Initial Findings
A summer conference of native and non-native teachers, community leaders, students, and others was held in August of 2005 at Dominican University.
The educational sessions covered traditional plants, practices and storytelling; public land partnerships; burial site protection and more. The research included education-action methods, survey evaluations, video transcripts and participant observation. The unusual mixture of native and non-native involvement allowed a unique atmosphere of respect and truth-telling to emerge, which culminated in personal storytelling, challenging and healing.
Summary of Findings
- The Power of Stories: Native storytelling—of creation, of sacred mountains, of elders and family—were utilized constantly to convey spiritual strength, moral guidance, and cultural integrity. Most participants shifted to storytelling as their primary discourse by the end of the weekend, as a recognition of its strength and integrity.
- Challenging and Guiding Non-native Ignorance: Non-natives were struck by the cultural livelihood and environmental practices of Native Americans today, and were graciously lead into contemporary native practices like basket-weaving. At the same time, Native leaders challenged non-natives to use the present tense when speaking about them (“we are still here”).
- Truth Telling, Mutual Respect, and Cross-Cultural Collaboration: Native stories were filled with honest accounts of struggling against dominant culture, and even reached a crescendo of outcry and tears at a few points. Natives and non-natives alike held this suffering in trust and respect. Naming the wounds in an atmosphere of trust was key to deepened understanding, most evident in the personal remarks of the closing circle.
- Inter-Tribal Cooperation in a Public Context: Despite differences between traditional and modern tribes, Native presenters and participants shared their deep respect and family connections with members of other tribes. We believe this inter-tribal cooperation and solidarity was heightened in this mixed Native and non-native audience, especially as stories of cultural genocide and struggle were shared. 5) Education as Guidance and Trust: Native presenters identified traditional education by the elders as more a matter of following and doing than asking “why?” This traditional way of education may account for some of the tensions with non-native public educators who, at times, explained every native practice with “expertise” in a way that did not recognize traditional methods or draw upon Native expertise in the community.
