Indigenous Education

So something I find striking is the idea that Indigenous peoples had about interconnectedness. The reason I am intrigued about this because of how Liberal Arts Education is beginning to reflect this. "Historical Context and Culture to Native American Literature"describes the idea of interconnectivity. "These include a sense of the interconnectedness and relationship between all things, between animals, land, peoples and their language, and a requirement to seek individual, communal, and environmental balance."(Porter 43). The ideas that Indigenous peoples observed hundreds of years ago are the same ideas stressed in university environments today.

Indigenous Peoples are still ahead of the curb when thinking about interconnectedness, an article on the development of economic growth in indigenous communities speaks towards the focus on generating revenues while considering the future and environmental impact. Annette Alvarez, in her article "Native American Tribes and Economic Development" discuss how decisions are carefully weighed. "We are taught to think about how a decision we make about our land will affect the next seven generations," he says. "It is all about sustainability—about making decisions that ensure that our land, air, and water can support all forms of life for generations to come. While each American Indian tribe is unique, all tribal people believe in balancing the economic impact of a decision with its physical, economic, social, and spiritual implications."(Alvarez). 

While reading this article it was amazing to me how similar the morals were to the ones stated in Porter's article. The idea of balance follows right after the idea of interconnectedness in both articles. "Balance is linked to the survival of community within specific landscapes." The same principles that existed in early Indigenous cultures shine through today, as Indigenous communities advanced in their ability to balance economic, environmental, and communal prosperity. The article is interesting because it looks at the prosperous communities in the Indigenous culture which we haven't really talked about, thought the article acknowledges the economic hardships that many reservations face. For those of you interested in the full article it is a great look into modern cultural practices of Indigenous peoples. http://urbanland.uli.org/Articles/2011/Mar/AlvarezNative