Theses and Dissertations at Montana State University (MSU)
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Item The impact of United States policy on Apsaalooke education(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2023) Real Bird-Amyotte, Rana M.; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: William Ruff; Christine Rogers Stanton (co-chair)This dissertation focused on the perceptions of Apsaalooke (Crow) elders, descendants who experienced first-hand the trauma of the boarding school era. Apsaalooke is used throughout this paper when indicating ancestral peoples and experiences, while Crow is used in modern context. By sharing the Apsaalooke history, culture, personal experiences, and background knowledge we can better understand the survival of the culture and the Apsaalooke language. The research questions guiding this study are (1) How do Apsaalooke Elders perceive the impact of U.S. educational policies enacted between 1819 to 1934? And (2) What shared assumptions do Apsaalooke Elders perceive as essential for helping their children overcome contemporary cultural challenges? Six Apsaalooke enrolled tribal members participated in the study. From their interviews three main themes emerged: (1) generational trauma, (2) generational oppression, and (3) mistrust. The Apsaalooke elders voiced their frustration regarding the loss of land due to the negative impact it had on the Apsaalooke culture. Some families' lifestyles impacted their children's life at home and outside of the home creating a detrimental effect the learning of the Apsaalooke language and the cultural ways. The concern and hope of the Apsaalooke language and culture may not be lost as there remains hope for the younger generations to learn and speak the Apsaalooke language. The elders believed the Apsaalooke people are carrying the traumas of their ancestors, grandparents, and parents as well as their own trauma. The impact of generational trauma is loss of land, hunger, language cultural loss, broken Apsaalooke family units, and cultural extinction. Talking about the past hurts invites this hurt back into their lives. So, they move on wanting to live peacefully. The Apsaalooke elders all agreed education is a key component for their children to succeed and Apsaalooke tribal leaders need to address these issues by offering their support to help the younger generations. This was a major concern for all participants. An essential part of the preservation effort is conveying to the next generation the life their ancestors lived and the changes they survived; thus, facilitating Apsaalooke education's evolution for a new time in history.Item Improving well water contaminant awareness among Big Horn County healthcare professionals through community engagement(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Nursing, 2020) Schott, Raelene Ursula; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Sandra Benavides-VaelloBighorn County, Montana sits in the Little Bighorn River Valley in the south-central part of the state. The Crow Reservation, a Northern Plains Indian Reservation, encompasses 2.3 million acres in the Little Bighorn River Valley; the majority of the reservation is in Bighorn County. Over 8,000 tribal members live on the reservation, many of whom reside near rivers and streams. Due in part to the rurality of the area, up to 60 percent of the people living on the reservation have home wells as their primary water source. A variety of contaminants has been discovered in well water in Bighorn County, including manganese, uranium, nitrate, and arsenic. Manganese has been shown to cause cognitive delays in children with minimal exposure, along with neurological effects in children and adults alike, known as 'manganism', signified by extrapyramidal dysfunction. Uranium exposure causes kidney damage, increases the risk for various types of cancer, and can have reproductive and developmental effects on women. With minimal exposure, arsenic can cause neurological effects, hypertension, peripheral vascular disease, cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, diabetes mellitus, and malignancies - including skin cancer. Arsenic toxicity includes links to cancer, cardiovascular disease, immune dysfunction, diabetes, and altered neurodevelopment. There are clear public health implications to providing an educational intervention regarding the contaminants to the healthcare providers in Hardin, MT, a community in Big Horn County, in order for them to provide evidence-based information to their patients. This pre/post-quasi-experimental project was designed to evaluate the knowledge gained by healthcare providers in Hardin following a short PowerPoint presentation with voiceover that provided educational information about the common contaminants and their health effects. There were seven healthcare providers who participated in the project. Results of the survey showed an overall improvement in their knowledge about the contaminants, as well as their comfort speaking to patients about these contaminants. These results indicated that the educational intervention provided by the author was successful in meeting the goals of this scholarly project.Item Systemic oppression of indigenous people and documentary film storytelling from an Absaalooge paradigm(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Arts & Architecture, 2020) del Duca, Camille Mona Höwitaawi, Alahuzha Itchish; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Lucia RicciardelliIn this paper, I propose that contemporary documentary films that depict Native American cultures should tell the story from that culture's perspective, centering relationality instead of perpetuating hierarchal thinking. My methodological approach to both this paper and my film 'The Roads of Healing' is based on the work of Indigenous Research Methodology scholar Shawn Wilson, whose work prioritizes relationality and aims to have the final product benefit the community. I have done my best to respect and follow the Absaalooge protocols taught to me by my relations. In this paper, I will discuss the colonial impact of Eurocentric documentary representations of Indigenous people on Native Americans through an analysis of 'Beyond Standing Rock' (2018) and 'What Was Ours' (2016). I will then demonstrate how aspects of the Indigenous worldview can be expressed in documentary filmmaking through an examination of 'Fast Horse' (2018) and 'Return to Foretop's Father' (2019), concluding my study with an analysis of my own film 'Roads of Healing', which I propose as a model for documentarians who are working to decolonize Eurocentric nonfiction filmmaking. In doing so, I will illustrate how systemic racism perpetuated by euro-centric documentary filmmaking practices can be challenged by embracing an Indigenous paradigm.Item An Apsaalooke view for educational leadership(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2019) Cummins, Jason Dean; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: William RuffThere have been many calls for Native American communities to be given more self-determination in the education of their children. Yet despite these calls for allowing Native American parents to be included in the education of their children this is not happening (Bird, Lee and Lopez, 2013). In this study the researcher utilizes an Indigenous research methodology adhering the cultural protocols of the Apsaalooke nation and building upon the 4 R's, which are respect, relevance, reciprocity and responsibility (Kirkness & Barnhardt, 1991). This research allowed Apsaalooke tribal members, identified through the protocols of the Ashammaliaxxiia to voice their perspective and expectations for school leaders who serve students in their communities. There were formal interviews, informal visits and personal communications. The research questions that guided this study are: 1. What kind of behavior and actions do Apsaalooke tribal members expect from school leaders such as principals and superintendents serving their students? 2. How can school leaders work well with parents and leaders in the Apsaalooke community? 3. What do Apsaalooke tribal members want school leaders to know and be aware of in the education of the children of the tribe? From the research four salient themes emerged which are: 1. A leaders first job is to learn; 2. Lead through relationships; 3. Crows take education seriously; 4. The preservation of Apsaalooke identity and culture. Seventeen tribal members participated in the study. From the study the researcher found that leaders need to respect the community and build authentic relationships within it by being present and connected to the community. Lead the school with those relationships within the informal leadership model in the community in a more flattened model based on the respect of and the character possessed by influential leaders, rather than a hierarchical one, as well as defend those relationships. Understand the Apsaalooke want their student to achieve academically and help parents to support their students in this and hire and retain quality teachers. Support the preservation and perpetuation of the Apsaalooke way of life.Item Belief ways of the Apsaalooke: development of a culture through time and space(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2016) Bull Chief, Emerson Lee; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Matthew HermanThe purpose of this dissertation is to evaluate the oral history of the Apsaalooke for connections to the four Native science foundations. I interviewed the Crow Cultural Cabinet Head to attain the stories for each religion. I then compared the content of each story to the four foundations and found the connections that corresponded. The Clan System connected to the community foundation. The Sweat Lodge connected to the environment foundation. The Sacred Pipe ceremony connected to the language foundation and the Sacred Tobacco Society connected to the spirituality foundation. Although these connections were developed, there are many more that can be made interchangeably. The four foundations of Native science and the four belief ways of the Apsaalooke complemented each other.Item A study of perceptions on educational values of post high school Crow Indian students(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Business, 1996) Yarlott, David, Jr.; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Norman L. MillikinThe purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of post high school Crow Indian students as to the value of education. Surveys were distributed among 150 post high school Crow Indian students assisted by the Crow Higher Education Department. The distribution of the survey was among four subgroups from the population; administrators, college graduates in other professions, current students, and students who did not complete college. Conclusions of the survey are: 1) Most of the respondents feel a need for education beyond high school, not only from the educational standpoint, but also for economic and social reasons. 2) A large obstacle to obtaining higher education is meeting financial needs. 3) The most valuable subjects are Reading, Writing, and Speech, in that order. 4) Meeting the cost of education is the highest motivator for continuing higher education. 5) Family support and the location of the school makes a difference in enrollment decisions. 6) Factors that influence career decision making is higher with family members than high school experiences. The recommendations of the study are: 1) Provide good jobs, as incentives, for students that graduate from a Higher Education Institution and return to the Crow Indian Reservation. 2) Develop a program to increase awareness for opportunities and societal improvements with additional education. 3) Increase funding for students that are attending Higher Educational Institutions. 4) Develop a support program to track students progress. 5) Become a bigger factor in improving preparatory courses for Institutions of Higher Learning at the local high schools. 6) Promote Little Big Horn College as a vehicle for a better social, economic, and self-development environment for the entire Crow Tribal population. 7) Promote, request, encourage, and finance research that benefits the Crow Tribe.Item English achievement of seventh grade Crow Indian students and proposed ways of improving their language skills in the Hardin public schools(Montana State University - Bozeman, 1963) Dyche, Steven E.Item An evaluation of the Crow Indian 4-H programs(Montana State University - Bozeman, 1971) Weber, Robert Art; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Gerald D. SullivanDuring the winter of 1971, a survey was undertaken to assess the 4-H program on the Crow reservation in Montana. The survey was conducted to determine new ways to develop a 4-H program that would be more acceptable to the Crow people. A 4-H interview form was developed to survey five areas of influence on the Crow reservation that are felt to be significant in determining how to develop some new approaches to improve the Crow Indian 4-H program. A population of twenty-five people were surveyed, five of which were white 4-H club leaders and twenty who were Crow Indian adults. An extensive survey was also made of literature related to working with disadvantaged low income youth. The literature covered thirteen books and twenty-eight periodicals. Seven areas of study were surveyed. The information presented in Table 2 indicates that twenty (80.0 percent) of the population surveyed would like to have their youth learn skills and values that are related to the Crow culture. This information is in agreement with what Crow parents say about the 4-H program and what they would like their youth to learn as 4-H members. It was recommended that in the future that the Crow Indian 4-H program include projects and activities that are more closely related to the Crow Indian culture. The knowledge gained from the study of the seven areas of related literature was accomplished to develop ethnic sensitivity essential to working with disadvantaged Indian youth and adults. This information combined with the facts recorded from the questionnaire has provided definite information and insights that are intended to be used as guidelines for developing future 4-H programs with the Crow people by the present Extension staff assigned to the Crow reservation.Item Absarog-Issawua (from the land of the Crow Indians)(Montana State University - Bozeman, 1970) Toineeta, Joy Yellowtail"This is an original piece of research into the Crow Indian uses of native plants and animals for food and medicinal, as well as other purposes. Incorporated into the manuscript are introductory legends or incidents surrounding or accompanying the recipes."Item A study of educational achievements of Crow Indian students(Montana State University - Bozeman, 1979) Stops, William Galen; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Elnora A. Old Coyote