DOCUMENT RESUME ED 34Z 761 RC 018 620 AUTHOR Paul, …*Culturally Relevant Curriculum. ABSTRACT. The expansion of early childhood education for American Indians and Alaska Natives

DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 34Z 761 RC 018 620

AUTHOR Paul, Alice S.TITLE Early Childhood Education in American Indian and

Alaska Native Communities.SPONS AGENCY Department of Education, Washington, DC. Indian

Nations At Risk Task Force,PUB DATE 91

NOTE 19p.; In: Indian Nations At Risk Task ForceCommissioned Papers. See RC 018 612.

PUB TYPE Information Analyses (070)

EDRS PRICE MF01/PC01 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS Alaska Natives; *American Indian EUucation; Bilingual

Education; Child Development; Cultural Awareness;*Early Childhood Education; Educational Strategies;Parent Participation; *Parent School Relationship;*School Community Relationship; *Young Children

IDENTIFIERS *Culturally Relevant Curriculum

ABSTRACTThe expansion of early childhood education for

American Indians and Alaska Natives has reflected the trend in thelarger society. While efforts are being made to improve earlychildhood care and, education for all children, deeper issues must beconsidered by Native Americans. First among them is the long historyof forced assimilation and attempted acculturation of NativeAmericans into the mainstream society. Native American children mustbe allowed to maintain their Native identities and retain the uniquestrengths embedded in their cultures. Programs for young Nativechildren must be designed within the context of each child's culture,home language, and family..Succ:essful programs encourage parentinvolvement, use parents and community members as resources, offerparents educational opportunities, and link home learning with schoollearnin The current definition of readiness focuses the blame forearly school failure on the child. Instead, schools should supportthe culturally bound and individually determined readiness skillswith which children come to school. Additional strategies for earlychildhood programs are: involving the community in curriculumdevelopment and educational policy formation; training more Nativeteachers and administrators through incentives and alternativecertification procedures; supporting socioculturally relevantevaluation including cultural awareness courses in teacher training;hiring Native aides; increasing Head Start availability; andpromoting Native language use. This paper contains 115 references.(SV)

************************************R**********************************Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made

from the original document.********************x**************************************************

Early Childhood Education in American Indianand Alaska Native Communities

Alice S. PaulThe University of Arizona

IntroductionEarly childhood education for American In-

dians and Alaska Natives has not been a financialpriority among the vast needs of health, housing,drug abuse, school dropout, and building aneconomic base among most American Indian tribesand Alaska Native communities. Early childhoodeducation, however, has not been a federal finan-cial priority for the country at large until recenttimes when the increased need for early care andeducation has literally forced an expansion be-cause of the changes in American life that haveforced more women into the work force.

If it were not for Head Start programs on manyreservations, there would be minimal, if any, or-ganized effort of early childhood education andchild care. Reservat as have reflected the largersociety's trends.

The growing need for early care and educationin today's society has also forced a refocusing onthe importance of quality child care and effectivepreschool programs. In November, 1990, the 101stCongress passed legislation addressing earlychildhood issues the first in 50 years (NAEYC,199ua). In addition, Head Start programs havebeen reauthorized at the highest funding levelever. The attempt is being made to provide fullfunding to serve all eligible three through five-year-olds by 1994 (NAEYC, 1990a, p. 1).

The President of the United States and theGovernors of each of the states met and proclaimedsix national performance goals for education. Theirfirst goal has strong implications for early care andeducation: "Goal 1 Readiness for School: By theyear 2000, all children in America will start schoolready to learn" (National Governors' Association,1990).

As the larger society moves forward in its ef-forts to improve conditions for child care andeducation for all children, there are deeper issuesthat must be considered by the American Indianand Alaska Native.

First among them is the long history of forcedassimilation and attempted acculturation of Na-tive Americans into the mainstream society (Paul

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& Van Otten, 1990). Schools and other institutionshave participated in this process which has beensingularly unsuccessful. Statistically, theAmerican Indians and Alaska Natives have beenthe least successful academically of all U.S.minorities. The Native American groups have alsoexperienced the highest school dropout rates,suicide rates, and teen pregnancy among all non-majority populations (Reeves, 1989).

The retaining of their culture has always beena critical concern for Native Americans. Historical-ly, the educational institutions have treated theAmerican Indians and Alaska Nutives as if theywere a part of the immigrant groups settling thecountry. However, it is a different issue from thatwhich was faced by immigrants who intentionallycame to this country and were anxious to be assimi-lated into the larger society. These groups wantedto come, rebuild their lives, and become part ofwhat is called the melting pot. Immigrant parentsencouraged their children to speak English andadopt the ways of the mainstream culture, thus theyoung people lost many of their traditions.American Indians and Alaska Natives have neverbeen a part of this immigrant movement. Instead,they were :forcibly relocated th: oughout thiscountry. As part of their history, they were isolatedon reservations and have endeavored to salvagetheir cultural integrity. Forced assimilation con-tinued in the boarding schools, where childrenwere sent to schools with different tribes andmixed together in an effort to assimilate them intothe mainstream society.. Because schools havefailed to "recognize the importance and validity ofthe Native community, both the commnnity and itschildren retaliated by treating the school as analien institution" (McDonald, 1989c, p. 12).

As Native people, we are at a point in ourhistory where we must join together, review, andmake changes that will give our children a morepositive self-image which is necessary for success.It is time for Native American people to collectivelyinsist that their children be allowed to maintaintheir identity as American Indian and Alaska Na-tive tribal members with unique strengths em-bedded in each culture. The acceptance by

2 BEST CUY AVAILABLE

Indians Nat'ons At Risk: Solutions for the 1990s

decision-makers that early intervention is betterand that reaching children at an earlier age willmake transition into a public school more success-ful must be questioned in the light of its costs toNative families Programs for young Nativechildren need to be designed within the context ofeach child's culture, home language and family.This cannot be done without community input andsupport.

'The first years of a child's learning experiencemust be connected to that with which he or she isfamiliar in order to build a foundation for a suc-cessful school experience" (Alaska Hearing,Sakeagak, 1990, p. 11).

To support the future of Am Irican Indian andAlaska Native children, we nu.st establish thisfoundation for their development . The foundationfor each person begins with one'.; own self-accep-tance.

1 agree with other Native educators that self-esteera is a key to healthy. well-adjustedNative students. 1 am strongly convincedthat a pre-requisite to self-esteem is a strongtribal identity, and tribal identity has to dowith language and culture. (Plains StatesHearing, Hart, 1990, p. 40)

Culture influences behavior and it affects howthe world is viewed.

All cl.ildren go through similar but criticaldevelopmental phases which reflect specificknowledv and skill held as milestones by eachculture for their children. Early childhood educa-tion literature supports the interdependence of thechild's physical, emotional, social, and intellectualdevelopment. The development that takes place foreach child evolves from the influences he/shereceives from family and environment. What ac-tually happens to children as they respond to theirenvironment and the people around them has al-ready been influenced by how a woman cares forherself before the baby is born and what we asadults do after a child is born. Parents recognizethat there are individual differences among theirchildren. Some of their children learn to talk ear-lier than others. Some of them learn to walk beforeothers. Some children start doing things later thanothers, but sill children develop human skills, ifthere is nothing dramatically wrong, and childrendo so at their own rate.

A very important developmental phase forAmeecan Indian and Alaska Native children issocial development. It is through social develop-ment, children learn about themselves and theirrelationship with other people. They learn how tobehave toward other children as well as the adultsaround them and the expectation of them in dif-ferent settings. These behaviors are learned within

2

the context of their culture. Children learn at ayoung age the expectations of relationships such asin relating to Elders.

A child's emotional development is greatly af-fected by how safe and secure he/she is made to feelwith the adults with whom they live and learn. Thelove and support that is shared with children iscritical to their sense of belonging to and accep-tance by their family and community.

The intellectual development of children is alsoinfluenced by a child's environment and the peoplearc und them. The way in which children perceivetheir world and how they understand and learnabout their world will depend on the adults aroundthem. One of the most important factors in thisphase of development is the learning of language.It is through language that we express ourthoughts, beliefs, values, and culture (PlainsStates Hearing, Hart, p. 40). It is through languagethat children come to understand the social expec-tations of their culture.

As children move from the home to wider socialsettings, such as the neighborhood and the school,the number of influences on the child has grownand may become different in view, practice, andlanguage. Up to now, the beginning experienceswith the transition from home to school for Nativechildren have, at best, been marked by very limitedsuccess. Efforts to provide the child with a strongfoundation for later school success have also beenlargely unsuccessful. The goals parents have fortheir children have not been realized nor has theschool been able to provide adequate preparationfor future school success or for later life produc-tivity.

The Formative Years of aChild Are Critical

Parents must begin to auk what is going tohappen to my child as they leave home at a youngerage and go to someone else for care? The develop-mental phases continue for young children, and ifwe regard the formative years of children's lives asbeing very critical, they become even more crucialwhen we begin to look at Native children who arecoming from their culture and moving to a culture,which may be different from that of home. Aschildren leave home, and this is more true fcyounger children, they will encounter increasinglymore influences from outside of the family. Thekinds of cultural values the family has may becomelost.

A Native American community must considerthe critical nature of the formative years for theirchildren. Early childhood development must be-come a priority focus for parents and educators

Early Childhood Education Alice S. Paul

whether the child is in the home or is in an or-ganized setting. What we must acknowledge is thatwhat happens to a child in the early years createsthe foundation from which he grows. If we makethe analogy in thinking about the foundations forbuildings; the stronger the base or foundation isthe stronger the building is going to be. Likewise,for a child, the stronger the foundation of theformative years, the stronger individual he or sheis going to be. We must then as parents and as acommunity raise the question of what kind of anindividual we want our children to become. Theattitudes and the values and all of the ways that achild thinks and accepts people and accepts hisview of life has to do with the kinds of seeds thatare planted early on. As Native people, each com-munity must decide what kind of adults they wanttheir children to become and then evaluate thegoals of the educational system that exist to see ifthey serve their purposes. If not, it is time tointervene.

As Native people within a larger society, wemust also remember that our children must be ableto live in two worlds and not become caught inbetween as has happened to too many of our tribalpeople. If we want tti build tribal identity withinour children, so they may grow knowing traditions,culture, history, and language, we must instill andmaintain the tribal language both in the home andat school.

What schools have been doing is forcingchildren from their own Native language into theEnglish language, then leaving the responsibilityto the home to maintain the Native language. Thisbecomes a very critical issue when you talk aboutearly childhood because children must have astrong grasp of their Native language by the timethey are three years old. If not, they may lose it asthey move into an English-speaking world, espe-cially if the Native language is not supported,encouraged, and used by the school or in the home.Traditionally, parents of school-aged children havebeen discouraged from using their Native languageat home, in favor of English. Losing the homelanguage moves children away from their Native-speaking Elders and their traditional practices andbeliefs.

The school has been sending the message thatchildren must change and must learn the languageof the school. It has been reinforcing this messageby favoring children who do that. Instead teacherscould be saying to a child:

I wish I could speak two languages like youdo. You have a language at home and youhave so much information in that language.learning from your parents and

grandparents. I only have this one languagethat I use in school.

A teacher can help children to understand thatthey come from a rich cultural background, andthat their Native languages are different, but thatthey are equal. Children need to know that it isadvantag3ous to have more than one language(Plains Hearing, Aired, 1990; Hart, 1990). Theyneed to know that knowing two languages givesthem two ways to view the world.

Strategies for Developmentallyand Culturally AppropriateEarly Childhood EducationIn every early childhood setting, research sup-

ports the active involvement ofyoung children withtheir environment. Research also supports that itis important to make things relevant to children asillustrated by moving from the familiar to the lessfamiliar. Adults caring for young children shouldhelp children explore their surroundings as well ashelp them use the many creative arts which allchildren enjoy. All of these activities and more likethem can take place in both the Native languageand the language of the school. Ideally, theyounger-aged children should be taught in theirhome language.

Young children profit from being talkedwith, read to, and being permitted to ex-plore their world. There is no reason whysuch activities cannot take place in thecontext of home and school in their Nativelanguage.Young children need to hear about theimportant events which constitute the his-tory of their family and tribe. They need tounderstand the origins of and experiencetheir own traditions before learning aboutHalloween or St. Patrick's Day.American Indians and Alaska Nativesshare a long history of oral traditionthrough legends and folklore. This has his-torically been the means of preserving in-formation. Oral storytelling by Elders,parents, teachers, and other communitymembers is still a way of sharing valuesand traditions with young children by theadults who care for them.Young children possess a natural curiositythat can be nurtured through their sensesby studying their physical surroundingssuch as the plants, rocks, and vegetationwithin their immediate surroundings.

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Indians Nations At Risk: Solutions for the 1990s

Every culture also has its unique art andmusic form which young children can beintroduced to and come to appreciate.Even very young children can come to ap-preciate, respect, and take pride in theirown culture, this effort will later help themto understand others who may have dif-ferent cultural traditions.In multicultural settings, young childrencan also be helped to expand their culturalunderstandings through sharing their ownunique experiences.

Early intervention for American Indians andAlaska Natives should not result in the loss of thechild's home language and culture.

Cultural-based curriculum can be intro-duced at any grade le% el, although it is bestto introduce such information early in achild's development. ... It is more natural forchildren to learn positive or at least neutralfacts about American Indian \Alaska Nativegroups on an ongoing, preferably daily, basisthan to study them for but one day or oneweek out of the school year. (NEA, 1983, p.15)

Parents Aid in Bridging theGap between Home and School

One of the most important issues in Nativeeducation in general and in early education inparticular is the nature of the relation ship betweenthe parents and the educators. However, Dr. Swan,a Native American educator from Rocky BoySchool in Montana, states that, "Parent involve-ment seems to be the #1 problem that surfaces inany survey of Indian Education" (High PlainsHearing, 1990, p. 6).

The whole issue of early childhood educationcannot be discussed without consideration of thefamily. The notion of education being what hap-pens in school and not what happens at home hasto be modified. The parents response to schoolreflects their acceptance or rejection of what hap-pens at school.

Successful programs such as Head Start andFollow Through encourage parents to become in-volved in the school. One of the biggest issues,however, is, "How can we get parents, many ofwhom work full time, involved in their child'sschool program."

Unfortunately, there are very few successstories of parents and educators working togethereffectively which we can point to for guidance andinsight. As Polly Greenberg, the editor of theNAEYC Journal, in reporting on parent programs

observed of this issue, "Nationwide there are onlya handful of schools that exemplify maximumfeasible parent participation or even approach sig-nificant levels of involvement" (1989, p. 74). Thereare a handful of exemplary American Indian andAlaska Native programs where we can learn thelessons of' the power of parents as a resource andthe ways in which this resource can be harnessed.

One such exemplary program is the WoundedKnee School in Manderson, South Dakota. At theirelementary school, the attendance rate of1989 was97.8 percent. Charlotte Black Elk, a school boardmember, claims that, "We have done this by includ-ing parents as a key part of the programs. Eachparent is required to spend a certain amount oftime in their child's classroom" (High Plains Hear-ing, 1990, p. 6). She goes on to explain that such ahigh rate of parental participation is possible be-cause of the compactness and smallness of thecommunity which allows them to "draw on thetalents within the community and do innovativeprograms" (p. 6).

Another example of a successful program whichdraws on the parents as a resource is the Red LakeSchool in Minnesota. The high school has an in-school day care and pre-school for the children ofthe teen parents. This program has not only beensuccessful in keeping young parents in school, butit has also successfully adapted the extended fami-ly model to the school setting. Grandparents arehired te work in the day care center an the pre-school where the teaching is in both English andOjibwa. The young parents are required to take atleast two courses related to family and parentingand the Elders are used to help teach these courses.This is truly an example of using the parents andgrandparents as a resource in a way that is cul-turally compatible with the traditional extendedfamily learning model of this Native Americancommunity.

The need to bring home and school together isimp() -tent and needs to be considered so by parentsand employers. Mostjobs on and off the reservationgrant parents sick leave and time off to vote.Parents should be able to initiate a day off whichwill allow them to visit their young children'sschool without penalty. This is of high value andan important investment. Not every parent hes tovisit at the same time, but the value of visitingschool should be supported and/or mandated in thecommunity.

A key underlying tenant of American Indianand Alaska Native culture is the importance offamily relationships. The majority of families havevery strong family ties. Some of this strength hasbeen lost because of the forced relocations and


economic associations that American Indians anci.Alaska Natives have had to make, but when main-tained to any degree, there is a very strong ex-tended family tie that exists. Nurturing thisGoncept must become a priority.

If, as Native people, we want children to growand to value their immediate and extended family,then we must continue to support family experien-ces outside of the home. This can be done bydeveloping a parent connection with the school.The parent and the school, both, must not seethemselves as a separate entity, but they mustwork cooperatively and collaboratively in rearingand educating young children. The school andparents must work in concert with each otherrather than at cross purposes. Communities mustinsist upon and initiate such a relationship ifquality early care and education is to happen out-side the home.

A related issue to the efforts of utilizing parentsin early schooling and regular school programs isthe policy of desegregation. For Native Americansliving in urban settings, the civil rights initiativesto desegregate our city schools has often had theeffect of isolating Native American students. InMinneapolis, where there are only approximately600 Native American students, the number ofstudents at any one school became so small thatthe students and families felt isolated and thedelivery of educational services intended specifi-cally for Native American students became dif-ficult. As Charlotte Black Elk pointed out, theconcentration of a community makes it possible forparents and community experts to participate inthe educational program of their children in a moreconsistent and meaningful way. Not surprisingly,some of tho most successful urban educationalprograms are Native American magnet schoolswhich have b.:ten able to assemble a critical massof Native American students and families for thepurposes of shaping, influencing, and participatingin the educational process (Great Lakes Hearing,Tanner, 1990, pp. 57-58).

There is ample evidence that involving parentsof children in school increases their chances ofsuccess (Burgess, 1982; Henderson, 1987; NationAt Risk, 1983; Wells, 1986). This evidence supportsa position of tht'school respecting the home cultureand asking the community to participate becausethey see the community as a resource of informa-tion that the teachers perhaps don't have. The childthen recognizes that the home culture is valuedand respected. In this context, schools andteachers, in particular, need to examine what kindof messages they are relaying to children, par-ticularly very young children. "I'here is a lack of

56

understanding of the Indian ways, which in turnleads into a problem with parental involvement"(Plains Hearing, Huston, 1990, p. 24).

The gap that has existed for too long betweenhome and school must be closed in order forAmerican Indian and Alaska Native children tosuccessfully move back and forth between homeand school. The following strategies will help buildthe links between home and early childhood educa-tion programs.

It must be acknowledged that parents aretheir children's first teachers, and thehome is the first center of development.Bridging school experiences with home ex-periences is a cornerstone commitment toearly childhood education. (TEEM, 1989,

1)P.

Parent participation in decision-makingregarding educational, health, or com-munity policy for their children must be-come a collaborative effort with the school.Parents must be involved in both planningand implementing school programs by be-coming full partners with the school.Parents must become resources and com-munity participation must be encouragedin order to maintain cultural influence ontheir children and to preserve tribal tradi-tions.

Finally, it seems that not only do preschools andpublic schools have to successfully solicit parentinvolvement, but they must also offer the parentseducational and self-improvement opportunities(Eastern Regional Hearing, Fowler, 1990, p. 26).Many early education literacy researchers arepointing to the critical factor of parent literacylevel in predicting the literacy success of the childas support for parent literacy school programs(Burgess, 1983; Leler, in press; Swift, 1970). TheColville Tribes of Washington State have usedTitle V funds to increase their parents literacy skilllevels and also to train the parents in specificstrategies for helping their children with schoolwork. This has helped them bring many of theirstudents up to grade level (Aripa, 1990).


Challenge for the EarlyChildhood .

Education Programs:Accommodating Diverse

American Indian andAlaska Native Children

In helping the home and school to come closertogether, teachers need to be reeducated. In thepast, schools have often been patronizing towardparents. Teachers have been led to undervalue theknowledge of parents and the importance of theparents' role in the educational process. There aremany missing pieces in the teacher's educationregarding some of the strategies that they can useto encourage parent participation. It is important,for instance, for teachers to meet parents; to walkhome with a child; to want to meet and get ac-quainted with the rest of the family; to be able togo into a home and be welcomed as a person whois sharing in the education of their child.

In urban areas where a teacher does not alwayslive in the community, it is more difficult fnr thisto happen. But even in city neighborhood schools,inservice days or release time should be set asideso that teachers can visit the homes of their stu-dents. When the teachers live in a reservationcommunity, they need to become part of that com-munity. It is up to the school then to have anongoing process, to make it a viable option forteachers to become merabers of the community.The schools should actually encourage support ofand participation in community activities by theirteachers. In the past, the teachers have not reallybeen encouraged to participate in some of the ac-tivities that the community holds.

In an urban setting teachers may have only oneor two Native children who may not even live in thesame neighborhood, but nonetheless are in theclass. They may be from different tribes, but theteacher still needs to also find out what kinds ofresources those children have access to and whatkinds of experiences they have had. The teachermust find out about them, not necessarily to teachthe whole class, but to help herself and the childrento become closer, so that she can reach out to meettheir needs. Their needs are going to be differentfrom students in the mainstream culture. Thereare also Native children who have only been raisedin an urban setting and who may have only limitedexperiences and knowledge of their culture's tradi-tional lifestyle. Conversely, other children are ac-tually continuing the trek back and forth fromurban settings to the reservations to maintaintheir traditions. The parents of these children maytake the time from work, take the children out of

school, and participate in certain critical tradition-al activities or ceremonies. They feel that it isvaluable enough to remove the child ta do this andthe school needs to respect their actions. When thistraditional upbringing is valued by the parents, itshould be encouraged by the school. For the childwho may not have much information about his/herown cultural traditions, it is very critical that theteacher begin to find and introduce informationand cultural resources to the child. Material isavailable about tribal groups and about the varioustribal traditions. Teachers may consider takingfield trips to visit a school setting with a highNative population, inviting groups from the reser-vation to visit a class, or exchanging letters with areservation class.

On the reservation it would be helpful for newteachers to be able to meet with parents of youngchildren and do some exchanging of informationbefore a child comes to school. The parent does notalways have to come to the school. The school couldgo to the parent. Meetings could be set up with twoor three people at a time for sharing and exchang-ing. This will help both parties decide what isneeded for their children. Conferencinginfonnallyon a small group or one-to-one basis can beprofitable. Robert Jones of the BLM Partnershipprogram stated, "Our experience with one-to-onework with parents of Native students has beenvery successful" (Alaska Hearing, 1990, p. 40).

A kindergarten teacher in the Juneau tes-timony discussed why a strong outreach effort isneeded from the teachers and the school. Manytimes schools expect the parents to make all theeffort. Elizabeth Hope says, "It is the teacher's jobto play a larger role in the public outreach" (AlaskaHearing, 1990, p.51). By simply endorsing the useof the school site for community events and meet-ings, the school would become more linked with thecommunity (NEA, 1983). Where this kind of com-mitment occurs, the community sees the schoolmore positively.

One difficulty in hiring and keeping goodteachers on reservation schools is culture shockfor the teacher. The reservation is a different worldfor non-Native teachers. It would help teachers ifthey becan,d a part of the community, because theywould get to see and know the parents. Instead,reservation teachers often live in a compoundwhere they actually isolate themselves from thecommunity. The Native families must in turn ac-cept teachers into the community. Sometimesthere are barriers that are built unintentionally.Many well meaning, talented people who havegone on reservations to teach, have not been suc-cessful because they have not taken advantage of

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the opportunity they have to really get to knuw thepeople.

Too often teachers begin teaching without theorientation and information they need to workwithin a reservation school system. Their own setideas regarding the educational process may nottake into consideration the cultural values of thecommunity, nor are they familiar with seasonalactivities of the children and the community. Whenteachers don't feel comfortable, they tend to isclatethemselves within their own teacher cliques. Thispresents a dilemma for parents who would like tomeet them. One suggestions from the hearingsincluded that: "All teachers in villages receive in-tense voss-cultural training, like the Peace Corps,so that they can understand the Native language,culture, and history (Alaska Hearing, Wulf-Shir-cel, 1990, p. 15).

The school will never really know if there is adiscontinuity between what they are teaching andwhat the children bring with them unless theyreallyknow what the community is about, what thepeople are about what the values are (NorthwestHearing, Hampton, 1990). Only this kind of effortwill help to do away with the discontinuity betweenthe value systems and the different views thatpeople have who come from outside (Cazden, 1982;Hartle-Shutte, 1988).

Sometimes teachers see their job narrowly,only in terms of school achievement, as opposed tothinking about building a future for youngchildren. It is critical to the growth of students forteachers to realize that there are resources in thecommunity and that bringing in the community toshare some of their legends and some of tbe tradi-tions with the children is vital. Teachers n8ed totake advantage of the community resou rces.Schools need to identify and tap what Luis Moli haslabeled the "funds ofknowledge in the community"(1988). Most people are willing to come and help,if schools would go to them and say, "I know thatyou can do this. I know that you have this informa-tion. I know that you have a skill or talent. Wouldyou come and share it with my class?" Most Eldersand parents are willing to do that (Alaska Hearing,Armstrong, Wulf-Shircel, 1990). The elderly are anespecially rich resource (Alaska Hearing, Ander-son 1990; Plains Hearing, Onco, 1990).

Within the context of the setting of day care orHead Start preschools or public schools, particular-ly for reservation children, school personnel mustbring the community into the preschool. Ideally,you could go into the classroom and know whatcultural groups are represented within that groupof students. You should be able to look at theclassroom and the children and know you are on

the Apache Reservation or the Hopi Reservation orthat you are on the Tohono O'odham Reservation.The school should reflect the culture ofthe childrenthrough pictures and traditional kinds of artifactsthat say these are the things that are valued by thepeople in this community. You should be able to gointo the classroom and view a science table that hasthe things that grow locally and the things thatareout in the community that can be used. Anythingcan be used for scientific purposes if you are goingto look at it, break it, and examine it closer. Thechildren's work should be displayed. Whatever pic-tures are in the classroom environment shouldhave some resemblance to what is happening athome or in the community. There needs to be abalance in the classroom environment betweenwhat the community is about, what the teacher isteaching, and its relatedness to what is happeningto the children involved.

This is especially important for youngerchildren in preschools when there are very fewcontent areas that are covered in school which donot or cannot relate to what the children's ex-periences are. Teachers should be able to use aguide book and take the suggested example andtranslate it to relate to children in the community.If this is done by teachers and child care givers,along with providing models of the people like themfor their children, children will be more successfulin building a positive self-awareness and be moreaccepting of what we give them in school.

The National Association for the Education ofYoung Children maintains that, "Every child, ex-cept in the most severe instances of abuse, neglect,or disability, enters school ready to learn"(NAEYC, 1990b, p. 1). The NAEYC statement onreadiness goes on to identify the following threeareas which early childhood programs must ad-dress:

1. The societal inequities which affect thenature and quality of the child's early lifeexperiences must be balanced so that allchildren will have experiences which willlead to school success.

2. The individual differences inherent withinany group of children must be recognizedand fostered.

3. Age appropriate expectations for and un-derstanding of children's capabilities whenentering school must be established.

Our current definition of readiness focuses theblame for early school failure on the child througha deficit model. It neither takes into account thediffering range of experiences which children havehad nor the individual differences in aptitudes and

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interests of children. Frequently this becomes acase of blaming the victim, who may have hadlimited opportunity to engage in school readinessexperiences. The measures used to assess readi-ness have been faulty also, because of sometimesinappropriate identification of the essential readi-ness skills and the failure to allow for normalindividual variation in the rate of maturation andlearning. The NAEYC instead advocates thatschools do what Dewey suggested (Dewey, 1916),and meet the students where they are, develop-mentally and experientially, and then providethem with the experiences and guidance necessaryto help each child reach his or her full potential.

Perhaps the biggest readiness issue of an inNative American education is the ethnocentric na-ture of how we have defined and measured readi-ness. Our assumptions about which experiencesare valuable, which skills are necessary and whatknowledge is important for the young child arecultural ones, which may not have much validityfor cross-cultural and multi-cultural populations.Robert Lake, a member of the Cherokee andSeneca tribes and an associate professor at Gon-zaga University, makes the point when writingabout his own son's kindergarten experiences thatculturally different is by no means the sano asculturally disadvantaged (Lake, 1990). Unfor-tunately, his son's school and by, extension, ourpublic education system tends to label children as"not ready" or "slow learners" because theknowledge and skills which they enter school withare different from that which a middle-class childbriLgs to kindergarten. In Mr. Lake's and myopinion, it is the school's definition of and under-standing of readiness which must be changed andbroadened and not the culturally specificknowledge and skills which Native American pre-schoolers have acquired. Schools, beginning withreadiness, should not be in the business of compen-satory education, but instead they should bedesigned to enhance and support the culturallybound and individually determined readinessskills with which all children come to school. It isthe readiness skills and knowledge of the schoolsthat must be assessed, expanded, and improved.

At the Plains Regional Hearing (1990), KarenOnco presented a list of school readiness concernswith the following suggestions for strategies toaddress these concerns:

We need to prepare for school readinessthrough home support.We need preventive health screening foryoung preschool children.

We need transportation provision to helpget Indian children to Head Startprograms.

Children need more manipulative ex-periences as well as concrete-operationlearning using culturally-related cur-riculum.

We need the school environment to reflectthe nationality of the students in the class-room as well as teacher education in mul-ticultural education.We need Elders and parents to volunteerin preschool environments.We need culturally-related books andmaterial for home use. We also needprovisions for financial support to pur-chase materials and loan them for home-use. This would be a means of outreach toparents. (1990, p. 16)

The following are additional strategies forproviding successful early care and education:

Link home learning with school learning.Use Elders, parents and community mem-bers as a resource.Educate non-native teachers and ad-ministrators about the local tribes.Strong outreach efforts must be estab-lished by the schools.

Assist teachers in becoming aware andparticipating community members.Train more Native teachers and ad-ministrators by using alternative certifica-tion procedures.Promote, maintain and encourage Nativelanguage use, particularly with youngerchildren.Establish a culturally-based curriculumrelevant to the children being taught.Include cultural awareness courses inteacher training.Hire Native aides as language and culturalmodels but also train them in childdevelopment principles.

Increase Head Start availability for allwho wish to participate. "Parent incomelevel eligibility requirements for HeadStart should be less restrictive ... butshould be based on the community needsof the tribe/reservation" (Hearings Sum-mary, 1990, p. 11).

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Have communities involved in the develop-ment of curriculum.

The Community'sContribution to

Strong Early ChildhoodEducation

Exploring the community is a very importantaspect of any kind of teaching process that childrengo through. Parents initiate observation of theirenvironment, but the school needs to continue thisprocess.

MI a tribe, we pay tribute to the wisdom andvision of our Elders. They are our link to thepast. and they fought for our future. We alsolove and cherish our youth, for they are ourlink to the future. We think of ourselves as awhole, as a unified body. as a tribe, and thatis how we address our problems. (AlaskaHearing, Anderson, 1990, P. 16)

A common theme in the testimony and writingis the importance of developing more Nativeteachers and administrators (Great Lakes Hear-ing, DeCramer, 1990, p. 53; Northwest Hearing,Egawa, 1990, p. 27; Southwest Hearing, Nelson,1990, p. 29, Swisher, 1990, p. 9). Programs areneeded to encourage young people to go into thefield of education to be teachers. Also, alternativeprograms for teacher certification, or certifying theElders for the knowledge that they have and lettingthem work with the children would be beneficial topreschools especially (Great Lakes Hearing, Gipp,1990, p. 13; Nerburn, p. 18).

Another critical element of a successful educa-tional program is helping children to understandthat they have choices. Occasionally there aresome extremes when we talk about consequences,but it is not usually in relationship to good or bad;instead it is more often a case of looking at alter-native ways of approaching some sort of a task. Avery important strategy in working with NativeAmericans is that teachers must develop morethan one approach to any kind of task. Teachersmust see children as being unique, as being in-dividual, and having different styles of learning.Thus, there will to be alternative ways for childrento complete a task, no matter how small a task maybe: "... Incorporate a variety of teaching styles andmethodologies that coincide with American Indianand Alaska Native students background" (NEA,1983, p. 39, 42; Northwest Hearing, Davis, 1990).

Choice is something that is a part of the unwrit-ten curriculum which is essential for people tomaster so that they can succeed as part of thelarger society. This process begins in a child's

home. An example is with children at mealtime.Parents say, "You may have corn flakes; you mayhave Cheerios; or you may have shredded wheat."What they are really saying to the child is "You'regoing to have some cereal this morning, but yourchoice is among these three." Thus the child is ableto decide, "Okay, I want Cheerios," and they havemade a choice. They have practiced making achoice, and the parent still has had jurisdictionover what that child is going to eat. Food may notbe the best kind of example if there is not muchvariety available, but you can practice in othersituations with children, such as at bedtime. Forinstance, reminding a child that it is close to bed-time and bathtime and they may choose to have astory read or maybe a snack before bathtime orafter bathtime, then off to bed is the expectationthat is set.

One consequence affecting the role of parentingis the experiences many American Indian and Na-tive Alaska parents had attending boarding school.There students were told when to get up, when toeat, when to study, when they could leave campus,and when they could have visitors. Basically, alldecisions were made for them. At the end of theirstay, students were turned loose and told, "Now,you're on your own." As students they had limitedopportunity to make many decisions. One does noteasily make big decisions wisely unless oppor-tunities have been provided to exercise judgmentwhile making choices and looking at alternatives.In many cities where there are large Nativepopulations, Native Americans have developed In-dian Centers (Great Lakes Hearing, 1990;Northwest Hearing, 1990, p. 2). Within the contextof that Indian Center they have chosen to sharesome of their experiences as members of differenttribes and have discovered the commonalitiesamong them. In these urban settings, inter-tribalcommunities are formed through the sharing ofpotluck dinners, talking about recent visits home,or discussing what is happening to them as afamily in the context of the city. These relation-ships and alliances can serve as stabilizing factors.The Indian Center is one place where different agegroups can get together. They have programs forvery young children, for the adults, and for theelderly. Adult interaction can be directed at train-ing for specific skills or simply gaining neededinformation, in terms of exchanging informationabout raising children, health issues, or nutrition.

The Circle of Learning, located in Denver, is achildren and family services program that focuseson nurturing the Native child, parents ar I family(Harjo & Russell, 1990). Client services includeearly childhood education classes for children ages

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2 112 to 5 years old, in-home instruction for children0-5, and parent education classes. The project wasdeveloped in response to the expressed need of theDenver Native community for an opportunity toparticipate more fully in the larger society and stillretain their roots and cultural heritage (NationalAdvisory Council on Indian Education, 1989, p.127).

Just as traditions were relayed orally in thepast, Natives still come together to share informa-tion and tradition through talking together. Shar-ing does not necessarily have to be in a formalinstitutional setting. It is vital for parents to haveopportunities for this supportive interaction in theurban centers, particularly, because the extendedfamily support system is less likely to be present.

The meeting of specific Native communityneeds is often affected by the overlappingjurisdic-tion of various agencies that exists on a reserva-tion. When asking parents to take part in makingdecisions, we need to think about the economy inpersonal terms: where parents are making a living;what it is they are doing with their children intrying to get them educated, i.e, whether the stateor the tribe or the government has made theprovision for the schooling of children; and whatkind of messages are being sent to them by multi-ple agencies as a family.

The economic resource, such as a BIA school orgovernment agency does provide positive economiccontributions to the reservation. On the otherhand, the same agency may be a destructive forcein terms of maintaining the culture; the com-munity has to weigh these benefits against thecosts when considering what is best for the tribe,particularly the future of young children. Thepeople are reluctant to change the status quo,because it is their source of income. However, theeconomic support might be from an institution thatis working to eliminate the language and cultureor exert force in that direction in order to facilitatesome of the changes that as an agency it is tryingto make (McDonald, 1989b).

The goals set by Native communities, however,will not be reached without help, support, andcommitment. The schools must come to acknow-ledge, respect, and understand the child's lan-gmage, culture, and community. Through parentalinsistence there must be incorporation of culturalinformation and values in the curriculum.American Indian and Alaska Native communitiesmust contribute to the development of policies andpractices. The Bureau of Indian Affairs, at thispoint, is turning over its responsibility to some ofthe different tribes. The tribes are taking oversome of the functions or policy setting roles that

the Bureau has had in the past. This is a step inthe right direction. Tribes are beginning to buildcommunity and tribal schools and implementsome of the policies that they want for theirchildren and tribal group. Community schools arewhat many Native parents view as a possibleanswer to their frustration with the public schoolsystem. It is here that they view a better system of"Indian" education. The expectation must be therefor a culturally congruent curriculum, caring andnurturing staff, individualized learning, and anenvironment where the Native student will wantto succeed and develop their full potential (Martin,1990). A major way to accomplish this task is byhelping young American Indians and Alaska Na-tives to become teachers, leaders, and ad-ministrators (NEA, 1990). This can only happen iffrom the beginning of their schooling the youngchildren are taught the language and traditions oftheir culture.

Another way of providing continuity is for thecommunity is to take charge of the school. It willthen be the community providing the continuity,and the teacher will be a resource or specialist whocomes in to teach in the community's school. Thecontinuity will exist if it is the community whichdesigns the curriculum and if the curriculumreflects the community's vision of what thechildren are to become. In this model it is not ascritical for a teacher to stay a certain length oftime,because the community will be the backbone of theschool. Communities must recognize that they, andthey alone, have this power and are the ones thateither exercise it or do not. Successful NativeAmerican educational programs are found only inthe places where communities have exercised thispower (NEA, 1983, p. 49).

There must be trust between the communityand the teachers so that the teachers can considerthemselves the advisers and the parents will be theones who should be deciding the curriculum (GreatLakes Hearing, Christensen, 1990, p. 52). Theteachers are the specialists with some knowledge,but the parents and community should be control-ling the process and asking for the advice that theywant for their purposes. "Explore what NativeAmericans see as the purpose of education. Whatare the aspirations the communities have for theirchildren" (Alaska Hearing, Arnold, 1990, p. 46).

Various service agencies that are funded to helpfamilies, often become entities into themselves,and do not necessarily serve families as a whole.Often parcAts have a complex, confus.ng networkthey have to go through instead of being able to goto one agency and say, "These are the kinds ofthings that I need for my family.' Needs may be

10 1 1


in terms of financial assistance, whether it beclothing, medical assistance, or pre-natal care. Inthe rural areas, in particular, there ought to be oneplace where families could go and request services.When there are people specializing in specificareas, they ought to be available to serve a family.This combined effort could reduce administrativecosts, and the money could be spent to help provideservice people. Differing needs of the communityand the families must be considered in thisdecision-making (Eastern Hearing, Johnson, 1990,p. 24).

Services are provided in Head Start for preven-tive efforts, so that children are diagnosed early ifthey need assistance, i.e., vaccinations, hearingaids, dietary needs. Parents who do not have theseservices for their children should be alerted as towhere their children may receive these services.

Pre-natal care, especially for teenage girls inhigh school, is crucial for the baby as well as themother. If they do become pregnant, young womenshould not be left to fend for themselves. Thefamily or an agency should bring them in, ratherthan wait for the pregnant teen to come, and thecomumnity must say, "You need to take care ofyourself. Here are some things that you will needto do." There are enough organizations that everyyoung person should know another adult who couldfind someone to fulfill critical needs. In addition tothe need for prenatal care for young parents, theimportance of teenage Native parents receivingtraining in parenting skills must also be recog-nized (Hearings Summary, 1990, p. 11). UsingElders to work with young parents can be benefi-cial to all involved.

Whiteriver Elementary School in the Apachecommunity of Whiteriver, Arizona, has linked so-cial service agencies and schools from Head Startto high school with parent involvement and parenteducation programs. A unique component uf thiscomprehensive program is a special parentingclass for high school students. This program offersparenting skills to teenage mothers and to youngwomen, who as a result of participation in theprogram often decide to wait a few years beforehaving children (White, 1990).

In the Alaskan testimony it was mentioned thatone of the main reasons communities want earlychildhood care is so that the young teenage parentscan go back to school and finish their education(Anderson, 1990, p. 17).

Every community is different, so that it is veryimportant that every community take a look at whothey are, what services they have, and how theymight work together. Because funding is generally

being reduced, the services could be maintainedwith a careful collaborative effort among agencies.

A Promising Model forEvaluation

In a 1989 report by Native educators titled, OurVoices, Our Vision, the effects of research andpublication on American Indian and Alaska Nativeculture is discussed.

As a result of racism, greed, and distortedperceptions of native realities. Indian cultureas an economic commodity has been ex-ploited by the dominant society with consid-erable damage to Indian people. Tdbalpeople need to safeguard the borders of theircultural domains against research andpublishing projects. (1989. p. 6)

There should be a similar safeguard for evalua-tion of early childhood education. As Tigges andZastrow say:

Evaluators frequently find themselves in asocial context different than the one in whichthey were trained to be evaluators, and oc-casionally. very different from the social con-text in which the concepts of social scienceresearch were developed. However, this dif-ference is rarely accounted for in the evalua-tion they are asked to do. ... Evaluators areasked to do acceptable social science evalua-tion of programs whose participants are froma culture with basic assumptions differentthan those of Western science. At the veryleast, this poses problems in communica-tion. nort seriously. lt may lead theevaluati-r,, to inadvertently violate certaintribal customs, which results in the failureof the study and a loss of trust from the tribal(sic) for them and other outsiders. (1981. p.11)

A more promising model for evaluation wouldbe for researchers to become knowledgeable aboutchild development principles and how they applyto the milestones held by a cultural group.Evaluators must develop "more democratic, cul-turally appropriate means of evaluating and incor-porating parental input into their children'seducational futures. Researchers must free them-selves from the traditional hard science model ofresearch and formulate a more qualitative collec-tion of information designed to feed back to com-munities families and educators rather thanto continue to violate or undermine family primaryrights to the education of their children. Integritymust be maintained in data collation, yet underlaythe information with new considerations as to theimplications for families from varying culturalbackgrounds. The advantage of thi s kind of evalua-


tion is to help establish a kind of "paradigm" inwhich the use of data collected empowers theprimary participants" .(Schlessman-Frost, 1990).In "Alternative Model for Program Evaluation ofCultural Based Communities: An Evaluation ofthe Santa Clara Pueblo Head Start Program," theevaluators designed and implemented "an evalua-tion to suit Santa Clara's needs, fitting it into thecontext of the Pueblo culture yet maintaining cer-tain standards of objectivity and respect for thecultural sensitivity of the people" (Tigges &Zastrow, 1981, p. 4),

Strategies for CulturallyAppropriate Evaluation of Early

Childhood EducationThe following strategies suggest a set of

policies, which would give direction for culturallyappropriate evaluation of early childhood educa-tion in American Indian and Alaska Native com-munities. They have been adapted from the policyrecommendations suggested by Schlessman-Frostin "Multicultural Educational Evaluation: ADemocratic Model and Some Policy Recommenda-tions" (in press).

Participants (parents, children, child careproviders) in a democratic evaluationprocess should use thcir language of choicewhen providing input.The perceptions (criteria for worth) ofthose affected by the early childhoodeducation process should be incorporatedinto the evaluation goals.Cultural values should be given highpriority and not violated by the evaluationprocedures. The worth of these values doesnnt have to be "proven" or justified to somefunding agency or to the mainstreameducational research and evaluation elite.Ethnoscientific studies to establish cul-tural relevancy for early childhood educa-tion goals should be incorporated into theevaluation categories.The methods and instruments of theevaluation should be developed by or incollaboration with those participating inthe educational process.The design of the evaluation; its goals,methods, instruments; should be formu-lated in and run parallel to the groupprocesses being evaluated.Results of educational evaluation, whichare generated by culturally biased as-

12

sumptions and instruments, specificallystandardized test score, should not be pub-lished as negative reflections on thm,e com-munities involved (Williams, 1990). Thereshould be a community privacy of informa-tion rule.Shared, cultural values among AmericanIndians and Alaska Natives should be usedto identify the enlightened self-interestprocedures for community education.

Evalmitions, which open options and con-tribute to shared futures for multiple cul-tures, should set guidelines for "new"educational evaluation and researchparadigms.

The exciting possibility for everyone involved(evaluator, educator, parent, child) is to turn theevaluation process into a contributing part of thegrowth for the community. The purpose should notbe research for research sake or evaluation forevaluation, but should be to contribute directlyback to the community. Unfortunately, communityre-information has been rare.

SumniaryLooking at formative years, we have to consider

who is it that the community wants their childrento become when they leave? What kinds of valuesare held by that community? What ideas areplanted in children during these early years? His-torically, children being taken from their homes atan early age and taken to a boarding schools wasa tragedy. Some dysfunction of the family stemsfrom the different conditions imposed upon NativeAmericans. Children have sometimes been givenlimited information and sometimes they maketheir own interpretations, but nonetheless an ideahas been planted. It should instead be a positiveidea, such as accepting of the elderly as a richresource. That is a very important concept. It maybe their understanding of their role as a part of afamily. That also is a very important comept.These values that are instilled early need to befostered by the school so the child will retain them.

The American Indian and Alaska Nativepopulation is growing above the national average.This means there are going to be more children,thus the community needs to be very conscious ofwhat kind of adults it wants these children tobecome. Among the values that should bepreserved are tribal history and culture, because itis so important for a people to know who they are,where they come from, and what they have becauseof who they are. It can be very detrimental not tohave this sense of identity. In helping our children


maintain, or at least be aware of their Nativeculture, we are nurturing self-identity and build-ing a foundation for secure adulthood.

The decisions regarding the early care andeducation of young American Indians and AlashaNatives are of a serious nature. The issues arecomplex and challenging.

The goals which are established for youngAmerican Indian and Alaska Native children mustnot be limited to short term benefits such as gettinga child ready for school or getting him/her ready forthe next grade. A more important priority is thelong-range goal of assisting our young people tobecome productive individuals who practice theirthinking skills in decision-making. Individuals areneeded by the tribes who will be capable of provid-ing leadership, management, and models for main-taining the strengths of their tribal identity.

In making provisions for early care and educa-tion for younger American Indians and AlaskaNatives, we must reflect on the dangers of losingNative language through which Native speakersshare rules for what Barbara Bowman refers to as"making meaning." She also states that "Cultureforms a prism through which members of a groupsee the world and create 'shared meanings'" (Bow-man, 1989, p. 118).

The National Association for Bilingual Educa-tion (NABE) No Cost Study on Families released apress brief at a recent conference , which indicatesthat:

In a nationwide survey of families, volunteerresearchers have found evidence of seriousdisruptions of family relations occurringwhen young children learn English in schooland lose the use of the home language. Thisfinding supports other research that docu-ments the benefits of native language pre-school programs. The study revealed thatwhile language minority parents recognizethe importance of English and want theirchildren to learn it at school, they do notwant it at the expense of loss of the homelanguage. Many of the parents expressed aconcern that their children will lose theirlanguage and become estranged from theirfamilies and cultural heritage. Othersreported that their childreta had already lastor were losing the language.... The study is a reaction by children's andfamily advocates to current efforts to getnon-English speakers as young a three andfour years of age into preschool programswhere they can be taught English beforekindergarten. Language learning theoristscontend that such preschool programs arelinguistically and culturally unsound, andmay have negative consequences on the lan-

guage, social, and intellectual developmentof children. (Wong Fillmore. 1990. p. 1)

President Bush in October of this past yearsigned into law the Native American Language Actwhich reverses a 104-year-old federal policy on thedestruction of Native languages (Locke, 1990). Theeffects of this policy have resulted in 40 to 60Native languages being exterminated and only 160Native languages remain alive out of an estimated600 languages that were spoken by American In-dians and Alaska Natives at the time of Chris-topher Columbus' arrival.

Federal law Public Law 101-477 has beenpassed and provides us the right to preserve,protect and promote the rights and freedom ofNative Americans to use, practice, and developNative languages.

Every tribal chairman must request copies ofthis law and plan ways to implement the eightprovisions in oluded (Locke, 1990).

The door has been opened if we as AmericanIndians and Alaska Natives accept the challengeto maintain the integrity of our tribal identity.Instilling the home language in young children isone of the keys for American Indian and AlaskaNative children to grow knowing traditions, cul-ture, history, and most importantly take pride inwho they are. It is vital to give young children thisstrong foundation which will assist them to besuccessful throughout their schooling so they maybe able to choose where their future contributionswill be.

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About the AuthorAlice (Narcho) Paul, Ed.D., is a member of

the Tohono O'odham Tribe, formerly known as thePapago Tribe, in Arizona. She has spent over 30years working in the field of early childhood educa-tion. She has taught young children, worked withparents, and ia involved in teacher preparation andtraining.

Alice and her husband, Richard, have raisedfour children. Both presently enjoy grandparent-ing six grandchildren.

Dr. Paul has served on many local, state, andnational boards providing services to youngchildren and their families. She is presently amember of the Governing Board of the National

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Association for the Education of Young Children(NAEYC).

Dr. Paul is an Associate Professor in the Collegeof Education, Division of Teaching and TeacherEducation, at the University of Arizona. She alsodirects the Tucson Early Education Model(TEEM), a model sponsor of the national FollowThrough program.

Dr. Paul would like to acknowledge and thankher TEEM staff for their enabling efforts to com-plete this chapter: Karoleen Robles for her editingand computer skills, Lois Schneider, AmySchlessman-Frost, James Tyler, ShawnEichenauer, anti especially Kevin Spink for theirreading, critical suggestions for revisions, andgeneral support.

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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 34Z 761 RC 018 620 AUTHOR Paul, …*Culturally Relevant Curriculum. ABSTRACT. The expansion of early childhood education for American Indians and Alaska Natives