TY - JOUR
T1 - When tribal sovereignty challenges democracy
T2 - American Indian education and the democratic ideal
AU - Lomawaima, K Tsianina
AU - McCarty, Teresa L.
PY - 2002
Y1 - 2002
N2 - The lessons of American Indian education - a grand experiment in standardization - can lead to a more equitable educational system for all U.S. citizens. While masquerading as a tool for equal opportunity, standardization has marginalized Native peoples. We argue for diversity - not standardization - as a foundational value for a just multicultural democracy, but diversity is feared by some as a threat to the nation's integrity. Critical historical analysis of the apparently contradictory policies and practices within American Indian education reveals a patterned response to cultural and linguistic diversity, as the federal government has attempted to distinguish "safe" from "dangerous" Native practices. Examples of the contest between Indigenous self-determination (rooted in internal sovereignty) and federal control illustrate the profound national ambivalence toward diversity but also the potential to nourish "places of difference" within a healthy democracy.
AB - The lessons of American Indian education - a grand experiment in standardization - can lead to a more equitable educational system for all U.S. citizens. While masquerading as a tool for equal opportunity, standardization has marginalized Native peoples. We argue for diversity - not standardization - as a foundational value for a just multicultural democracy, but diversity is feared by some as a threat to the nation's integrity. Critical historical analysis of the apparently contradictory policies and practices within American Indian education reveals a patterned response to cultural and linguistic diversity, as the federal government has attempted to distinguish "safe" from "dangerous" Native practices. Examples of the contest between Indigenous self-determination (rooted in internal sovereignty) and federal control illustrate the profound national ambivalence toward diversity but also the potential to nourish "places of difference" within a healthy democracy.
KW - American Indian education
KW - Critical democracy
KW - Federal Indian policy
KW - Multicultural education
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0036614604&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.3102/00028312039002279
DO - 10.3102/00028312039002279
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0036614604
SN - 0002-8312
VL - 39
SP - 279
EP - 305
JO - American Educational Research Journal
JF - American Educational Research Journal
IS - 2
ER -