the flowing of
the dress, the grace of women," Rochelle said.
, Otter hides attached to her braids stood for speed. .
The girls' teacher, Travis Benoist, told the children
that the regalia were traditionally put away for a year
when a loved one died. This was to show respect for
the dead, he said. '
Benoist teaches Indian history, Indian studies, and
performing arts at Chemawa.
, The four major colors on earth are yellow, red,
black and white; he told the students. Two-legged
ones or men and women - exist in all of the colors. ,
Magen Peevy, 7, was startled by the pounding of
the drum which provided the dancers' music.
T'm not used to the loud noise," she said. "But I
liked it." ,
Kacey Kaderly, 7, agreed.
"I'd never seen people play that kind of music," he
said. i i
The goal of the annual program was to educate ?
children on modern Indian culture, Rochelle said.
"You still hear things - people still kind of make
.. fun of us," she said, noting that the show helps dispel
;i some misconceptions. "It shows people what Indians
are like now."
'Courtesy of the Statesman Journal