History

• Prior to European exploration of the Americas, traditional Native American education consisted of social and survival skills. From a very early age, native children learned that what was best for the family, tribe or clan always came before personal interests. They learned to hunt, fish, build homes and care for children and the elderly. Prior to the Industrial Revolution and the rise of technology, Western education primarily involved academic study or learning a trade. In both agrarian and urban areas, emphasis was placed on mastering a craft, such as working the land, making shoes and clothing or studying philosophy or law.
  
  

Significance

• With the arrival of European missionaries, native cultural and educational practices were met with extreme opposition. Since much of Western education has Christian roots, missionaries rejected Native American religious beliefs and practices that were taught to native children and used in everyday life. While European and American children were taught a variety of subjects including religion and classical studies such as logic, natural science and philosophy, math, reading and writing, Native American children who were forced to attend Western schools only received Western agrarian skills and religious education in efforts to convert them to Christianity and force them to assimilate.
  
  

Politics

• As America began to expand and grow, Native Americans realized that in order to protect their land, rights and cultural practices, they would have to compromise with the American government. One compromise native people made was adoption of Western practices such as large-scale farming and learning to read and write in English. After a 1928 study, later known as the Meriam Report, revealed the vast differences in Native American and Western schools, a number of policies and financial aid programs referred to as the Indian New Deal were introduced to improve the state of education for Native Americans.
  
  

Modern Times

• In the decades since the civil rights movement and Native American movements of the 1970s, Western and Native American schools and educational practices have become more alike than ever before. In the past, Western education took place in the formal setting of a school or house, while Native American schools placed more emphasis on hands-on learning outside of a single place. Today, Western education has embraced hands-on, experiential learning in addition to formal classroom education, realizing the value of placing theories and ideas in a tangible context. While many Native American children attend integrated, local schools, modern Native American schools now resemble their larger counterparts in appearance and theory.
  
  

Considerations

• Although the content differences in Western and Native American schools are not as vast as they previously were, it is important to note that the adoption of Western education has not translated into economic prosperity for the American Indian. While reservations are provided some federal funding, many tribal schools still lack the technology, materials and funding found in the larger society's education systems.