160). When boarding schools were first established, staff did not take into consideration that our language and culture was different from theirs. They called us stupid, passive and learning disabled simply because we didn't understand their language and way of life. Not only was this a problem in the boarding school era, but it is still a problem in schools today. The dominant society does not want us to use our language, it wants to control us, the minorities. When my grandfather attended Wingate High School, he was placed in SPED simply because he did not pass the English test administered. He spoke Navajo fluently and was called stupid for not understanding what was said in