This book is a reprint of a now classic text dealing with Wolcott's dissertation topic on the study of a Kwakiutl Indian village and the one-room school he taught at Village Island in the Alert Bay region of British Columbia. Within the book, Wolcott's interest in anthropology and training as an educator are blended together to present a unique look into the educational training of Indian children. Village life and the social environment from which young Indian children learn cultural conventions are skillfully contrasted with the formal, structured educational system—of which Wolcott as a teacher is part of—within the village. In showing these two opposing educational systems, the author is able to highlight problems that arise and additionally the issues which come from an ethnographer being involved in a situation more than through just observation.

Foreword by: Spindler, George & Louise