Why do Native American parents and communities want to get involved?
• How many times we have heard a parent or grandparent say, My child came home from school crying because someone had made a negative racial comment about Indians. I told her, You should be proud you re an Indian! We all know that this is not really enough. We need to provide children with real information as to what there is to be proud of. The fact that Native American reality is unique, fascinating, often charming, and almost always surprising can be empowering to a Native American child, without overwhelming the non-Indian child. Cradleboard provides the tools for a Win-Win situation. • Native American communities still include people who are cultural experts, although some are quite elderly. Most of us know several people on the reservation to whom we can point as real cultural treasures. Cradleboard encourages our Native American sites to seek these people out and help them to share what they would like children to know. We encourage children to interview willing Elders; and we p
