But she also learned that she was interested in the welfare of children, so she turned to education. At some point in her own education, she began to wonder what it was about American Indian children and failure in school. She knew that Native American children were intelligent and adaptable. As she began her studies in education, she came face to face with her monster-and began to understand why Indian kids fail at school. Her monster was named Alienation.
Alienation is the child of cultural invasion-which is born of the underpinning of a culture.
Denying a child of his or her language and culture creates a skewed reality which is manifested in behaviors such as alcoholism, drug abuse, violence, both gang and domestic, teen pregnancy, poor self esteem, and dropping out of school. But she insists that they are the symptoms of cultural invasion. One thing we must understand is that Indian people are caught up in the dynamics of forced bondage. Robbing people of their language and culture robs them of their ability to feel totally human. I learned that when you have brown skin, there is nothing you can do to change that fact.