Page 475 - Cultural Studies of Science Education

450 L. Waukau-Villagomez and C.S. Malott

Using Indigenous Knowledge Systems in the Content Areas

Chigeza and Whitehouse write about Aboriginal students navigating between their
culture and that of nonindigenous Australians and the measurement of achievement
through culturally monochromatic lenses. In a similar vein, Gregory Cajete (1999)
wrote about the need to provide a way to bridge the differences between the worldview
of traditional Native American students and western science. According to Cajete, for
many years, Native children were treated as if they suffered from cultural deprivation.
In more recent years, with the emphasis on Indian self-determination, this perspective
has slowly changed. In the 1970s, Native American tribes were given more control over
their government and education. Further, cultural traditions received more attention.
Native American language and culture became a part of the school curriculum in many
reservation or Indian-controlled schools. When the Menominee Indian School District
was founded in the late 1970s, culture was included in the mission statement.
Menominee language and history became required classes in the grade school and high
school. Special programs were developed to train Menominee people to become certi-
fied teachers.
Cajete (1999) promotes the idea of what he calls a bicultural science education.
This differs greatly from what he calls modern European American education, where
students are prepared for tasks important in an industrial and technological society.
Bicultural education, according to Cajete, emphasizes understanding reality for a
particular cultural group, which involves establishing communication about nature
that is meaningful to the group. This understanding of reality and nature is meant to
help Native students develop more positive attitudes toward science and strengthen
their tribal identity concomitantly, which is significant in assisting youth to become
more successful in school and society.
Cajete (1999) also emphasizes the importance of understanding the core values
and beliefs of Native Americans, noting that these values differ from some values in
North American education. He believes that Native cultures may conceptualize ideas
in terms of cultural mysticism and longer-term tribal narratives. He uses the example
of Keresan Pueblo Indian philosophy as his case in point and in particular, the mythical
being of “Thinking Woman.” There are several elements to the narrative of Thinking
Woman. The first element points to the importance of an individual’s perception of
their environment and the value of their individual experiences. The second element
highlights learning through modeling and the value of that sort of learning. Cajete
notes that the narrative of Thinking Woman represents the core values of harmony
and balance. These core values and beliefs, according to Cajete, are representative
of Native American philosophies in the southwestern United States.
More recently, Sara Unsworth, a doctoral student from Northwestern University,
completed a study in 2008 on the Menominee Indian Reservation. She received
special permission from the tribal elders to study the scientific knowledge of
Menominee children. In fact, the tribal chairperson sat on her dissertation committee
and the Menominee Tribe owns the copyright to her research. As Unsworth
conducted her study, a number of things became apparent that are related to Chigeza
and Whitehouse’s study in terms of Native American and Aboriginal children’s
familiarity with their environment. Unsworth found that children on the Menominee