CULTURAL GROUP
STUDY PROJECT
AMERICAN INDIANS
Jacey Ageno, Jessica Biles, Lisa Dubuc, Elysse Sato, Joy Senff & David Short
HOME COUNTRY
HOME COUNTRY
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Location- United States
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Size- 3.79 million square miles
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Population- Over 310 million people
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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+
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
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
A Little History
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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
Now
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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
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
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Naika wawa chinook wawa
Vocabulary
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"I speak Chinook Jargon“
Teach to: mam’-ook kum’-tuk
Child: ten’-a
Yes: áh-ha; e-é
Hear it for yourself!
CULTURAL VALUES
Native American
Non-Indian
(Traditional Indian Values)
(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)
Respect for nature
Careful listening
Respect for elderly
Patience
Cultural pluralism
Generosity
Spirituality
Placidity
Extended Families
Caution
Strong roles for women
Careful observation
Spirituality
Focus on the present
Cooperation
Group Harmony
Moderation in speech
Modesty
Autonomy
Indifference to work ethic
Time is relative
Traditional, bicultural, or assimilated
Native language retention
Avoidance of eye contact
Pragmatism
Historically adversarial relationship with schools
ADAPTATION & ADJUSTMENT ISSUES
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
ADAPTATION &
ADJUSTMENT
ISSUES
Everyday Life
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Many American Indians live on
reservations
Disadvantages of reservations
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They rank at the bottom for many social
statistics
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Lack of access to capital
Lack of natural resources
Isolated
High cost of transportion
Instability of tribal government
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
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Loss of language
Assimilated to the white culture or “Whitewashed”
Culture isn’t represented at school and in
the curriculum
 Native American Holidays?
INSTRUCTIONAL
MATERIALS
Texts
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Books
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Elementary
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Middle School
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Jingle Dancer by Cynthia
Leitich Smith
Cheyenne Again by Eve
Bunting
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
INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES
Culturally Relevant Materials
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Finding culturally relevant material is a
challenge
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Involve the local community members in story telling
Have stories recorded and in writing available to
students
Allow children to develop their own stories
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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?
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When choosing appropriate material ask
yourself these questions:
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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
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Teaching Strategies
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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
COMMUNITIES IN OREGON
AMERICAN INDIAN TRIBES IN
OREGON
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Burns Paiute Tribe in Burns
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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
•
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Confederated Tribes of Grande Ronde (Umpqua,
Molalla, Rogue River, Kalapuya & Chasta)
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Common Language – Chinuk Wawa
Chinuk Wawa immersion preschool
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Language – Athabaskan
The Siletz language program is actively teaching classes on the
Athabaskan language to tribal members
Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians
AMERICAN INDIAN TRIBES IN
OREGON CONTINUED
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The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs
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Cow Creek Bank of Umpqua Tribe of Indians (Roseburg)
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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)
•
•
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Language – Takelma – no mention on efforts to revive language
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
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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.
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
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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/
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Chinook Jargon. 2006. Yinka Déné Language Institute.
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Confederated Tribes of Grande Ronde. (2010). Retrieved December 2010, from
Confederated Tribes of Grande Ronde: http://www.grandronde.org/
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Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. (2010). Retrieved December 2010, from
Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians: http://www.ctsi.nsn.us/
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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
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Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. (2010). Retrieved December 2010,
from Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation:
http://www.umatilla.nsn.us/
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Coquille Indian Tribe. (2002-2005). Retrieved December 2010, from Coquille Indian Tribe:
http://www.coquilletribe.org/
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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
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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.nativelanguages.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