Minority Serving Institutions. You Belong Here

• In Event: AERA Teachers of Color Handbook Session 1

Abstract

You Belong Here is a review of how one tribal college has reclaimed space against damaging policies and widespread invisibility of historical foundations of education. For Indigenous communities the policies and invisibility have created a weaponized relationship with education which continually challenges the notion of whether one belongs. Tribal educational systems including Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) have worked to reclaim education as a congruent identity practice through reflective curriculum, representative approaches and centering all students in accurate historical and contemporary understandings. Minority serving institutions like TCUs serve to restore accurate history, practice and relationship with education while uplifting identity. This practice and philosophy allow for students to identify that they truly belong here.

Author

• Govinda Budrow, Fond du Lac Tribal And Community College