Individual Adaptation and Structural Change: Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy in a Tribal College Context

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Three
  In Roundtable Session: Feeling Our Way: Implementing Equity and Change in Education (Table 19)

Abstract

Culturally sustaining pedagogy (CSP) and tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) are valuable for Native American students, but little has been done to examine whether and how TCUs implement CSP. This study aims to fill that gap by examining interviews with eight white faculty members and four Indigenous administrators at a tribal college in the western United States. Analysis of the interviews revealed that the instructors engaged in attempts at individual adaptation and structural change to support their vision of CSP. The administrators valued these efforts, but suggested that the white faculty members still lacked connection with the local Indigenous community and culture. The interviews suggest that further structural changes are needed at this tribal college to better support CSP.

Author

• Taylor Topham, Northwestern University
  Presenting Author