LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

Generations of American Indians and Alaska Natives do not speak their Native language. Many students in federal boarding schools were forbidden or discouraged from speaking their language and did not teach it to their children (Deyhle & Swisher, 1997; Reyhner, 1993; Reyhner & Tennant, 1995; Peacock & Day, 1999; and others) . Instead of cultural preservation, earlier Native education models emphasized assimilation into the mainstream culture.

Much of the current educational research takes into account the bicultural context in which Native students navigate. Programs that honor both culture and language appear to be successful in improving academic achievement. Recent studies indicate that multiculturalism is a source of strength, not weakness.

An early 1990s federal task force on Indian Education recommended several reforms, including the development of instructional curricula that support diverse cultural needs and learning styles (Butterfield, no date). In a year 2000 study commissioned by the U. S. Department of Education Office of Educational Research and Improvement, the author notes that "Educational research has clearly established that Native culture and language are essential in Native children' s acquisition of knowledge and foster academic achievement " (Yazzie, 2000, p.7).

Many other studies document that inclusion of Native culture and language in the classroom promotes academic success (Reyhner, 1993, 1995; Lomawaima, 1995; and others). Peacock and Day (1999) report that young Native children who take language and culture classes gain stronger identities, knowledge, and appreciation of their heritage. Native teenagers who are more conflicted about their culture are at greater risk of engaging in gang activity, developing alcohol and drug problems, and dropping out of school.

For example, an early 1990s Yup'ik language-maintenance program on St. Lawrence Island was so successful that it transcended the classroom into the community, helping to "maintain the language through a strong literacy program and helping to counteract the ever mounting influence of English-language television in nearly every home "(Reyhner, 1995). With a federal bilingual education grant, the school district developed K-12 cultural classes that were taught in Yup'ik.

In varying degrees, culture and language are being included in school curricula in Native communities across Alaska and the nation. Native language is practiced to different degrees in American Indian/Alaska Native communities, from flourishing language with speakers of all ages, to extinct language. Traditional Native culture is tied to language in many ways, and as the language dies, the culture changes (Skinner, 1999). Yazzie, a Navajo Indian, observes that the inclusion of Native language and culture in the curriculum is not just a Native versus non-Native issue, but one that has become a debate among and within Native nations and communities. A graduate of the Harvard University Graduate School of Education, Yazzie writes:

Surely the frustration of language loss is felt by both Native speakers and non-Native speakers, just as cultural loss is felt and dealt with differently by both parties. Ultimately, language cannot be just a "speak it or don ' t speak it "issue;it ' s also about ways of communication and understanding the culture that the language represents (p. 16).

Yazzie argues that both Native and non-Native teachers can be trained to develop and implement culturally appropriate curriculum in classrooms that serve Native students:

If we are serious about truly working to incorporate culture and language into the schooling process, then we as educators, parents, and community need to envision a different kind of education that incorporates culturally appropriate ways of thinking and behaving (Yazzie 2000, p. 11).

Implications of Language and Culture for Curriculum Development

Incorporating language and culture into the classroom impacts other curricula for American Indian/Alaska Native students. For example, in mathematics and science instruction, curricula based on American Indian/Alaska Native knowledge systems have multiple purposes. It shows students how these subjects are socially constructed, engages students in constructing a system based on their cultural knowledge, and connects students ' knowledge of the subject area "through comparisons and bridges to other aboriginal and Western systems "(Lipka, 1994) . Actively involving elders and other community members who have local knowledge of a subject helps foster greater community involvement with a school (Stephens, no date) .

Stephens notes that culturally responsive science curriculum integrates Native and Western knowledge systems around science ecology, with the goal of enhancing students ' cultural well-being and their knowledge. Reyhner and Davison (no date) indicate that American Indian/Alaska Native students perform better and have a better understanding of mathematics and science.

Such programs link science to local topics and tap the expertise of local experts. This in turn creates stronger ties between the school and community. Because it values local culture, Native-based science and math curricula also offer an alternative to traditional Western schooling and traditional indigenous culture. Such programs provide "an opportunity for elders and the school community to visualize the possible ways in which everyday tasks and knowledge can be a basis for learning in school." (Lipka, 1994).

Integrating indigenous and Western knowledge into Alaska school curriculum is the focus of the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative (AKRSI) . Funded by the National Science Foundation and the Annenberg Rural Challenge over a five-year period, AKRSI is attempting to meld traditional knowledge with public school curriculum including math, science, technology, language arts, and social studies. While AKRSI is geared toward rural Alaska, urban schools would benefit as well.

Traditional Education in Urban Schools

Culturally relevant programs are easier to deliver in rural Alaska communities where the population is primarily Alaska Native and in Lower 48 Indian reservation schools. In Alaska' s cities, however, the Native population is growing as more Natives leave rural villages and move to the city.

American Indians and Alaska Natives attending school in urban areas face unique challenges (NIEA, 1990). ¹⁵ In many cases, Natives constitute a very small minority of the student body, and racism can be a large factor. Funding is often limited for Native programs in urban areas, especially for vocational education and Head Start programs that compete for grants with other minority groups. Tracking students who move back and forth between rural and urban schools is difficult and some may "slip through the cracks. "

As Alaska Natives and American Indian students in urban areas are likely from various Native groups, developing curriculum for them usually assumes a "Pan-Indian "perspective. Deyhle and Swisher (1997) note the need to involve Native teachers, parents, and elders in urban communities to improve education for Native students.

Despite the demonstrated importance of language and cultural programs in Native education, the school -- urban or rural -- cannot take the place of cultural grounding at home:

To rely upon the school to do for language and culture what neither the family nor the neighborhood will or can do is to court disappointment and to avert one' s eyes from the basic loci of ethnocultural and ethnolinguistic continuity (Fishman, 1989 in Slaughter, 1997).

Summary

Research shows that multiculturalism is a source of strength, not weakness. As Native students' academic performance improves with the blending of Western education and traditional Native knowledge, all students will benefit. A program that enhances the learning capabilities of one group of students will enhance the capabilities of all students as well as the performance of the entire school system.

A summary of the most relevant literature by Deyhle and Swisher (1997) suggests that a culturally relevant curriculum is less important for students who have strong cultural identities and language and more important for those who are less rooted in their culture. Still needed, according to Deyhle and Swisher, "is the interpretation of what this research means in the way teachers are trained, schools are organized, curriculum is designed, and instruction is delivered"(p. 182) .

¹⁵ National Indian Education Association.

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