EIGHT PROBLEMS IN INDIAN EDUCATION

8/12/2019 EIGHT PROBLEMS IN INDIAN EDUCATION

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3/21/2014 Journal of American Indian Education-Arizona State University

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Journal of American Indian Education

Volume 10 Number 1October 1970

EIGHT PROBLEMS IN INDIAN EDUCATION

Alonzo Spang

The accompanying article was adapted from a speech given by Alonzo Spang at the Wyoming Indian Education Conference in Lander,Wyoming, in the fall of 1969. Mr. Spang is well-known In Arizona and western Indian education circles, and has contributed to the

Journal of American Indian Education several times.

HISTORICALLY, three systems have served the educational needs of Indians: Bureau of Indian Affairsschools, parochial or mission schools and public schools. Recently, through the Office of EconomicOpportunity, the tribes themselves established a fourth s chool sys tem, primarily in the Headstart Program.

These systemsstill involved in attempting to better the lot of the Indianhave had much experience in prov iding programs to meet Indians needs and have been in the bus iness o f education on and off reservationsfor many years. In spite of what they have attempted and of what contributions they have made, acute

prob lems exist in the Indian education field.

And Indian education will not progress, develop or evolve into a dynamic field unless the problems inherent init are identified and so lved.

In an analysis of the situation, I have categorized these problems into eight broad areas, from "lack of money"to "too many instant Indian experts."

Lack of money. By far one of the most pressing problems is the unavailability of money or inadequate fundingof Indian educat ion programs or sys tems. The demand far exceeds the s upp ly, and available monies are only for the most basic educational needs of the students . . . "the traditional curriculum." Very small amounts, if any,

are available for innovative programs and ideas .Without adequate funding, the ideology and philosophy of Indian education become so many words. Theconcept of Indian education faces a bleak future characterized by stagnation, insensitivity, inadequate facilitiesand personnel. Is this what we educators wish to be contented with?

The irrelevant curricula. jus t what do we mean by the o ften-repeated phrase, irrelevant cu rricula? My definitionis that it is schools no t do ing their job in meeting the needs of their studentsespecially Indian students. Thisarea encompass es four necessary corrections.

An Indian student presently is subjected to an educational system geared to the needs of the non-Indianstudent without any concern to unique problems and background of the Indian. Yes, the Indian must live in thewhite mans world, but if he is to become a productive member of the human race, the schools must develop

pro grams to meet his needs.

The American school curricula stresses values in direct contrast with the values held, in varying degrees, bythe Indian. Such highly esteemed values as agressiveness, competition, individual personal gain, out-smartingyour fellow man, and verbal ability and agility are taught the non-Indian youngster from the time he is able tocomprehend. These values become the foundations of the American educational system. Thus, the Indianstudent is thrown into a foreign situationhe has no experiential background comparable to it andconsequently, retardation is "built into" the educational program as far as the Indian is concerned.

Another aspect is the stress of the English language in the system. If educators would recognize that theEnglish language is not the mother tongue of most Indian students, educational programming could becomemore relevant, meaningful and rewarding to the Indian s tudent,
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If curriculum experts would include courses reflecting the positiveness of the Indians contributions to thegreater society, another correction would be made. It is not difficult to understand why the average Indianstuden t has a negative self-concept: he is taught in a foreign classroom, by a teach er who is literally a foreigner,and in a foreign language that he comes from a people who were bloodthirsty, marauding killers, and that theonly good Indian is a dead Indian. Correct this image by eliminating these teachings, and replacing them withmore positive characteristics.

Education has directly contributed to the destruction of the institution of the family among Indians: Toillustrate this engu lfment rather than bridgment of parent and child, let me give the following example.

Fifth graders are studying the atom or atom bomb and its effect on society as a whole. If the Indian child seeksto understand the concept of the atom more fully in an inquiry at home, he will discover that his parents areunable to help him gain that understanding because there is no concept paralleling the atom in the Indianlanguage. Instead of help or clarification, the child may receive some type of scolding. In the case of the non-Indian child, the parents may not know the answer, but they have other resources to which to turnaneighbor, a set of reference books, a nearby library. Thus, the Indian child begins to question the intelligence of his parents, and when this happ ens, the parental role is threatened and weakened. This weakening continues asthe child progresses through school because the parent falls further behind, as he is not keeping up with hischild. Destruction of the family inst itution is therefore has tened .

Lack of qualified Indians in Indian education. By far the most glaring p roblem is the acute shortage of qualifiedIndians in Indian education. Materialistic gains, incentives and opportunities entice the qualified Indianeducator away from this challenging field. There is much hard work and many challenges in Indian education:isolation, poor or inadequate facilities, eager but academically deprived students, but ones ingenuity,creativity, patience and forbearance are put to a real test in facing these and other challenges. If Indianeducation is to meet the needs of the students, if it is to have the sensitivity required, if it is to be dynamic andviable, it must have more qualified Indian educatorsit mus t reach the s tage wherein it will challenge the Indianeducator to take up arms to join its ranks and to improve its lot.

Insensitive school personnel. It is tragic that this exists in the 20 th Century. Too many administrators andteachers are not knowledgeable about the American Indian. Whether it is attributable to apathy, indifference or design does not less en the problem. If schoo l personnel are truly educators, it behooves them to learn aboutthe people they are teaching: To fail in this task is to fail to educate. The burden of this responsibility restssquarely on the s houlders of the educator, and the exercise of that responsibility is long overdue.

Differing expectations of education programs. As noted in the section on irrelevant curricula, the Americaneducational system is foreign in concept, principle and objective to the Indian student. The thinking, attitudesand experiences of the non-Indian are the bas e of the value structure rather than the as pects of Indian culture.Thus the edu cational perspectives of the Indian are not considered. The Indian views education as providinghim with immediate practical skills and tools, not a delayed achievement of goals or as means for a future gain.

Lack of involvement in and control of educational matters. The Indian has not b een able to express h is ideas onschool programming or educational decision-making. When they have been expressed, his participation has

been limited and restricted. If p roblems in Indian education are to be reso lved, the Indian citizen mus t becomeinvolved. He needs to have more control in the programs to which his children are exposed, to have a say inwhat types of courses are in the curriculum, to help hire teachers, to establish employment policies and

pract ices, and all o f the other responsibilities ves ted in school administrationthat of being on a Board of Education. There are working examples of Indian-controlled school boards. These dynamic systems point upthe fact that Indians can handle school matters. It is time that more Indians became invo lved in such cont rol.

Difficulties of students in higher education. Colleges and universities need to establish programs which candeal effectively with the problems and needs of the Indian studentif he is to remain in school. In general, theIndian student has an inadequate educational background as he may have been looked upon as less thancollege material in high school. He has unus ual adjustment p roblems and u sually inadequate financial help. It istime that more colleges and universities attempt to solve these development factors and provide a moresuccessful educational experience for the Indian student.

Too many instant-Indian education experts. To the detriment of Indian education and its growth, each day


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sprouts more "instant Indian education experts," who do more damage than good. Usually, these experts haveall the answers: they have completely identified the problems and have formulated solutions, but they leave itto the Indian to implement. Again, the Indian is given something to implement which he has had no part informulating. These experts usually depend on superficial, shallow studies done in one visit to a reservation or school, or they depend on one or two conferences with Indians who have little or no knowledge of the critical

prob lems confronting the Indian generally. Indian education can well do witho ut these experts who cannot bereasoned with or who feel they know what is bes t for the Indian.

There may be other factors which contribute to the problems of Indian education, but these eight areas are, I

think, contributing to the s ituation wherein Indian education is not realizing its full development.

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EIGHT PROBLEMS IN INDIAN EDUCATION