My Tapestry of Identities: A Critical Autoethnography of a Nonnative Among Two Indigenous Language Communities

• In Event: Roundtable Session 9
  In Roundtable Session: Considerations of Experience and Identity

Abstract

In an effort to critically examine her language learning experiences, the author utilizes the theory of experience (Dewey, 1928) and critical language and race theory (Crump, 2014a) as a framework for understanding the intersections of her identity. The author self-identifies as a white woman who chose to learn two Indigenous languages in northeast Nebraska: Omaha (Omaha Tribe of Nebraska) and Ho Chunk (Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska). After reflecting on her visible and audible identities, she argues for the use of a new metaphor with which to understand language learning experiences. The ‘tapestry’ of identities is especially significant, as the author is a Non-Native collaborating with Indigenous language revitalization programs.

Author

• Kristine Sudbeck, University of Nebraska - Lincoln