No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

This study provides selected research findings on which decisions can be based in planning an in-school, publicly funded, Cree immersion program from kindergarten to grade 8 in Saskatchewan. The study was an analysis of language education research relating to the learner in immersion programs. Consequences of immersion education for student linguistic, psycho-social, and educational development were examined and reported. <p>Immersion programs for French, and to a lesser extent, for heritage languages in Canada, have been extensively researched. Immersion programs for Indian languages are few and are relatively unreported. There is, however, an increasing interest in the creation of immersion programs in Indian schools. <p> The analysis of research relating to publicly-funded French, heritage language, and Indian language immersion programs in Canada revealed support for the creation of an early total Cree immersion program. It could have neutral or positive effects on student linguistic, psycho-social, and educational development, under specific program conditions. The following consequences for students were projected: <p>1. a positive effect on Cree language proficiency. Native-like proficiency levels would not necessarily result. <br>2. a neutral or positive effect on cognitive development.<br>3. a positive effect on attitudes toward the Cree language and culture, and a strengthening of Indian identity. <br>4. a neutral or positive effect on self-concet. <br>5. a lessening of social distance between the generations.<p>6. a positive effect on attitudes toward language learning and the immersion experience. <br>7. a positive effect on student understanding of cultural, social, and political aspects of Indian/non-Indian relations.<br>8. a neutral effect on English language and literacy development. Temporary lags in English literacy skills could be expected until after the teaching of English reading. Skill levels could become equivalent to those of comparable students in regular programs within one school year, with the possible exception of spelling.<br>9. a neutral or positive effect on overall educational achievement. Greater understanding of their Indian culture, lowered drop-out rates, and improved work study skills could be predicted. <p> Certain program characteristics which were identified as essential if all of the projected neutral or positive consequences were to be realized include: <p>1. an early total immersion program model.<br> 2. an immersion centre setting.<br>3. introduction of Cree literacy before English literacy.<br>4. adequate Cree language resource materials, for all subjects and grades taught in Cree.<br>5. fluently bilingual and biliterate qualified teachers with specialized training in bilingual education.<br>6. subjects to be taught in Cree to be selected dependent on the availability of resource materials and qualified teachers.<br>7. a carefully planned and implemented program. <p>A Cree immersion program could result in enhanced cognitive and linguistic abilities to the extent that Cree were spoken in students' homes, and that students had opportunities to use Cree outside of the school. Under identified program conditions, early total Cree immersion could have at least neutral 'effects on student self-concept, cognitive development, English language development and academic achievement. It could have positive effects on student Cree language proficiency, attitudes toward the Cree language and culture, attitudes toward language learning, sociopolitical perceptions, communication within the family, retention rates, work study skills, and knowledge about Indian cultures. Cree proficiency attained by students might not be native-like, but could be at a level which would allow them to learn through Cree, and to continue learning the Cree language and culture.

This study provides selected research findings on which decisions can be based in planning an in-school, publicly funded, Cree immersion program from kindergarten to grade 8 in Saskatchewan. The study was an analysis of language education research relating to the learner in immersion programs. Consequences of immersion education for student linguistic, psycho-social, and educational development were examined and reported. <p>Immersion programs for French, and to a lesser extent, for heritage languages in Canada, have been extensively researched. Immersion programs for Indian languages are few and are relatively unreported. There is, however, an increasing interest in the creation of immersion programs in Indian schools. <p> The analysis of research relating to publicly-funded French, heritage language, and Indian language immersion programs in Canada revealed support for the creation of an early total Cree immersion program. It could have neutral or positive effects on student linguistic, psycho-social, and educational development, under specific program conditions. The following consequences for students were projected: <p>1. a positive effect on Cree language proficiency. Native-like proficiency levels would not necessarily result. <br>2. a neutral or positive effect on cognitive development.<br>3. a positive effect on attitudes toward the Cree language and culture, and a strengthening of Indian identity. <br>4. a neutral or positive effect on self-concet. <br>5. a lessening of social distance between the generations.<p>6. a positive effect on attitudes toward language learning and the immersion experience. <br>7. a positive effect on student understanding of cultural, social, and political aspects of Indian/non-Indian relations.<br>8. a neutral effect on English language and literacy development. Temporary lags in English literacy skills could be expected until after the teaching of English reading. Skill levels could become equivalent to those of comparable students in regular programs within one school year, with the possible exception of spelling.<br>9. a neutral or positive effect on overall educational achievement. Greater understanding of their Indian culture, lowered drop-out rates, and improved work study skills could be predicted. <p> Certain program characteristics which were identified as essential if all of the projected neutral or positive consequences were to be realized include: <p>1. an early total immersion program model.<br> 2. an immersion centre setting.<br>3. introduction of Cree literacy before English literacy.<br>4. adequate Cree language resource materials, for all subjects and grades taught in Cree.<br>5. fluently bilingual and biliterate qualified teachers with specialized training in bilingual education.<br>6. subjects to be taught in Cree to be selected dependent on the availability of resource materials and qualified teachers.<br>7. a carefully planned and implemented program. <p>A Cree immersion program could result in enhanced cognitive and linguistic abilities to the extent that Cree were spoken in students' homes, and that students had opportunities to use Cree outside of the school. Under identified program conditions, early total Cree immersion could have at least neutral 'effects on student self-concept, cognitive development, English language development and academic achievement. It could have positive effects on student Cree language proficiency, attitudes toward the Cree language and culture, attitudes toward language learning, sociopolitical perceptions, communication within the family, retention rates, work study skills, and knowledge about Indian cultures. Cree proficiency attained by students might not be native-like, but could be at a level which would allow them to learn through Cree, and to continue learning the Cree language and culture.

This study provides selected research findings on which decisions can be based in planning an in-school, publicly funded, Cree immersion program from kindergarten to grade 8 in Saskatchewan. The study was an analysis of language education research relating to the learner in immersion programs. Consequences of immersion education for student linguistic, psycho-social, and educational development were examined and reported. Immersion programs for French, and to a lesser extent, for heritage languages in Canada, have been extensively researched. Immersion programs for Indian languages are few and are relatively unreported. There is, however, an increasing interest in the creation of immersion programs in Indian schools. The analysis of research relating to publicly-funded French, heritage language, and Indian language immersion programs in Canada revealed support for the creation of an early total Cree immersion program. It could have neutral or positive effects on student linguistic, psycho-social, and educational development, under specific program conditions. The following consequences for students were projected: 1. a positive effect on Cree language proficiency. Native-like proficiency levels would not necessarily result. 2. a neutral or positive effect on cognitive development.3. a positive effect on attitudes toward the Cree language and culture, and a strengthening of Indian identity. 4. a neutral or positive effect on self-concet. 5. a lessening of social distance between the generations.6. a positive effect on attitudes toward language learning and the immersion experience. 7. a positive effect on student understanding of cultural, social, and political aspects of Indian/non-Indian relations.8. a neutral effect on English language and literacy development. Temporary lags in English literacy skills could be expected until after the teaching of English reading. Skill levels could become equivalent to those of comparable students in regular programs within one school year, with the possible exception of spelling.9. a neutral or positive effect on overall educational achievement. Greater understanding of their Indian culture, lowered drop-out rates, and improved work study skills could be predicted. Certain program characteristics which were identified as essential if all of the projected neutral or positive consequences were to be realized include: 1. an early total immersion program model. 2. an immersion centre setting.3. introduction of Cree literacy before English literacy.4. adequate Cree language resource materials, for all subjects and grades taught in Cree.5. fluently bilingual and biliterate qualified teachers with specialized training in bilingual education.6. subjects to be taught in Cree to be selected dependent on the availability of resource materials and qualified teachers.7. a carefully planned and implemented program. A Cree immersion program could result in enhanced cognitive and linguistic abilities to the extent that Cree were spoken in students' homes, and that students had opportunities to use Cree outside of the school. Under identified program conditions, early total Cree immersion could have at least neutral 'effects on student self-concept, cognitive development, English language development and academic achievement. It could have positive effects on student Cree language proficiency, attitudes toward the Cree language and culture, attitudes toward language learning, sociopolitical perceptions, communication within the family, retention rates, work study skills, and knowledge about Indian cultures. Cree proficiency attained by students might not be native-like, but could be at a level which would allow them to learn through Cree, and to continue learning the Cree language and culture.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Regina, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references.

Beginning with Native American activism in the 1960's and bolstered by the Indian Self Determination Act of 1975, tribes have been actively attempting in recent decades to increase tribal sovereignty and self-determination and revitalize tribal communities. One way they are doing this at Rocky Boy's Reservation in North Central Montana, is by taking control of the production of tribal narratives through institutions like the tribe's Internal Review Board and the completion of the first tribal history written completely by tribal members (2008). Another way is by looking back at the history of past researchers to the reservation and having important dialogues about the impacts and legacies of those researchers' work with the community. Out of this dialogue an "oral tradition" has emerged at Rocky Boy centering largely on Frank Bird Linderman (1869-1938) and Verne Dusenberry (1906-1966). These two researchers are often remembered very differently by tribal members: Linderman emerges as a hero due to his political aid for the Chippewa Cree in helping them acquire a reservation homeland, while Dusenberry more often serves as a representative of the troubled relationship between researchers and the tribe in the past. This dissertation examines the creation of historical narratives about Rocky Boy's Chippewa Cree, focusing on the effects of "contests" over cultural authority between key researchers to the reservation and tribal leaders in the making of those narratives. This dissertation makes a comparative analysis of the similarities and differences between the two researchers' claims to cultural authority by returning them to the contexts of their relationships with Chippewa Cree, and the stories and legacies that emerged around their work on the reservation. It explores the responses of tribal leaders to Linderman and Dusenberry and attempts by Chippewa Cree leaders (Little Bear, Big Rock, Rocky Boy, and Four Souls) to recontextualize and reclaim cultural authority and tribal historical narratives in their interactions with these researchers. By making these comparisons, this dissertation examines the ongoing effects these battles over cultural authority have had on tribal self-determination and revitalization efforts both past and present. Two of four chapters detail the lives and textual works of Frank Bird Linderman and Verne Dusenberry. These two men serve as a nexus point for the complex, interwoven and historically-layered "contexts" and "contests" over authority--both past and present, inter-culturally and intra-tribally, as writing and material forms, between outsiders and the living reservation that are the focus of this dissertation. This dissertation intervenes into previous histories written about Rocky Boy that have largely failed to recognize how complexly intertwined and often shared the processes of creating histories about the Rocky Boy's Reservation have been between outside researchers, tribal leaders and the reservation community. It also intercedes in the ongoing dialogue and debate about the role of researchers, cultural authority and protocols and tribal history in tribal revitalization and self-determination for the tribe.

This thesis explores the history of Mounted Police and Cree relations on two Saskatchewan Reserves: Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation in the north-east of the province, and Poundmaker Cree Nation in the central south-western portion of Saskatchewan.<p> Sources include oral interviews of elders from each reserve as well as a wide variety of primary and secondary sources, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police records.<p> One of the main goals of this thesis is to present a Cree perspective on contact and interaction with the Mounted Police. Although police policies were supposedly the same towards all Indians, specific elements of the Mounted Police dealings were altered according to a variety of external influences. For example, different environmental features from one region to the other prohibited the adoption of agriculture in the north. Diverse patterns of Euro-Canadian settlement, concentrated in the north but widespread in the south, also influenced relations. In addition, differences in the two Cree groups forced the Mounted Police to realize that not all Indians were the same.<p> This thesis supplies a brief history of the two Cree groups to provide insight on the existing methods of Cree law enforcement long-established prior to the arrival of the Mounted Police, and the complexities encountered in adapting to the laws of the Canadian government. Consideration is given to the difficulties in creating a law enforcement group to police the newly acquired North West Territories, as well as the initial phases of Cree and police contact for each region.<p> Each region experienced its own history, which contributed to the relationship between the Cree and the Mounted Police. For example, in the Battleford region the 1885 Rebellion played a key role in denigrating the image of the Poundmaker Cree, whereas the Peter Ballantyne Cree experienced no such event which created such a negative image. Poverty, starvation, and disease among both Cree groups were unfortunate elements which resulted from police enforcement of certain detrimental government policies. All the same, the Cree perceived the police as "protectors", yet were fully aware that they were also forced to carry out the orders of the Canadian government. It is this delicate balance between duty and humanity that had the greatest impact on relations between the Cree and the Mounted Police in Saskatchewan.

This study described the stories of a First Nations mother and provides an interpretative analysis on how she used stories to teach Cree culture, language, and identity. The stories presented are in the stream of mother-daughter communication. The oral transmission of the Cree stories communicated through mother tongue form the basis of this work. It is through the analysis of my mother's stories that I have come to understand what it means to be a Cree woman. Throughout, we have a level of communication and understanding that has come full circle in appreciating my mother's ways as we collaborated to interpret our stories.<p> The literature reviewed presents a theoretical discussion which illuminates Aboriginal matriarchal voice. The literature review explores works within the historical, contemporary, literary, and feminists paradigms which speak from Aboriginal women and their stories. The literature includes the perspectives of Aboriginal authors and their views on epistemology. In this naturalistic study, I used the descriptive narrative approach to reflect on a mother's stories in the stream of day-to-day activity. I collected data using field notes gathered on-site, audio-tapes of stories from my mother's lived experience, and a reflective journal of observations and insights that linked theory and pedagogy. Themes were derived from the stories which illustrated a metaphysical, ecological, and cultural journey toward wholeness. These themes represent the ways story is used within the context of lived experience. Further, a cultural metaphor using the pattern of the flower symbolized a woman's connections with Cree knowledge. The study became an emancipatory narrative because it allowed a Cree woman's voice to be acknowledged.<p> Using storytelling as a narrative framework, I have found that the oral tradition is a fundamental communicative pattern for the Cree people. Further, the stories we share lead to growth and understanding of self as a Cree person. For this, the ways stories are told shape and form the basis of Cree knowledge. In this study, the use of analogies, symbolism, and metaphor are primary ways of coming to know.