ES 499 Cross Cultural Issues In Native America is one of the most memorable experiences I have had at OSU. This course was not your average learning through lecture. Instead ES 499 was designed for students to learn though facilitating, active listening and group interaction. The most important concept I learned from this course is listening is very important and essential part of working together effectively as a group. To be success in this type of course individuals need to be open-minded, hard working, and be willing to accept positive and negative criticism.
As a result of taking this course over spring break. I learned that education is an important factor in society. There are many issues that encompass education. Some of the key issues of education among the Paiute Burns Tribe include public education, programs, and cultural education. Public education is a concern among the Pauite Burns Tribe because the public schools are unaware of the different learning styles among the natives. Natives are also treated differently than whites in which they are not encouraged by teachers to further their education. If teachers were more encouraging and supportive toward the native population native students would be more involved in educational programs within their community. For example: The Boys and Girls Club, 4-H, and Big Brother Big Sister programs. The most important issue of education is cultural education because elders are highly valued in which they help preserve language and pass on oral traditions through story telling.

American Indian Learning Styles where you will find site that talk about the different learning styles of American Indians and how to go implement these methods into classrooms.

Native American Educational Methods a site where you will find a detailed explanations of what methods to need to be used to teach Native Americans.

Boys and Girls Club of America a club where you will find a variety of activities in which kids can get involved in after school such as swimming, playing basketball, and so fourth.

American Indian Resources is a page where you will find information about Native American traditions.  It also provides other resource areas where you can find more information about Native Americans.

Financial Aid & Other types of Aid for Native Americans Students. A site perfect for anyone that it looking into going into higher education and resources needed to get to a higher education institution.

Education in Harney County, Oregon speaks of different education programs in Harney County and how they are implemented.

As a result of this class I have learned many things about myself and about the community we visited. Throughout the week I learned the importance of being tolerant.  Twenty-three strangers thrown together, living together and working together, produces twenty-three different opinions.  It was very important for us as a group to listen and respect each other’s feeling and opinions, no matter how much we disagreed.  I was very surprised by how easy that task was to accomplish if only you would really listen to what someone was saying.  Through this class I have met people I would never be able to meet in a normal class setting and learned things from them that no classroom could ever teach me.  This class has also taught me many things about the people of Harney County and the issues that exist in their everyday life.  I had never realized how densely populated that area of Oregon is, as I recall there is approximately ¾ of a person per square mile.  With so few people in such a large region it is difficult to understand what kind of effect that plays in everyday operations until you meet people from the community and listen to their story.

Education is one area we learned about from the Burns community and the Paiute tribe.  Public schools are difficult for Native American children to attend.  There is an extremely high drop out rate and very little encouragement to continue on into higher education.  Because Native Americans have a different learning style than what is recognized in the public schools, they are often left behind in the curriculum.  Within the Burns community there is a lack of cultural diversity among the teaching staff.  With no Native American teachers to turn to as role models who understand the pressures a Native American youth might be under, it is very difficult for those young people to aspire to traditional goals.  The evidence of racism is strong within the communities educational system.  Some programs have been developed which might help combat these problems addressed above.  The community has created a 40 Asset Program, which identifies 40 traits that will lead to success and then implements them into a curriculum for the youth outside of school.  The Boys and Girls Club has opened which allows the young people a place to go after school and gain knowledge.  The church located on the reservation has begun a program of summer tutoring which is aimed at helping Native American children catch up in certain subjects before the new school year begins.  Other programs such as 4H and FFA have begun which encourages knowledge of land and natural resources as well as farming techniques.  Plans are developing for a program, which will bring Native American children to universities and give them tours of departments to show them the advantages of continuing their education on into college.  “Planting the seed” at an early age will instill the drive to learn.  Cultural education among the tribe is also a valued part of education.  Since they have experiences such a vast loss of culture the tribe encourages the children to learn their native language and learn accurate history of their people from the tribal elders.  Elders are seen as role models for the young.  It is very important for the tribe to keep their culture alive.  Education is the key to tribal survival.

Higher Education Issues. This is a site where you will find many resources that pertain to access to higher education for Native American.

American Indian Perspectives. This page is a journal of American  Indian Education where you can find many resources to different authors who write about American Indian perspectives.

Education Resources.  This is a page that provides different resources and sites for different levels of education.

Harney County School District. This is a page where you can access information to Harney County’s School District and the program they have in their district and other relevant information regarding numbers for different ethnic minorities.

Harney County Education Programs This is a page that provides many different sites that help you into getting involved with different educational programs to guide you to higher education.

Page Created by:
Rosa Munoz, Clarissa Liu and Kristin Lopez