The Preservation of a Culture
Webster’s dictionary defines culture as “that which is excellent in arts, manners, etc. . . . [of] a particular form or stage of civilization.”1 As we examine the teachings and traditions of the Apache nation, however, we find that to them, “culture” means much more than an over-simplified, cut-and-dry definition or a page of statistics. It has always been a source of pride in their past, it is an inseparable part of their present, and the Apaches are making sure that their culture will also be preserved in the future. Ironically, it may be this same culture that is preventing Apache children from excelling academically. Apache students that are brought up immersed in the atmosphere of strong tradition can feel alone as they leave their sheltered environment and join mainstream culture. These students have a hard time adjusting to life away from their families. Combined with the lack of strong Native American role models that students can look up to for motivation, the result is that Native American students have the worst college dropout rates in the United States.2
History of Apache Education
Informal Education
Family played a significant role in the upbringing and education of the Apache children. Up until age seven or eight, the children held no responsibilities. They spent their time playing, imitating the activities of the adults. One of the most important things they were taught was to obey their elders. The punishment for any disobedience was splashing cold water in the face by the mother or ignoring the child. At the age of nine or ten, the children were expected to help their parents in their everyday duties. Girls learned to look after the younger children, gather food and firewood, and build wickiups, carry water, sew, and aid with the cooking. The boys assisted their fathers in watching or catching horses, bringing them any items they needed, holding the end of a bow, or steadying an arrow as their fathers tied on the feathers. In addition to learning how to perform daily tasks, the children also learned about their culture from their families. The mothers taught them the legends of their people, the tales of the universe, and how to pray for strength, wisdom, and protection.3 A boy would learn the hunting rules and techniques from his grandfather, who would also teach him the religion and ceremonies of the tribe. The boy would be taught how to make bows and arrows, though he would not actually hunt until around the age of fifteen.4 As he neared his sixteenth birthday, he had to prepare for a test of his manhood. The boy would have to go on four raids with the men of his group, and if he did well on these raids, then he was called a man.5 In addition to the training received, a boy accompanying a war party for the first time was believed to be a source of power for achieving the end of a raid. He was instructed by particular relatives, and rituals were performed.6 The boys weren't the only ones who learned how to use bows and arrows; girls were taught also how to use them. With the onset of puberty, a girl would become the center of rituals, as did a boy on his first raiding party. At about the age of thirteen, every Apache girl was given a four-day feast. The girl-woman was believed to have the powers of the first mother on earth, White Painted Woman. Girls could participate in ceremonial feast preparations and attempt to participate in a cure ceremony.7
Formal Education
Little is known about the nature of early schooling. White man's treatment of the Apaches did not do much to encourage them to accept the white man's ways. Children had to pass a physical exam to enter the boarding school at Fort Apache. Many would fake sickness, going to great extent not to gain acceptance. Children that avoided attending school were taught to fain illnesses, as not to get caught. In the 1960s, few Apaches had graduated from high school and college. They were unskilled and inexperienced to hold technological positions. The main problems of Apache students were the conflicts between the school systems and the various Apache social, cultural, and economic pressures active on the reservations. The Apaches were opposed to the teachings of white man's culture. The Dawes Act of 1887 provided for the establishment of off-reservation boarding schools. This was later changed, and schools were built on or near the reservations, but this was still viewed as a disruption of their family life. In 1934, the Indian Reorganization Act stopped the suppression of traditional religious liberties, and the federal schools began teaching the most favorable aspects of Apache culture. After 1950, a few new public schools were built on the reservations, and federal, state, and local agencies cooperated in their administration. A stronger emphasis was placed on higher education in academic and vocational training of a higher degree in the 1960s. Financial aid was provided to encourage students to become more in touch with the "modern" world. The tribal council has a special educational committee which oversees the Apache response to the program and purchases school supplies and clothes for needy children. It also administers a large revolving college scholarship fund which makes loans to students for one semester. By 1972, this committee had raised the number of Apache youth in college to over one hundred.8
Modern Apache Education
What’s Being Done to Perpetuate Apache Culture
Right now, Native American agencies are fighting find ways to preserve both the culture and the education of Apache students. Thinking back on the definition of “culture” given at the beginning of this report, just how much of the spirit, tradition, and intelligence of a people did that “etc.” leave unmentioned? Could the heart of a culture possibly be summed up in one abbreviation? Obviously not, and this is why the Apache educators refuse to allow their rich tradition to be dismissed, disregarded, or forgotten. Programs such as the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), FACE (Family and Child Educational Program), and Shades of Change strive to keep the Apache spirit strong in its youth even as they learn in public schools. These programs are a vital part of the Apache educational system, because recognizing the importance of both the preservation of culture and the advancement of education would be what makes the Apache educational system a true success.
Apache Schools and Students
In 1997, 49,213 Indian students in grades K-12 were involved in educational programs in schools established by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. This was a 3.3% improvement from the total number of students who attended in 1996. There are 10,463 students in programs founded by the BIA, which makes up about 1.21% of the total student population. The BIA is also influential in college and university programs: Almost 25,000 students are enrolled in tribal community colleges, and in the two post-secondary programs run by the BIA, 1501 students attend full time. As of 1997, the BIA had established 82 elementary and high schools, which adds up to 187 Indian elementary schools in 23 states. The BIA generously provides funding for both off-reservation boarding schools and their community colleges. Haskell Indian Nations University and Southwestern Indian Polytechnic, for example, are operated by the BIA. They naturally also employ a large number of teachers and faculty: about 5,000 of these educators are employees of the BIA, with a whole of about 2,115 schools owned by them.9
Apache Tribal Colleges
Native American education in colleges and universities is constantly growing. The American Indian Higher Education Consortium has founded 29 colleges in the U.S., and almost 25,000 students attend these colleges. These students are diverse, coming from more than 200 different tribes, and the colleges offer various 2-year+ degrees. One problem that these schools face, however, is that unlike public schools, (which are funded by the states) Indian colleges must rely on their treaties with the federal government for income. The fact that more then 50% of the people attending these colleges are single parents is also a major problem. On average, a recent graduate of a tribal college only receives a salary of $18,000.The schools have to function on tight budgets and need to take full advantage of the money they receive from students. This leads to another problem, because with a tuition of $1,580 per year, many students have trouble paying for their education. A shocking 85% of students live below the poverty line, and the are forced to find innovative ways to deal with their situations such as turning some classes into day-care centers and remodeling trailers into educational facilities. Tribal colleges help students in finding employment, and improve the students’ chances of attaining a four-year degree. Despite their efforts, however, unemployment rates still range from 45-86% on reservations, and because of the difficult transition from tribal life to mainstream life as well as the lack of supplies and role models for Indian children, only about 4% of American Indians ever really get degrees.10
Apache Educational Advancement Programs
Faced with these statistics, a number of agencies designed to improve the Indian educational situation have taken action to alleviate some of the problems faced by Indian schools
·Family and Child Education Program (FACE)
FACE, which operated from 1995-1996, has been a valuable contributor in the struggle to improve Native American schools. First called the Early Childhood Parental Involvement Pilot Program, this program focused on encouraging parents to get involved in their children’s education, Parent and Child Education(PACE), and improved curriculum. The program was attentive to the needs of individuals in each family, and they arranged 21 programs at BIA schools. Their programs centered on adult education, education in younger children, family interaction, and “parent time”. By their closing in 1995, Face helped 116 adults obtain jobs and another 9 get diplomas.11
·Cibecue Head Start
Head Start is a true leader in preserving Apache language in mainstream curriculum. The Apache language is already taught at schools such as White River and Seven-Mile elementary, but Head Start had made incomparable advances in introducing the Apache language to classrooms. The teachers involved in the Head Start program teach Apache to their students and constantly encourage students to take pride in their Apache heritage. Many of the younger children speak only English and are barely aware of their culture. Head Start teaches them about Apache language and traditions as well as programs such as health and social service. Head Start does not discriminate on the basis of income: all of the children in the program are from low-income families.12
·Shades of Change
Shades of Change is a program established by the White Mountain Apache Tribe to improve the way in which Apache children are taught math and science. The Tribe received a grant from the National Science Foundation and is founding workshops in places such as Santa Clara Pueblo and San Juan Pueblo. The Jicarilla Apaches are also involved.13
Educational Improvement Legislation
·Indian Reorganization Act of 1934:
This legislation promoted the teaching of Native American history and culture in BIA schools.14
·Indian Self-Determination and Education Act of 1975:
This Act allowed Native American tribes to contact the BIA to discuss educational programs.15
·Education Amendments Act of 1978:
This piece of legislation gave power to Native American school boards, provided in the employment of teachers, and directly gave funds to the schools.16
1) S.V. “Culture”, Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language. Avenel, New Jersey: Gramercy
Books, 1994, 353.2) webster@enam.unm.edu, Bureau of Indian Affairs, BIA, DOI, Interior. [web page];
http://www.doi.gov/bureau-indian-affairs.html. [Accessed 18 Feb 1998].3) Mails, Thomas E., The People Called Apache. Engle Wood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc., 1974.
4) Ibid.
5) McKissack, Patricia, The Apache. Chicago, Illinois: Childrens Press, 1984, 28.
6) Mails.
7) McKissack, 29-31.
8) Mails.
9) webster@enam.unm.edu.
10) Ibid.
11) Ibid.
12) Wolterbeek, Paul, Cibecue Head Start introduces Apache language into curriculum, Fort Apache Scout. [electronic
encyclopedia]; 11 Nov 1994.13) “Conference to Study Changes in Math and Science Instruction Slated.” Fort Apache Scout. [electronic
encyclopedia]; 8 Nov 1996.14) webster@enam.unm.edu.
15) Ibid.
16) Ibid.
Bibliography:
Conference to Study Changes in Math and Science Instruction Slated, Fort Apache Scout. [electronic encyclopedia]; 8 Nov 1996.
Mails, Thomas E. The People Called Apache. Engle Wood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc., 1974.
McKissack, Patricia. The Apache. Chicago, Illinois: Childrens Press, 1984.
webster@enam.unm.edu. Bureau of Indian Affairs, BIA, DOI, Interior. [web page]; http://www.doi.gov/bureau-indian-affairs.html. [Accessed 18 Feb 1998].
Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language. Avenel, New Jersey: Gramercy Books, 1994.
Wolterbeek, Paul. Cibecue Head Start introduces Apache language into curriculum, Fort Apache Scout. [electronic encyclopedia]; 11 Nov 1994.
Woodruff, Janette and Dryden, Cecil. Indian Oasis. Caldwell, Ohio: The Caxton Printers, Ltd., 1939.