Traditional Education

Dr. Martin Brokenleg Story Characteristics -Children treated with tremendous RESPECT  Seen as gifts from the creator -“Takes a community to raise a child”  everyone in the community had a responsibility to pass on knowledge -Learning started at birth  life long process -children given tasks and involved at a very early age -HOLISTIC Learning: spiritual emotional physical intellectual -Very TOLERANT, less corrective  foster independence Dr. Martin Brokenleg Story

Teaching Style -hands on -Apprenticeship based  observation and practice  guidance from an expert -stories -direct involvement

What was taught Survival Skills (hunting, weaving, fishing etc.) Land and Resource knowledge History of Territory / Family / Nation etc. Traditional Knowledge of Ancestors Also: -respect, morals, independence, responsibilities

Educational Stages Child-Preteen: Adolescent: Early Adulthood: -once physically able, children involved in duties -observing, listening Adolescent: -Apprenticeship training begins -puberty training begins -gender roles and expectations are understood Early Adulthood: -passage of rites & ceremonies to mark adulthood  Vision Quests – multiple days/nights secluded in nature – seek spiritual guidance + connect to surroundings  Coming of Age Ceremonies –celebrate adulthood and purpose in community

Puberty Training -young men go to Elders for training -process can take a year or longer -tasks start out easy but get significantly harder as the year unfolds: -fixing a fence in the summer  branding horses  gathering shale for pot holes  finding a tool in the middle of the night alone  building a sweat and using it for 10 straight days -through this process youth gather knowledge, survival skills, discipline and spiritual guidance.