In this comprehensive history of American Indian education in the United States from colonial times to the present, historians and educators Jon Reyhner and Jeanne Eder explore the broad spectrum of Native experiences in missionary, government, and tribal boarding and day schools. This up-to-date survey is the first one-volume source for those interested in educational reform policies and missionary and government efforts to Christianize and “civilize” American Indian children. Drawing on firsthand accounts from teachers and students, American Indian Education considers and analyzes shifting educational policies and philosophies, paying special attention to the passage of the Native American Languages Act and current efforts to revitalize Native American cultures.

Teaching American Indian Students is the most comprehensive resource book available for educators of American Indians. The promise of this book is that Indian students can improve their academic performance through educational approaches that do not force students to choose between the culture of their home and the culture of their school. This multidisciplinary volume summarizes the latest research on Indian education, provides practical suggestions for teachers, and offers a vast selection of resources available to teachers of Indian students. Included are chapters on bilingual and multicultural education; the history of U.S. Indian education; teacher-parent relationships; language and literacy development, with particular discussion of English as a second language and American Indian literature; and teaching in the content areas of social science, science, mathematics, and physical education.

The majority of American Indian students attend public schools in the United States. However, education mandated for American Indian students since the 1800s has been primarily education for assimilation, with the goal of eliminating American Indian cultures and languages. Indeed, extreme measures were taken to ensure Native students would “act white” as a result of their involvement with Western education. Today’s educational mandates continue a hegemonic “one-size-fits-all” approach to education. This is in spite of evidence that these approaches have rarely worked for Native students and have been extremely detrimental to Native communities. This book provides information about the importance of teaching American Indian students by bridging home and schools, using students’ cultural capital as a springboard for academic success. Culturally Responsive Pedagogy is explored from its earliest beginnings following the 1928 Meriam Report. Successful education of Native students depends on all involved and respect for the voices of American Indians in calling for education that holds high expectations for native students and allows them to be grounded in their cultures and languages.

An in depth look at boarding schools and their effect on the Native students.

After decades of national, state, and institutional initiatives to increase access to higher education, the college pipeline for American Indian and Alaska Native students remains largely unaddressed. As a result, little is known and even less is understood about the critical isues, conditions, and postsecondary transitions of this diverse group of students. Framed around the concept of tribal nation building, this monograph reviews the research on higher education for Indigenous peoples in the United States. It offers an analysis of what is currently known about postsecondary education among Indigenous students, Native communities, and tribal nations. Also offered is an overview of the concept of tribal nation building, with the suggestion that future research, policy, and practice center the ideas of nation building, sovereignty, Indigenous knowledge systems, and culturally responsive schooling.

America Indian culture and traditions have survived an unusual amount of oppressive federal and state educational policies intended to assimilate Indian people and destroy their cultures and languages. Yet, Indian culture, traditions, and people often continue to be treated as objects in the classroom and in the curriculum. Using a critical race theory framework and a unique "counternarrative" methodology, American Indian Education explores a host of modern educational issues facing American Indian peoples—from the impact of Indian sports mascots on students and communities, to the uses and abuses of law that often never reach a courtroom, and the intergenerational impacts of American Indian education policy on Indian children today. By interweaving empirical research with accessible composite narratives, Matthew Fletcher breaches the gap between solid educational policy and the on-the-ground reality of Indian students, highlighting the challenges faced by American Indian students and paving the way for an honest discussion about solutions.