Dreaming in Tipai: La Bellota Summer Language Camps, Benevolent Researchers, and the U.S./Mexico Border

• In Event: Indigenous Identities, Positionalities, and Solidarities in Education

Abstract

Transborder Indigenous Education is practiced intergenerationally on the US/Mexico border by border Tribal Nations. A group of Kumiay grandmothers, from the San Diego-Tijuana region, are daring to dream in Tipai. Their language is on the verge of disappearing and are revitalizing Tipai by practicing land-based pedagogies as an act of Indigenous education sovereignty. This paper highlights how Indigenous resistances on the border are reconnecting with their northern relatives, their grandchildren, and children while on their journey to revitalize their language, traditions, and culture. This paper interrogates and traces the historical ramifications of the “benevolent” researchers as it is historically connected to the mission system. What are the roles of researchers connected to language documentation, language management, and access to grants?

Author

• Cynthia Vazquez, University of California - Los Angeles
  Presenting Author