Enhancing Language Services to Native American Children: A Look From the Inside

Forum Introduction: Promoting Equity in Speech-Language Services With Indigenous Children.

Native Americans are one of the least represented races within the profession of speech-language pathology. As a result, Native American school children are among the least likely to receive speech and language services from a provider who shares their same culture and heritage. The purpose of this tutorial is to describe how expanding opportunities for Native American college students to enter the field of speech-language pathology as speech-language pathology assistants (SLPAs) offers a solution for improving culturally responsive services in reservation schools. The article reviews research describing factors impacting the current disparity of Native Americans within the field of speech-language pathology. Additionally, we explore increasing opportunities for Native American college students to obtain education and licensing as SLPAs while maintaining ties to their community, tribal land, and local school system. The author then suggests steps speech-language pathologists in reservation schools can take to expand their culturally responsive services by participating in the development of, and collaboration with, Native American SLPAs. There is a need for increased culturally responsive speech and language services for Native American students in reservation schools. It is the obligation of speech-language pathologists serving this population to explore solutions for improving culturally responsive services, which includes investing in a new generation of Native American SLPAs.

Speech and Language “Mythbusters” for Internationally Adopted Children

In 1989 the Oklahoma Area Indian Health Service conducted an oral health survey of children attending public schools in Oklahoma to determine the extent of caries experience in the Native American population. Results were to be used to establish program priorities, gather baseline data, and compare the oral health status of Native American children with their non-Indian peers. A total of 934 elementary schoolchildren 5-6 years of age were examined along with 733 high school students 15-17 years of age. The study was designed so that approximately 50 percent of the students examined were Native American. The mean dmfs for the 5-6-year-olds was 5.06 for the Caucasian children and 10.35 for the Native American children, a statistically significant difference (P < .001). For the 15-17-year-olds the mean DMFS for the Caucasian students (5.99) was significantly lower (P < .001) than the mean DMFS for the Native American students (10.12). The prevalence and severity of caries in these Native American students appear to be substantially higher than in their non-Indian peers residing in the same communities. Further study is needed to identify factors contributing to these demonstrated differences in caries experience.

Native American children experience greater disparities in the number and magnitude of health-related diseases than White children. Multimedia-based health interventions may afford valuable opportunities for reaching this underserved demographic; however, limited data are available describing the use of media technologies among Native Americans. This study characterized diverse media access and use between rural Native American and White children. Surveys were administered to students (n=477) aged 10-15 years in grades 6-8 across four public middle schools in the rural Upper Peninsula of the Midwestern USA state of Michigan. Native American children (n=41) were more likely than White children (n=436) to have a video game system in their bedroom (65.9% vs 45.4%; p=0.01) and watch more minutes of television on Saturdays (110.3±91.7 vs 80.7±80.8; p=0.03). Native American children also had fewer computers within the home (1.20±0.81 vs 1.68±1.21; p=0.01) than White children and less household internet access (75.6% vs 87.1%; p=0.04), but demonstrated more use in minutes after school (79.9±97.9 vs 51.1±71.6; p=0.02) and on Saturdays (92.6±107.4 vs 60.0±85.1; p=0.02). This represents the first cross-cultural comparison of media access and use between Native American and White children from rural Michigan. Greater computer and internet use observed among the Native American children surveyed in this study supports the use of web-based public health initiatives aimed at reducing health disparities within this vulnerable group.

Data on Native American children and adolescents are rarely reported along with other racial and ethnic groups. The Healthy Kids Project is part of an effort to describe the prevalence of overweight and obesity in a racially mixed rural area where Native American, Hispanic, African American, and white children reside. We measured height and weight of students in Anadarko, Oklahoma public schools (n = 1,980) in 2002-2003. All available students (95.7%) whose parents had not opted out of school health assessments were included. From these data, we calculated BMI (weight (kg) / height (m(2))) and used the International Obesity Task Force reference to classify children into BMI categories. Native American, Hispanic, African American, and white children who live and attend school in the same surroundings are at risk of overweight and obesity. White children had the lowest combined prevalence of overweight and obesity (37.6%), and Native American children had the highest (53.8%) followed closely by African American (51.7%) and Hispanic children (50.5%). The childhood obesity epidemic includes all racial and ethnic groups to different degrees. In a rural public school, Native American, Hispanic, and African children had higher rates of overweight/obesity than white children.

Developing Graduate Medical Education Partnerships in American Indian/Alaska Native Communities.

In 307 Native American (NA), 1784 black (B), and 7777 white (W) children in grades 1, 2, and 3 in Minneapolis schools (99% overall response rate), blood pressure (BP) was measured supine in the right arm after 5 minutes' rest by trained technicians using a random zero BP device. In addition, height, weight, pulse rate, and triceps skinfold thickness were measured. Among children aged 6 through 9 years, NA children had slightly higher systolic BP (SBP) than B or W children overall (mean SBP: NA 106, B 104, W 105 mm Hg) and for nearly all age sex groups. In contrast, Phase 4 and 5 diastolic BP (DBP) were consistently lower in NA children ( mean DBP4: NA 64, B 69, W 67 mm Hg); NA children also had lower pulse rates, greater pulse pressures, similar or slightly lower mean BP, similar height, greater weight, body mass index, and triceps skinfold. Multiple regression analyses revealed that the slightly higher SBP in NA children was explained almost entirely by greater ponderosity. However, the lower DBP could not be explained statistically by any of the variables measured.

Increasing diversity of the biomedical workforce through community engagement: The University of Utah Native American Summer Research Internship.

The care and protection of Native American and Alaskan Native children are vital to the survival of Indigenous communities. However, systems have not always been in place to provide that protection. Laws regarding the well-being of Native American and Alaskan Native children have undergone a great deal of change in the years following the end of the Indian Wars. One of the most important pieces of legislation was the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) of 1978, which was significant because it worked to ensure that tribes would have more of a say in where their children would be placed for foster care and adoption. Despite the changes that have occurred in the welfare of Indigenous children, there is still much work that needs to be done. This project specifically addresses the problem that non-Native social workers have not been educated on the ICWA. This lack of education has caused some non-Native social workers to make culturally insensitive mistakes in the placement of Indigenous children, including on occasion placing children in homes where there have been previous charges of abuse. My project, which is a course shell that I developed though WyoCourses, seeks to help educate prospective social workers on the ICWA as well as the overall history of policies implemented for Native American children. This course shell is not just focused on explaining the particulars of the ICWA, but also the history of the boarding school system and the Indian Adoption Project. This course shell stresses the importance for future social workers to understand the ICWA and the history of Native American children. This will better equip them to continue to improve the care and protection of Native American children and, by further extent, Native American cultures overall.

Using data from a sample of 150 Native American mothers of a child 6 to 15 years old, this study examined the relations between and among mothers' gambling, parenting in the home environment, social supports, and child behavior problems. Respondents were recruited from a tribal casino on a Great Lakes Indian reservation. Results indicate that behavior problems in Native American children in the context of maternal gambling were associated with greater financial strain, less adequate parenting in the home environment, and the child's age. However, these results were conditioned by frequency of mother's gambling, amount of social support from family available to the mother, and child's gender. Implications of these findings for policy, practice, and future research are discussed. KEY WORDS: casino gambling; child behavior problems; children's development; Native American mothers; parenting ********** Since the passage of the 1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, Native American tribes have set up gaming operations in large numbers. Financial proceeds from these operations are enormous, reaching by some estimates as much as $14.5 billion (National Indian Gaming Association, 2005). Although increased revenues from gambling have benefited tribes (see, for example, Costello, Compton, Keeler, & Angold, 2003), problem gambling among Native Americans has increased, especially among Native American women (Volberg & Abbott, 1997).There is evidence that parental problem gambling has negative effects on children. For example, studies have shown that children of problem gamblers experience a loss of emotional and financial support and have inadequate coping skills, poor interpersonal relationship skills, and serious behavior problems (Custer & Milt, 1985; Darbyshire, Oster,& Carrig, 2001; Ladouceur, Boisvert, Pepin, Loranger, & Sylvain, 1994; Lorenz, 1987). However, because none of these studies included Native Americans in their samples, little is known about the associations between and among mothers' gambling, parenting in the home environment, and child outcomes in Native American families. Using data gathered at a tribal casino on a Great Lakes Indian reservation, this study attempts to reduce this deficit in the literature. Four questions were addressed: 1. Is maternal gambling associated with Native American children's behavioral functioning? 2. Are access to helpful social support and more adequate parenting in the home environment associated with children's behavioral functioning in Native American families in which mothers gamble? 3. Is the effect of maternal gambling on children's behavioral functioning moderated by mothers' access to helpful social support and more adequate parenting in the home environment? 4. Is the child's gender a factor in the relationships between maternal gambling and parenting and children's behavioral functioning? We were also interested in the mothers' perceptions of financial strain because even though the casino has helped this Great Lakes tribe gain revenue, the tribe remains the poorest in the state (Jensen-DeHart, 1999).These issues were examined using the ecological theoretical perspective as an overarching framework. THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS Because Native Americans practice balance in their ecosystems and place a great deal of importance on human ecology through tribal structures, clan formation, and family interdependence (Good Tracks, 1973; Joe, 1989; Red Horse, 1980), the ecological theoretical perspective--encompassing microsystems, mesosystems, exosystems, and macrosystems (Bronfenbrenner & Ceci, 1994)--is particularly appropriate as an overarching framework for this investigation. More explicitly, some have posited that Native American children are born into two relational systems, a biological family and a kinship network such as a clan or band (Blanchard & Barsh, 1980). …

New Regulations Affect Early Intervention Clinicians

For much of their history, the relationship between anthropology and psychology has been well captured by Robert Frost's poem, "Mending Wall," which ends with the ironic line, "good fences make good neighbors." The congenial fence was that anthropology studied what people think and psychology studied how people think. Recent research, however, shows that content and process cannot be neatly segregated, because cultural differences in what people think affect how people think. To achieve a deeper understanding of the relation between process and content, research must integrate the methodological insights from both anthropology and psychology. We review previous research and describe new studies in the domain of folk biology which examine the cognitive consequences of different conceptualizations of nature and the place of humans within it. The focus is on cultural differences in framework theories (epistemological orientations) among Native Americans (Menominee) and European American children and adults living in close proximity in rural Wisconsin. Our results show that epistemological orientations affect memory organization, ecological reasoning, and the perceived role of humans in nature. This research also demonstrates that cultural differences in framework theories have implications for understanding intergroup conflict over natural resources and are relevant to efforts to improve science learning, especially among Native American children.

We tested the effectiveness of a community-based lay health advisor intervention for primary prevention of lead poisoning among Native American children who lived in a former mining area. We conducted cross-sectional population-based blood lead assessments of Native American and White children aged 1 to 6 years and in-person caregiver interviews before (n=331) and after (n=387) a 2-year intervention. Mean childhood blood lead levels decreased and selected preventive behaviors improved for both Native American and White (comparison) communities. Several short-term outcomes also improved from pre- to postintervention, but only knowledge and hand-washing self-efficacy increased more among Native Americans than among Whites. Our findings provide limited support for the effectiveness of lay health advisor interventions as a primary lead poisoning prevention strategy for Native American communities.

Introduction to the Special Issue The Native American Languages Act of 1990/1992 - 20 Years of Federal Support for Indigenous Language devitalization LarisaWarhol This commemorates (NALA) special of1990/1992 issue the20th of and anniversary the attendant Journal of federal the of Native American support American for Indian Native Languages Education American Act commemorates the20th anniversary oftheNative American Languages Act (NALA) of1990/1992 andattendant federal support for Native American languages. Begun asa grassroots effort byNative language activists andeducators inthelate1980s,NALA affirmed thefederal government's roleinpreserving andprotecting Native American languages. Thepolicy alsoestablished a grant program through theAdministration ofNativeAmericans (ANA) that serves as a primary resource forcommunityand school-basedNativelanguage revitalization programs. NALA has servedas a foundation formorerecent federal, stateand community-based policiesencouraging Nativelanguage education. Language andeducation policy intheUnited States, though, remains challenging and oftencontradictory, as the articlesin thisspecial issue demonstrate. Following NALA's passage, someargued that itcametoolate, with many communities already experiencing languageshift. Moreover, thepolicywas inherently limited as itwasa declaration lacking anyenforcement plans, andthe funding foritsprograms hasbeenmeager (Romaine, 2002;Schiffman, 1996). While these arguments reveal thelimitations ofofficial policy, NALAnonetheless reversed centuries ofsystematic linguistic andcultural eradication, demonstrated theself-determination of Nativecommunities to establish policydirectly in support oftheir goals,andcreateda foundation forNativecommunities to continue to buildpoliciesand changeideologiesabouttheimportance of strenthening Indigenous languages. NALAalsostands as theonly official stance thefederal government hastaken onlanguage todate.Itspassagemarks a shift inideology instate andfederal language andeducation policy, andintheways that Native communities viewthemaintenance oftheir languages as wellas in other socialdomains andinstitutions suchas schoolsanduniversities, many of Journal of American Indian Education -51,Issue3,2012 1 which havechosen tosupport communities' revitalization efforts. Whilemany communities hadbeenengagedinrevitalization work formany yearsprior to NALA,thelaw's passageheralded increased scholarly attention tolanguage revitalization within thefields oflanguage planning andpolicyandAmerican Indianeducation. Thus,NALA's importance to thelanguagerevitalization movement cannotbe over-emphasized. The remainder of thisintroduction provides background andcontext onNALA,including itsadministration bythe ANAfor thepast18years, andsituates thearticles inthisspecialissueas they address policyconsiderations andcurrent language revitalization activities in Indigenous communities throughout theUnited States. The NativeAmericanLanguagesActof1990/1992 NALAwaspassedbytheU.S. Congress in1990as a federal policy declaration insupport ofthepreservation andprotection ofNative American languages. The policy wasunprecedented for a variety ofreasons. First, historically federal policy hadaimedtoeradicate thesesamelanguages. Second,NALA recognized the connection between language andeducation achievement, andthird, itestablished anofficial federal stance onlanguage despite thefederal government's refusal toacknowledge anofficial U.S. language. NALAreaffirmed federal recognition ofthestatus ofNativelanguagesintheU.S. anditsposition towards those languages andtheir speakers. Simultaneously, thestatute reaffirmed Native American rights toself-determination andsovereignty as wellas theimportant connections between language, culture andchildren's academic achievement. (See policytextincludedin thisspecial issue.) NALA established thefederal government's responsibility inensuring thecontinuation ofNativelanguages, calledfor evaluation ofcurrent government programs inorder tofurther support Nativelanguages, and encouraged statesto use Nativelanguagesin state institutions, including schools. In 1992 NALA was amendedto includefinancial appropriations and provisions forcommunity languageprograms, training programs, materials development and language documentation. These grantprogramsare administered bytheANAwithin theAdministration for Children andFamilies. TheANAcurrently hastwotypes ofgrant programs: onefor assessing, planning orimplementing a community-based language project orprogram, andanother specifically for Native language immersion survival schools. Funding for the latter beganin2008 as an outcome ofthe2006 Esther Martinez NativeAmerican Languages Preservation Act(seethearticle byWarhol andthetext ofthislaw inthisspecialissue) - theresult ofanother grassroots movement tofurther amend NALAtoprovide for immersion schools asthey haddemonstrated success with both language revitalization andacademicachievement. Development ofNALA Theimportance ofNALAislargely connected totherationale for itsgenesis by Native language activists andeducators inthe1980s.Whilethepolicy beganas 2 Journal of American Indian Education -Volume 51,Issue3,2012 a resolution emerging from the1988Native American Language IssuesInstitute (NALI)/American Indian Language Development Institute (AILDI) conference inTempe, Arizona (McCarty, 1993),itsdevelopment andpassagewerea result ofa convergence ofefforts bybilingual educators andlinguists, theHawaiian language revitalization movement andtheinterests oftheSenateCommittee on Indian Affairs tofight a growing tideofstate-level English-only initiatives. NativeAmerican bilingual education beganinthe1960sontheNavajo reservation atRoughRock,Arizona andother community-controlled bilingual schoolssoonsprang upintribal communities throughout theU.S. (McCarty, 2002;St.Clair& Leap,1982;Watahomigie & Yamamoto, 1992).Thisadvent ofbilingual education established early collaborations between academic linguists andlocal Nativeeducators, leadingtothecreation ofregional institutes and national organizations thatbothreflected and lentcrucialsupport to these collaborations. Institutes andorganizations that emerged from federal policies suchas the1968Bilingual Education Actandthe1972IndianEducation Act includeAILDI, NALI, andtheshort-lived NationalIndianBilingualCenter (NIBC). The hallmark goalsoftheseorganizations weretosupport andtrain Nativeeducators andlinguists, provide professional development toschools servingNativestudents, and produceNativelanguageteachingmaterials (McCarty etal.,2001).Theseorganizations alsobecame important sites for tribal policydevelopment in support ofNativelanguageeducation andtheywere instrumental inestablishing a foundational network oflanguage educators and activists acrossIndianCountry. Concurrently, the Hawaiian...