Native American Studies in Higher Education

In this collection, Champagne and Stauss demonstrate how the rise of Native studies in American and Canadian universities exists as an extraordinary achievement in higher education. In the face of historically assimilationist agendas, institutional racism, and structural opposition by Western educational institutions, collaborative programs continue to grow and promote the values and goals of sovereign tribal communities. The contributors show how many departments grew significantly following the landmark 1969 Senate report, 'Indian Education: A National Tragedy, A National Challenge.' They evaluate the university efforts to offer Native students intellectual and technical skills, and the long battle to represent Native cultures and world views in the university curriculum. In twelve case studies, Indian and non-Indian teachers provide rich, contextual histories of their programs through three decades of growth. They frankly discuss successes and failures as innovative strategies and models are tested. Programs from University of California-Davis, Harvard, Saskatchewan, Arizona and others provide detailed analyses of academic battles over curriculum content, the marginalization of indigenous faculty and students, the pedagogical implications of integrating native instructors, the vagaries of administrative support and funding, Native student retention, the vulnerability of native language programs, and community collaborations. A vision of Indian education that emerges from these pages that reveals the university's potential as a vehicle for Indian nation-building, one in which the university curriculum also benefits from sustained contacts with tribal communities. As Native populations grow and the demand for university training increases, this book will be a valuable resource for Native American leaders, educators in Native American studies, race and ethnic studies, comparative education, minorities in education, anthropology, sociology, higher education administration and educational policy.

In this collection, Champagne and Stauss demonstrate how the rise of Native studies in American and Canadian universities exists as an extraordinary achievement in higher education. In the face of historically assimilationist agendas and institutional racism, collaborative programs continue to grow and promote the values and goals of sovereign tribal communities. In twelve case studies, the authors provide rich contextual histories of Native programs, discussing successes and failures and battles over curriculum content, funding, student retention, and community collaborations. It will be a valuable resource for Native American leaders, and educators in Native American studies, race and ethnic studies, comparative education, anthropology, higher education administration and educational policy.

Booknews

Thirty-three academics from the U.S. and Canada discuss the formation of American Indian studies programs in mainstream universities over the past 30 years. Coverage includes the origination of the programs, their relations with the Indian community, financial and administrative relations with their university administration, contributing factors to their successes and setbacks, specific courses offered, and the philosophy for Indian studies. The 12 case studies detail several specific programs, including Dartmouth, U. of California-Davis, UCLA, Harvard, U. of Alaska-Anchorage, U. of Minnesota-Duluth and Twin Cities, U. of Oklahoma, U. of Arizona, U. of North Carolina-Pembroke, Trent U., and Saskatchewan Indian Federated College. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Duane Champagne is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Native Nations Law and Policy Center at the University of California, Los Angeles. Jay Stauss is Professor of Anthropology the Department of American Indian Studies at the University of Arizona.