A group of Native and non-Native educators say their recent trip to Peru was an eye-opening experience.

Wayne Stein, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa and a Fulbright scholar, organized the month-long trip for himself and 13 educators from nine Montana tribal colleges, five units of the Montana University System and two tribal colleges in South Dakota and Wisconsin. The goal was to get an international perspective on indigenous issues.

In Peru, where the majority of the population is Indian, the group felt like outsiders, said Walter Fleming, chair of the MSU Center for Native American Studies and a member of the Kickapoo Tribe of Kansas. Stein said society there broke down along income lines, not ethnic identity.

The group also went to Guatemala, which has a large number of Mayans.

Get the Story:
Fulbright in Peru gives new meaning to 'American Indian' (The Bozeman Daily Chronicle 11/12)