ExchangeEveryDay Past Issues

Thanks again for your perspectives and insights, Francis. It's always good to be reminded of how easy it is to step into stereotypes. The point of the program described is different, I believe. It's about respecting, sharing and learning from a deep knowledge of the natural world and our place in it. If in the process of doing that or talking about it, any of us imply that this is the only area of Indigenous (in this case, Navajo) expertise, then yes, we've missed the mark. One thing I appreciated in this piece was Lee's highlighting how much we share at the root of it all.

It is wonderful to see the move towards more nature-based activities in our early childhood programs; it's also good to see aspects of First American curricular being included in these programs. However, we must be very, very careful not to reinforce old stereotypes about First Americans. The reason five of the prominent First American tribes are called civilized tribes is because Indians were considered inferior to Whites in regard to culture and education - i.e. Natives (This is why my Indian friends do not like the term Native American). I talked to an old Indian in the Taos Pueblo who complained that when New Mexico became a state he was taught carpentry, because the new US government did not believe Indians were capable of higher order training and education. And some years ago, I had the pleasure of attending a presentation by members of the Chickasaw Tribe in Denver. The presentation was about how the tribe supported emerging and small businesses. In the introduction the tribal member explained the rich history of entrepreneurial activities of the tribe. He was very pound of their entrepreneurial values and history. In past editions of Exchange some authors have suggested that somehow capitalism is a threat to marginalized communities. The Chickasaw would strongly disagree!