Affirming Native Identity: Connecting Deficit Thinking and Lateral Violence

• In Event: Roundtable Session 35
  In Roundtable Session: Locating Our Stories in Learning: Affirming Native Epistemologies

Abstract

Our work builds a relationship between our individual experiences and a broader context relating deficit identity formation with lateral violence within Native communities. In this paper, we each provide our own perspectives with deficit thinking then we move towards positive and affirming identity formation for Native peoples. This connection helps us to create positive interactions with our particular experiences and our home or scholarly communities. This paper uses Red pedagogy (Grande, 2000, 2008) as a methodological frame. We use our narratives to illustrate the shift from deficit to strength-based understanding in educational contexts and Native communities.

Authors

• Hugh Burnam, Syracuse University

• Kelsey Dayle John, Syracuse University