Scholarly Work - Indigenous Research Initiative
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/15852
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Item Factors affecting the education of Montana Indians(Montana State University - Bozeman, 1968) Barnett, James FranklinItem Problems in Indian families : a survey of major problems and coping procedures of twenty Indian families residing on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 1975) Emerson, Michael A.Item After the buffalo days : documents on the Crow Indians from the 1880's to the 1920's(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 1970) Bradley, Charles CraneThe period in the history of the Crow Indians of Montana between the 1880’s and the 1920's for a long time concerned historians less than the period ending with the Custer Battle. In this thesis I have attempted' to present the important events as based on documentary evidence. Most of the documents referred to in this thesis were the letters received by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs filed in the National Archives at Washington, D.C. Reference was also made to Congressional Hearings in the Interior Department library and to Chief Plenty Coups Letter File and Note Book in the Plenty Coups Memorial. After reading between 1500 and 2000 letters concerning the Crow Reservation I concluded the basic mistake the Indian Office made was training the Crows to become farmers, herders, irrigators, carpenters, and blacksmiths. The Office of Indian Affairs never foresaw the day when a few educated Crows would attempt to manage the Reservation. Thus, when the political authority on the Reservation disintegrated, members of the Crow Business Committee were ill prepared for administrative work. The important Issues concerning the Crow Reservation from the point of view of the Government included leasing Tribal lands, granting right of ways to railroads, authorizing irrigation construction, and establishing schools. Leasing Crow land to stockmen drew much excitement and considerable brain work from the Indian Office. Leases, however, concerned the Crow Tribe less than the ceding of the western and northern portions of the Reservation. The railroads cutting through the Reservation brought economic advancement to the surrounding white people, but the Crows became dubious toward them. The Crow Irrigation Survey was significant in that it Was the first large scale employment of Crow Indians. Schools on the Crow Reservation were regarded by the Indian Office as indications of material progress and progress toward white man’s culture. World War I involved the Crow Indians in the world situation. In short, the period from the 1880’s to the 1920’s was the period of a major transition in Crow culture and also a forgotten portion in the life of Chief Plenty Coos.Item As long as the grass grows and the waters flow : an indigenous perspective of Blackfoot land history(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2003) Crowe, Thedis BerthelsonItem The history of the catechesis of the Catholic Church on the Crow Reservation(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 1983) Watembach, KarenThe thesis presented in this paper states that the Catholic Church through the missionary activity of the Jesuits on the Crow Reservation from 1887-1921 established a permanent mission school, St. Xavier Mission Boarding School, as the center of a European feudal model of church. This model was built upon two constructs: the stationary center and the philosophical-historical concept of world view. The Crow people were in contrast nomadic and held a cosmological concept of world view. The teachings of Jesus were woven through a series of cultural conflicts, misunderstanding of methodologies and language differences, clashes of values as well as loving concern, Crow language preservation, education of the young, and spiritual gifts which spoke to the Crow people. Using a historical approach, the writer researched archival materials - letters, diaries, school and government records, sermons, prayers and catechisms translated into the Crow language; gathered information through oral history; and interpreted theological and philosophical constructs in Catholic Church history and in Crow tradition. Through this research it was concluded that the Catholic Church did in fact build a model of feudal church on the Crow Reservation with the boarding school as its stationary center. However, in 1907 the model began to disintegrate when the government and the Crow people desired day schools. The center of the feudal model was lost when St. Xavier Boarding School closed in 1921.Item Variables related to teacher attrition among selected reservation and off-reservation schools of Montana(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 1981) McLean, Robert EdgarItem Developing a professional learning community among mathematics teachers on two Montana Indian reservations(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2006) Nelson, Karma Grace; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Jayne DowneyThis study documents the development of a professional learning community [Math Inquiry Group] of mathematics teachers from schools on or near the Crow and Northern Cheyenne reservations in Southeast Montana (referred to in this study as the bounded system) using an approach referred to as ALRR (Ask, Listen, Respond and Reflect). It adds to the current body of literature identifying professional learning communities as a recommended method to improve classroom practice and close achievement gaps in mathematics. Although much has been written about professional learning communities within a given school or district, there is little advice for those wishing to develop a professional learning community across schools. Teachers and administrators in the bounded system were committed to improving student learning in mathematics but struggled to do so within the context of high student mobility rates and a serious lack of consistent curricular material.Item Indian Gaming : the Montana stalemate(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2009) Wingo, Rebecca Shirley; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Kristin T. RuppelIn 1988, a series of lawsuits between the tribes and the states culminated in the passage of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) in Congress. The law divides gambling into three classes: Class I games consist of traditional Indian games. Class II consists of games such as bingo and card games not played against the house. Class III games are the typical Vegas-style games, including slots, roulette, craps, and blackjack. Only Class III gaming requires that the tribes to enter into a compact with the state. Indian gaming in Montana is currently at a stalemate. The state is unwilling to allow tribes to expand their casinos to include Class III, Vegas-style gaming which would provide funding for basic tribal programs as well as supplement existing programs. According IGRA, tribes must either make a compact with the state or be content with Class II games only. IGRA states that should the state fail to negotiate their Class III compacts in good faith, the tribes have the right to sue the state. The state, however, is able to assert their Eleventh Amendment right of sovereign immunity and stop the lawsuit. The controversy over Indian gaming and the law has played out in the court system, the media, and state courts. Through interviews with tribal councilmen and attorneys across the reservations in Montana, I have concluded that Montana has not negotiated in good faith and has ignored tribal sovereign rights. As sovereign nations, the tribes should not have to negotiate with the state. Montana Indian reservations should join forces to bring a case before the state and federal government and sue for fairer Class III gaming compacts for each reservation.Item Landscape and place-identity in a Great Plains Reservation community : a historical geography of Poplar, Montana(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2008) Warren, Scott Daniel; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: William WyckoffThis study constructs a historical-geographical narrative of Poplar, Montana and explores residents' place-identity in the context of economic restructuring. Located on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in northeastern Montana, Poplar offers an ideal setting to better understand how economic restructuring affects the lives of residents in northern Plains reservation communities. Loss of businesses, consolidation of services, and general economic restructuring continue to challenge communities on the Great Plains. For Great Plains Indian reservations, however, these problems are compounded by additional variables such as persistently high poverty rates, a dynamic relationship with the federal government, and increasing populations. Archival research, landscape analysis, and interview data are all used to better understand the influence of economic restructuring in shaping Poplar. This study demonstrates the value of historical and cultural geographic approaches in understanding the past evolution as well as the contemporary challenges of reservation communities in the American West.Item The relative poverty of American Indian reservations : why does reservation poverty persist despite rich neighbors?(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Agriculture, 2006) Cookson Jr., John Anthony; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Robert K. Fleck.American Indian reservations have per capita incomes $9,000 lower than adjacent counties. This paper seeks to explain why using an approach akin to the analysis of country-level data. I estimate differences in levels of income and income growth for a decade where Indian economies were transformed greatly by casino gambling - the 1990s. I test several recent innovations in the theory of economic growth within the context of American Indian economies and assess how economic performance depends on veto players, human capital investment, and windfall wealth. I find that measures of rule of law, rent seeking, and human capital are the most economically significant predictors of the per capita income gap. In addition, the size of Indian casinos is strongly correlated with convergence and economic growth, suggesting that tribal investment in Indian casinos plays an important role in reservation economies. From the work done here, promoting economic growth through enhancing a stable investment climate appears to be the most successful development strategy. Moreover, this study contributes to the broader literature on economic growth by providing new insight into the way institutional quality affects the speed of, or potentially lack of, convergence.