Abstract
Parent involvement in education is essential for student academic success. This is especially true in American Indian communities where formal educational institutions struggle to address the cultural identity needs of their students. This article illuminates the need for parent and community involvement in educational endeavors concerning American Indian students. It highlights an informal science education program on the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana called the Blackfeet Native Science Field Center, which utilizes local elders, parents, and the greater community to teach cultural values, traditional knowledge, and Native language as it relates to environmental science. Four effective strategies have emerged—communication, dependability, responsiveness and participation—and are utilized in working with parents and the greater community to provide youth with lifelong skills and to ultimately bring cultural relevance back to local science education and decision-making processes that affect land and resource management on the Blackfeet Reservation.
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