Pre-Contact education (Native American history)

Tribes affected: Pantribal

Significance: Pre-contact education did not anticipate great changes in existing lifestyles and therefore centered on the maintenance and preservation of the tribe’s culture and way of life

Education or socialization of the young is an important concern in all societies, including American Indian societies in the pre-contact period. With the exception of the “high cultures” of Peru and Mexico, however, education did not occur in formal schools. Instead, education of the young was a shared function of families and communities. Owing to the diversity across native cultures, the content of such education varied. In general, both sex and age differences were observed.

Learning Role Skills

One focus of education was the learning of skills necessary for adult roles. Such skills were learned through imitation, often involving play activities, as well as through direct instruction. Among those people who subsisted by hunting and gathering, fathers and other older male relatives taught boys the skills of the hunter. Among these same peoples, mothers and other older female relatives served as teachers of girls in gathering plant foods as well as processing and preparing both game and plant foods. Among native peoples who subsisted by farming, fathers and male relatives served as primary teachers of boys, while mothers and female relatives served as primary teachers of girls. Similarly, Native American children received much instruction from adults in learning such skills as weaving, pottery making, tanning, tool making, and the decorative arts. These, too, were differentiated according to gender.

Moral Education

Another major focus of education was the learning of attitudes and values appropriate to the culture. In addition to role modeling, direct instruction was involved. The advent of puberty, with a girl’s first menses, was generally marked with advice and instruction on the girl’s new status and responsibilities. Older female relatives, and sometimes a shaman and older male relatives, played a part in this response to menstruation in Native American culture. In those native societies that had sodalities, initiates were instructed in the character requirements as well as in the songs, prayers, and powers associated with them.

A major device in instilling proper attitudes and values in children was Native American oral literature. There were not only stories of the sacred, traditions, and events but also stories of culture heroes. The latter, in particular, played a major part in moral education. The storytellers were most often older members of the family or community who were highly regarded for their storytelling skills.

Discipline Strategies

American Indians were noted for their love and mild treatment of children. Discipline was generally marked by an absence of corporal punishment. Instead, children were most often teased and cajoled into proper behavior by their parents and elders. Joking relations were also a way for some tribes to pass on messages about behavior. In some of the matrilineal societies, much of the responsibility for discipline was taken on by the mother’s brother. Cultural “frighteners” were also known but were not usually flagrantly used.

A Dakota (Sioux) Example

Being primarily a hunting and gathering tribe, the Dakota had no need for an extensive program beyond that of basic survival and limited arts and crafts. Since they were seasonally nomadic, it was not practical to amass personal possessions and unnecessary items. Consequently, they did not develop their craftsmanship as extensively as did more agrarian cultures. When there was leisure, the Native American women did magnificent quill work, and this was taught to the younger females along with their domestic responsibilities.

In the early years, the Dakota lived in small villages, sometimes as small as an extended family. These villages were extremely independent and required great responsibility and self-discipline from their members. Only the very young child had no responsibilities. There were numerous chores to be done. Among the social responsibilities were preparing for the hunt, gathering roots and berries, harvesting wild rice, making maple sugar, preparing hides, and arranging and preparing for social events. The young were gradually brought into these work roles.

Although education may have been simplified, it was not insignificant or trivial. The Dakota were sustained by a highly efficient ecosystem that had a cyclical chain of events that not only provided subsistence but also brought meaning and identity. They regulated their hunting and trapping to maintain a balance of nature. The young men were thus taught to respect living animals and not to allow them to depopulate.

Education, or the passing on of knowledge, was accomplished in a variety of forms. One of these was ritual. Rituals were performed in order to recall events and certain natural laws. If the ritual was performed exactly as instructed, and the meaning was clearly explained, then whenever the ritual was performed, learning was reinforced. Another form of learning was storytelling. Many stories and legends were passed down as soon as a young child could understand the spoken word. Stories contained moral lessons, humor, and stimulating anecdotes.

There was also much to be learned through experience. The younger males would accompany the older men on hunts and be allowed to witness warfare from a distance. Young females would start their training even earlier, accompanying the older women when they picked berries and gathered roots.

One of the most important learning experiences for the Dakota youth was the vision quest. When a vision was received, it was a monumental event. One could not easily claim a vision, because the vision had to be confirmed through a careful evaluation by the council of elders. Once confirmed, the vision gave a young man (the vision quest was typically a male experience) direction and purpose. The young person might not clearly understand the vision, but during his lifetime, he would seek its meaning.

Probably the single most important learning experience for young Dakotas was the sessions with elders. During these sessions the elders presented their experiences through the years. They would relate how their own foolishness had caused them much grief and misery in the past. In talking about their mistakes, the elders were teaching the young people the things they should avoid doing. This left the avenue clear for the youths to pursue their own visions and goals armed with wisdom about what not to do. When asked for advice or direction, elders used stories and examples that would help youths make their own decisions. This allowed young people to accomplish on their own the things they felt they should pursue. In this sense, the Dakota did not limit creativity or initiative in educating their young.

Bibliography

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