Home and Community Native Language and Cultural Experiences Among AI/AN Children in Region XI Head Start: Findings from the American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey 2015

The purpose of this brief is to describe the Native language and cultural experiences of AI/AN children in Region XI Head Start. The findings provide insight on areas such as AI/AN children’s Native language learning, AI/AN children’s community cultural activity participation, and parents’ cultural connections and beliefs.

• The majority of AI/AN children in Region XI Head Start were in homes where English was the primary language.
• The majority of AI/AN children in Region XI Head Start in homes where some Native language was spoken as well as those in homes where English only was spoken had parents who reported that it was somewhat or very important for their child to learn a Native language.
• The majority of AI/AN children in Region XI Head Start participated in at least one AI/AN cultural activity in the community in the last month according to their parents’ report.
• The majority of AI/AN children in Region XI Head Start had parents who reported a variety of tribal or cultural beliefs and practices.

The AI/AN FACES 2015 sample provides nationally representative information about Region XI Head Start children, their families, programs, centers, and classrooms. We selected a sample of Region XI Head Start programs from the 2012—2013 Head Start Program Information Report, with one to two centers per program and two to four classrooms per center. Within each classroom, we selected all children for the study. In total, 21 programs, 36 centers, 73 classrooms, and 1,049 children participated in the study.

The sample used for this brief includes information reported by the parent or family member who completed the fall and spring surveys for the 708 AI/AN children participating in the study.  All findings are weighted to represent the children enrolled in Region XI Head Start programs in fall 2015.

Barnes-Najor, J., Sarche, M., Abramson-Martin, L., Amaya-Thompson, J., Cameron, A., Charles, T., Godfrey, A., Kaufman, C., Petticrew, E., Richardson, M., Suave, M., Shuey, D., Whitaker, J. (2019). Home and Community Tribal Language and Cultural Experiences among AI/AN Children in Region XI Head Start: Findings from the American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey 2015. OPRE Report #2019-87 Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.