"The Indian School was on the Western outskirts of town, surrounded by farms, where many of the students were to work. Several of the buildings were of red brick. The dormitories were two story wooden army barracks." -- Greenberg, 1996, 41.

Soon Navajo children were being asked to adopt all Western values, inclusive of Christianity. Small communities were brought closer to the cultural and political power centers of the United States. There were clear-cut advantages and disadvantages of this collision of cultures. But, it soon became obvious to the Indians that they would have to adapt to the Euro-American`s priorities. Naturally, education was one of the areas in which Navajo culture was affected.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) was organized and became operative in 1836, during the anti-Indian Wars of that period. In fact, it was technically part of the War Department for 13 years. The schools were directly tied into the BIA and took orders, often under stressful conditions, from that Agency. The first efforts at bicultural education, according to Barbara George`s insightful article (1978), were initiated in 1940 by a now recognized and `progressive for his era` educator, John Collier.

His initiative in the area of Navajo (and by extension other Indian) education was part of the Meriam Report, compiled by the Progressive Party of the time; government funds did not underwrite this report (George, 1978). Later, the Federal Government helped to establish special credits for schools under the Navajo-Hopi Rehabilitation Act of 1950 (Breed, 1958).

The 1970s were a time of foment and tribulation for Navajo educators. There were many conflicting ideas and currents affecting the Indian people of the United States. The AIM movement eventually triumphed and earned the respect of government officials. Congress promulgated new Educational Acts and vastly expanded school systems and ancillary facilities were built. Leadership skills were promoted among young Native-Americans so that a renewed sense of identity and progress became possible.

At this stage of development within the Navajo nation, prominent anthropologists such as Margaret Mead commented favorably on the direction and nature of education among Native American peoples. The notion of cultural pluralism affects the way a child learns and requires special curriculum development strategies to ensure that bicultural students progress acceptably by both sets of standards. Such books as Haile`s Origin Legend of the Navaho Flintway (1978) when made available to mature students impart a deep sense of knowledge and pride in their culture. Many of these works need to be `worked into` their secondary curricula. Changes such as these began occurring in the1970s and have favorably influenced the course of Navajo education for decades since that time.

Following World War II, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) began to interface with Directors and Superintendents of many Navajo schools. There was an attempt by government and tribal leaders to expand the limited services that were available to only a small fragment of the young Navajo student population (Thompson, 1975). Teaching techniques were modernized and new efforts were made to construct or improve schools at locations such as Fort Wingate and Fort Defiance (see Appendix A).

The Navajo School of Gallup (NM) began to take shape, not too far from the Navajo Nation’s capital city at Window Rock (Arizona) right on the New Mexico border. There are also a number of Navajo Schools still flourishing today with federal. state and tribal funds in locations situated throughout San Juan County (Utah), Navajo County (Arizona), and in outlying districts such as Tuba City in the western section of the Navajo Reservation, as indicated on Appendix A.

Incidentally, the Hopi Nation was a highly controversial "insertion" into the midst of Navajo lands. The Federal Government imposed this forced settlement years ago. On the Four Corners Reservation, schools are administered separately, along tribal lines, in most instances.

Shortly often World War II, in 1955, in spite of conflicts, the BIA office in Gallup, NM acknowledged that substantial progress had never made in Navajo, Hopi, and Ute educational programs and encouraged Native-American academic competition with the surrounding White schools. Schools as far south as Mescalero, NM (although Apache) were involved. English language skills were encouraged; yet bilingualism was not discouraged even in the early days of most programs. In fact, policy objectives were compiled and enforced (Thompson, 1975).

Navajo schools, because of great distances, are often boarding schools. This was historically the case and is a pattern on reservations today. Some Navajo students who do not live on the Reservation are, of course, enrolled in normal public schools, or they commute short distances to Navajo schools, where possible.

In 1966, with passage of Public law 93-636 (Reyhner, 1992), schools expanded, especially, under the BIA’s system which had enrolled almost 60,000 students in 1967 (Thompson, 1975). However, the BIA poorly administered its schools and in the 1970s, major revolt occurred in the form of the AIM movement. Rough Rock Demonstration School, on the Navajo Reservation, was established as an experimental institution. A few years later, the Navajo Community College was founded by Guy Gorman and, by 1989, over 20 more such schools were located throughout the West on different tribal reservations.

Under PL-100-297 (1988) more money was made available and tutorial programs, bilingual education, as well as craft-oriented schools were organized and continuously promoted by federal, state and local agencies.

The Navajo Nation laws progressed on a number of "social fronts" since the 1800s. There were moments of tremendous tension between the BIA and the Navajo, particularly in the 1970s, but ultimately development projects, such as schools were adequately funded and firmly established. There is a trend now to incorporate Diné philosophy (Domagala, 2000) and specially designed curriculum elements into the Navajo educational program at all levels of the system. Additionally, relationships with the external White and Hispanic communities have improved. Concepts such as Carl Gorman’s "Bridge of Understanding" have helped heal some of the rifts characterizing the turbulent past. In the interest of promoting good working relationships, inclusive of the educational sector, Carl Gorman, one of the most prominent of all Navajos, asserted virtually on a life-long basis:

References

Begay, R. Navajo Childbirth, Doctoral Dissertation, University of California, Berkeley, California, 1985.

Breed, J. "Better Days for the Navajos", The National Geographic, December 1958.

Bureau of Indian Affiairs (BIA), Main Internet Site: http://www.doi.gov/bureau-indian-affairs.html

Coolidge, D. and Coolidge, M. The Navajo Indians, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1930.

Domagala, D. "Navajo Education: Diné Philosophy", Gallup School District, Gallup, New Mexico, 2000. http://www.rr.gmcs.k12.nm.us/nmnavajo.edphil.htm

George, B. "The Navajos in a Complex Society", Journal of American Indian Education, January 1978. http://jaie.asu.edu/v18/V18S2nav.html

Greenberg, H. and Greenberg, G, Power of a Navajo, Carl Gorman: The Man and His Life, Clear Light Publishers, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 1996.

Haile, B. Origin Legend of the Navaho Flintway, AMS Press, New York, N.Y., 1978.

Reyhner, J. Teaching American Indian Students, University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK, 1988, Reprinted 1994.

Thompson, H. The Navajo’s Long Walk for Education: A History of Navajo Education, Navajo Community College Press, Tsaile (Navajo Nation), Arizona, 1975.