Did any American-Indian people have any systems or means of education?

by PumpSmash

Obviously, I know there are tons of different cultures and groups to look at either in North America or South, but I'm wondering if there are any sources on how some groups taught kids/young adults just about life, culture, space, math, etc. etc.

Anything from schoolhouses to homeschooling, stuff like that. I'm really curious about this and Google searching just gives me a lot of stuff on how the United States tried to Americanize American-Indians, rather than how the American-Indians taught themselves.

Thanks for your help!

SoManyTemptations

I'm going to be tackling "North America" and specifically, American and Canadian First nation "Indians" here, as that's what my education has taught me.

Short answer,Yes, First Nation people would have taught their children many practical lessons like many European nations had done, Just with various focuses and different needs to fill, They most likely did have a 'school house' community area, that would help children learn.. but from my knowledge, "Homeschooling" would be an important value for most First Nation people throughout their early childhood, teens and early adulthood.

Long answer.

First.. American First Nations are very, very different across different communities, some of these people's names, honours and practices have simply been lost to history or genocidal efforts. But even as such, there was no 'central' bank of information. So various locations may teach something very different. There is a floating myth about First Nations being nomadic, which is somewhat untrue for some cultures.. and very untrue for others. There doesn't seem to be any reason for a comfortable culture of people to continue moving, when it's possible to live in one area year-around. Northern cultures most likely had a "Summer home" and a "Winter home" for their respective seasonal changes.

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Second.. First Nations people practiced education in a very different way than our modernized culture sees it. Many First Nations' cultures had verbal communication as their way to education newer generations.. This keeps some of it simple, like practicing how to teach you how cook food by showing you how, or watching and learning how to make clothes..or building a new house/building with experienced builders, How to read the stars and make a map from pointing it all out by hand. Medicine making, religious figures. Hunting, Traditional ceremony, Art, Trading and valuable materials or how to make them. These are a few examples of what they might have practiced by verbal language and trying to share knowledge by practical experience.

An unfortunate side effect of verbal and practical education mixed with the genocide, is that they didn't leave behind many records. So it's very hard to answer in authority today, that they practiced something with 100% certainty. But we have living results today, which can only mean they had success with tackling life and it's everyday issues.

Cultural education would be in the form of learning arts (sculptures, painting and ceremonial items).. Maths would have been to learn about trading, keeping stockpiles or inventory.. Space is something i'd rather word as "Astronomy" here, as most cultures knew about stars, but had different ideas of what they physically were. But learning navigation by the stars would have been very important for any hunters or travelers.Most children would have received a general understanding and education. And choose to learn or were encouraged by family to follow a specific task in life and learn from others who would teach them.

It's not a 1-to-1 with our modern customs. But they were not aliens.