Native American Multiculturalism
Doni Musgrave and Suzie Sells
Top 10 Things American Indians
Can Say to a White Person1
How much white are you?
I am part white myself, you know.
I learned your peoples’ ways in the Boy Scouts.
My great-great grandmother was a full-blood
white princess.
Funny, you do not look white.
Top 10 Things American Indians
Can Say to a White Person1
Where are your powered wig and knickers?
Do you live in a covered wagon?
What is the meaning behind the square dance?
What is your feeling about river boat
Casinos? Do casinos help your people, or are
they a short-term fix?
Hey, can I take your picture?
1From
Manataka American Indian Council - http://www.manataka.org/page26.html
Native American or American Indian?
 Problems exist with both terms, but
certain people prefer Native American
to American Indian and vice versa.
 Most American Indians identify
themselves by their tribe.
 In many cases this may be more than
one tribe. If in doubt…just ask!
Statistics
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The following statistics come from:
PEACE PARTY – Author’s Forum
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The Essential Facts About Indians Today
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(12/23/00)
http://www.bluecorncomics.com/essntial.htm
American Indians
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"Indian" is a legal and political status, not a race.
Indians have essentially a dual-citizenship status.
Tribes all have separate governments.
Tribes all have their own tribal constitutions.
Tribes are different from each other, but have some things in
common because of their relationship to the federal
government.
Indians are contemporary people.
Indians are not great in number—there are only about two
million Native Americans in the United States—but they can
speak effectively about their concerns.
Indians are very diverse, and more than half live in urban
settings.
Indians are not all rich because of casinos.
Population
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Some 4.1 million Americans said they were at
least part American Indian, more than double
the 1990 figure, and 2.5 million identified
themselves only as American Indian, a 26
percent increase.
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Christian Science Monitor, 12/6/01
Do all American Indians live on reservations?
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No. More than 60 percent live away from reservations,
the U.S. Census reports. However, many return to visit
family and attend ceremonies.

“100 Questions for 500 Nations," in "The American Indian
and the Media"
Sovereignty
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The United States makes treaties only with other
governments, and for over 200 years has
recognized the governments of Indian nations
and tribes. In relating to tribal governments, the
federal government acts under authority of
provisions of the Constitution. In Article I,
Section 8, the Constitution states: "The Congress
shall have power...to regulate commerce with
foreign nations, among the several states, and
with Indian tribes."
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United Effort Trust, Tribal Government
Political status and
membership policies
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In the mid-1970s, the Supreme Court ruled that no federal agency or
any entity except an Indian tribe could determine who its people are.
For even longer, the high court has held that Indian nationhood and
tribal citizenry are political, not racial matters.
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A giant case of Indian law, Santa Clara Pueblo v. Martinez, helped
preserve a great principle: that Native governments retain the
sovereign right to define and determine their own membership.
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Suzan Shown Harjo, Vampire Policy Is Bleeding Us Dry, Indian Country Today,
2/14/01
Indian Identity Is Important Matter, Indian Country Today, 3/27/02
A full rundown of tribal membership arcana would fill several volumes,
as each of the nation's 562 federally recognized tribes has its own
rules, typically outlined in their respective constitutions. In general,
however, tribes use either the blood quantum system or the descent
system.
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Brendan I. Koerner, How Do You Join an Indian Tribe?, Slate, 2/24/04
Taxes
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Myth: Indian people do not pay taxes.
Fact: Indian people pay all taxes required by tribal,
state, and federal law.
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"Myths & Facts," National Indian Gaming Association
Do Native Americans pay state or federal taxes?
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They pay the same taxes as everyone else with the following
exceptions: Native Americans employed on reservations do not
pay state income taxes. American Indians living on trust land are
free from local and state property taxes. Generally state sales
taxes are not levied on Indian transactions made on reservations.
Indians do not pay federal income taxes on money earned from
trust lands, such as fees received for grazing rights and oil
drilling.
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"100 Questions for 500 Nations," in "The American Indian and the
Media"
Gaming
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Myth: All tribes have gaming operations.
Fact: Less than 40% of federally-recognized tribes have
gaming operations.
Myth: All tribes are rich because of gaming revenues.
Fact: Only a handful of operations make the majority of
the gaming revenue.
Myth: Tribal gaming is loosely regulated.
Fact: Tribal governmental gaming is more heavily
regulated than commercial gaming and tribal
governments have developed world-class regulatory
systems.
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"Myths & Facts," National Indian Gaming Association
“As long as there is an ‘us and them,’
there will be a problem”—Grayson Noley
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The following information comes from a
handout that Dr. Noley gave out during a
guest lecture in Fall of 2002.
He adapted the information from American
Indians: Stereotypes and realities by D. A.
Mihesuah (1998, Atlanta: Clarity Press, Inc.).
Most of the adaptations make the information
relevant to educators.
Do’s and Don’ts
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Avoid Inappropriate terminology
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Do not use “uncivilized” when comparing
American Indian cultures to Euro-American
cultures. Use “different.” The tribal and
Euro-American cultures were different from
one another, no one being inferior or
superior.
Do not say “Lakota Indians” or “Choctaw
Indians.” This is redundant.
Do’s and Don’ts
Avoid inappropriate terminology
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Use “myth” to describe tribal creation stories
and folklore only if you clearly have defined
the term; otherwise “myth” implies a madeup story to most students and some adults as
well. Use “account” instead when in doubt.
Do not use the terms “brave,” “buck,”
“squaw,” or “papoose” when referring to
American Indian men, women, and children.
Men, women, and children are appropriate
terms.
Do’s and Don’ts
Avoid inappropriate terminology
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Do not use “heathen” to describe those
American Indians who were and are not
Christians. That implies that they had and
have no religions. Say “American Indians
are religious” instead. Impress upon
students that they do not have to believe
what others believe, but they do need to
respect others’ right to believe as they
wish.
Do’s and Don’ts
Avoid inappropriate terminology
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Do not use the term “prehistory;” use
“precontact” instead. “Pre-columbian” also
is used as an alternative to “prehistory.”
“Prehistory” implies that American Indians
had no history worthy of recording until
contact with Europeans. It is ironic indeed
that American Indians were here for
thousands of years prior to the arrival of
the Europeans, yet United States’ history
texts usually only discuss the last 500
years.
Do’s and Don’ts
Avoid inappropriate terminology
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Do not call American Indians “redskins.” No
American Indian had or has red skin, in spite of
the fact that the name for our state literally is
translated as “red people” and that our state’s
name was given by a Choctaw.
Do not use the singular when referring to a group
of people. For example, using the singular “the
Cherokee” when referring to more than one
member of that tribe is incorrect. It begs the
question, “Which one?” The singular is how we
refer to animals (the mule, the horse, etc.) and is
demeaning to humans.
Do’s and Don’ts
Avoid inappropriate terminology
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Do not allow students and children to imitate
American Indian people by saying “how” or “ugh.”
“How” is a Lakota word for hello, but all American
Indians did not hold up their hold up their hand
and ask “How?” How what? “How” is an English
word. Asking “how?” or grunting “ugh” are
insulting, nonsensical, verbal symbols of
Indianness. So is yelling “Geronimo” when
jumping off a diving board.
Do not tell students to stop acting like “wild
Indians.” American Indians were and are no more
“wild” than any other ethnic group.
Instill a sense of diversity
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Students should understand that American
Indians are not all alike. Give pupils examples
of tribes that lived on the coast, in the deserts,
the forests, the Arctic, etc. All had different
languages, religions, clothes, housing, food,
etc. American Indians are multifaceted peoples
who should not be generalized. Each tribe has
its own complex history, culture, and name for
itself. It is a mistake to generalize American
Indians, just as it is incorrect to generalize
Europeans, Africans, Hispanics, or Asians.
Tell students about American Indians
today.
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Because of movies that romanticize the horse-riding,
bison-hunting Plains tribes (i.e. Dances With Wolves),
many Americans have the impression that not only
are all American Indians alike, but they also still exist
only in the past. Students must learn that American
Indians are alive in the present and are working in
every segment of society.
Also, American Indians do not all look alike. Many of
the men do not have long hair and many American
Indians are mixed-bloods with lighter coloring. Most
American Indians do not live on reservations and
those that do, do not have to stay there.
Do not have students dress as
Pilgrims and Indians for Thanksgiving.
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This is as dishonest as playing “happy
mammy and plantation owner’s wife.” After
all, Pilgrims, Puritans, and other colonists
thought that American Indians were heathens
and savages, and according to some, the
Devil’s disciples. Within 50 years of the
“Thanksgiving Feast,” thousands of American
Indians were dead at the hands of colonists
and diseases. Thanksgiving indeed. In fact,
many American Indians recognize
Thanksgiving as a “Day of Mourning.”
Playing dress up continued
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Do not have students make headdresses to
wear. The style, materials, and significance
of headdresses varied from tribe to tribe and
not every tribal member wore one. American
Indian men certainly did not wear
headdresses to play in , nor should nonIndians.
Do not ask the students to sit “Indian style.”
This implies that American Indians only sat
on the ground or on the floor and were
“uncivilized” in their everyday demeanor.
Use caution when expounding on
America’s “heroes” and use sensitivity
when celebrating American holidays.
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Do not teach students that Columbus was a
hero without examining his relations with
American Indians. He forcibly took American
Indians to Europe and put them on display as
though they were exotic animals. George
Armstrong Custer, Andrew Jackson, George
Washington, William Henry Harrison, Teddy
Roosevelt, and others who believed American
Indians to be inferior to Europeans also
should be thoroughly examined before being
described as American heroes in various
contexts.
Heroes??
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While we might agree, for example, that Theodore
Roosevelt was a hero of the Spanish-American War, he
comments in his book, The Winning of the West, that
American Indians are “filthy,” “lecherous,” and “faithless,”
in addition to living lives that “were but a few degrees
less meaningless, squalid, and ferocious than that of the
wild beasts with whom they held joint ownership.”
The Declaration of Independence refers to American
Indians as “merciless savages.” George Washington
bought & sold American Indian lands without the tribes’
permission, fought and killed American Indians without
mercy, and owned almost 500 African American slaves.
Teach students the contributions of
American Indians to the growth and
development of the United States.
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These range from new foods and medicines to ideas
of democracy. Thousands of American Indians have
fought for America since the colonial period. There
was an American Indian General in the Revolutionary
War, the War of 1812, two in the Civil War, and one in
World War II. There were three Congressional Medal
of Honor winners in WWII and two in the Korean
conflict. American Indians contribute considerably to
the arts and sciences in spite of the fact that their
images are the focus of entertainment and revenue
for non-Indians.
Fight for more well-rounded curricula
that include minority people.
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This includes critically reviewing textbooks that claim
to but do not include a complete history of this
country and the trade-books used in elementary
schools that frequently advance stereotypes of the
worst kind. Teachers also should push for multicultural curriculums. It is important for all of us to
attempt to correct false history, for today there are
approximately 2.5 million American Indians in this
country and millions more in Central and South
America. Their histories and cultures deserve to be
portrayed as accurately as those of any other race or
culture.
Use caution when utilizing American
Indian “artifacts” for instruction and
screen students’ show and tell items.
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Certain items should not be used for
educational purposes and many should not
even be in the possession of non-tribal
members. For example, many tourists collect
pottery shards from American Indian ruins,
but these items are part of the ruins. So
many tourists have walked off with these
souvenirs that forest service officials are
considering closing selected sites.
Artifacts
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Skeletal remains should never be exhibited
even if they were found on private property.
In many states, it is illegal to excavate your
own property.
Other items such as medicine bundles, pipes,
and pipe bas are sacred items and should not
possess them. Often, drums, jewelry,
kachina dolls, and clothing were obtained
from burials and teachers should ascertain
the origin of these items.
Animals
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Class projects that require handling or
dissecting animals may be in conflict with
certain American Indian religious beliefs.
While one cannot be expected to know every
nuance of other cultures, it does not require
much thought to be sensitive to the students
who shy away from participating in some
activities and respectfully inquire about their
reluctance.
Socio-Linguistics
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Be careful to not interpret quiet or less
active students as inattentive. In some
cultures, it is disrespectful to be loud
verbally and physically aggressive.
Many students may be bilingual.
Cognition
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Avoid one-sided teaching that
encourages simply analytical, as many
students come from an environment
that encourages holistic learning
instead.
Use instructional conversations.
Motivation
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Often materials presented represent
only the dominant culture.
Students may appear to lack motivation
simply because they have learned
materials from a different perspective.
Student motivation can be increased by
using multicultural materials that
include their ethnicity.
Conclusion
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No two students are ever alike.
Use a variety of different methods in all
classes regardless of the cultural makeup of
the students.
Be respectful, and research cultures you are
not familiar with, but make sure you use
resources that are generated from within the
culture, not just ones from the dominant
culture’s perspective.