Partnering to Strengthen Indigenous Sovereignty and Self-Determination in Education: Curriculum Making as an Innovative Partnership Approach

• In Event: School-University Partnership Paper Session: Exploring the Possibilities of School-University Partnerships

Abstract

School-university partnerships are widely recognized for their potential to spur innovation, reciprocal learning, and systemic change toward justice. Yet the partnership literature has not prominently featured many partnerships involving universities and Indigenous nations’ schools. In response, this paper contributes a case study of one such partnership. The authors used collaborative sense-making to analyze recordings of partnership meetings; documents such as meeting notes; and reflections focused on their research question of how universities can partner to support Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination in education. These analyses generated a timeline characterized by four themes: committing to partnering, building a living curriculum, steering resources into Indigenous partners’ priorities, and deepening relationships through shared professional learning. These themes’ significance for the partnership literature are discussed.

Authors

• Logan Rutten, University of North Dakota

• Hollie Anderson Kulago, Pennsylvania State University

• Dorthea Litson, Navajo Nation Department of Diné Education