Navajo Studies Department | Navajo Nation
Abstract
In an effort to prevent the educational system from further eroding Navajo culture, Rough Rock became the first Native community in the United States to assume control of a Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) school. By contracting with the BIA to take over school management, local educators gained authority to create a culturally appropriate educational system based on Navajo ways of thinking, learning, and teaching. Through their efforts, the high school soon offered a unique pedagogy, one that combined western educational models with Navajo traditions.