ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the historical contexts of American Indian education, from the religious structures of the pre-colonial era, through policies of assimilation and termination, to the legislative acts of the 1970s and contemporary issues. As summarized by Fuchs and Havighurst, historically, American institutions charged with the education of Indians had the primary goal of assimilation of Indian children into white society through the removal of the children from their aboriginal culture. The chapter also presents a case study of a single school whose first 100 years reflect the national history and whose second 100 years have begun as a statement of success under tribal leadership. Under self-determination, Indian leadership now controls Indian education in the United States. Their solutions to the current educational concerns of their people will shape the path of American Indian education through the twenty-first century.
