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Objectives:
In the decision Yazzie/Martinez v. State of New Mexico the court ruled that there were violations of students’ constitutional right to a sufficient education and that the state public education systems must invest in the programs and services necessary to close opportunity gaps and fix deep inequities for low-income, Native American, English Language learner students, and students with disabilities. The case represents attempts to address centuries of institutional racism in education that targets Indigenous Peoples of New Mexico vis-à-vis settler colonialism. The case also represents a violation of human linguistic rights and an example that mirrors how current linguistic policies and the treatment of minoritized languages is politicized by government policies and implemented through institutional education systems.
The objectives of the paper are to provide a brief overview of the case with an update on motions filed since the ruling in 2018, to analyze the inaction by the state to engage in meaningful transformation of pedagogy and curriculum, to describe the impact of the ruling from Indigenous educators and families, to contextualize the ruling as a present-day manifestation of settler colonialism resulting in racial micro- and macroaggressions in schools, and to present an overview of the linguistic landscape of the southwest, in particular, the Indigenous languages of the state.
Perspective(s):
The perspectives that guide the analysis and discussion are settler colonialism (Dunbar-Ortiz, 2014, Tuck & Wang, 2012), Tribal Critical Race Theory (Brayboy, 2005), and racial micro- and macroaggressions (Solòrzano & Pérez, 2020).
Modes of inquiry:
The methods of inquiry will be guided by a relational analysis (Apple, 2019 and Martinez, 2010) in which Martinez (2010) calls for “questions that interrogate the historical and contemporary functions of economic, social, and political processes that operate in our schools today” (p. 141).
Data sources:
Sources for this paper are primary sources consisting of case law, legal motions, and government reports and secondary sources that include news reports and reports that focus on Indigenous Nations of the state and education.
Results:
Results for this study are as follows: 1) Schools fail to recognize Indigenous culture and language in curriculum and pedagogy; 2) Racism in curriculum, policies, and instruction continues to prevail; 3) Teachers are not prepared to teach Indigenous students in rural Native communities; 4) Schools fail to provide consistent instructional programs in Native languages and to engage with tribes in substantive collaborative planning for Native language programs; 6) There is a lack of licensed Native bilingual teachers and Native language teachers for teaching Native language and culture in NM public schools.
Scholarly significance:
The scholarly significance of the case is two-fold. One, the case as described by one of the two lead attorneys for the Yazzie plaintiffs, Sanchez (2019) as one that “addresses the history of systemic discrimination experienced by American Indians, that intentionally sought to destroy their cultural ways of life, and the State’s ongoing failure to address their unique cultural and linguistic needs” (p. 185). Two, the ruling has yet to meaningfully implemented by the state in 2024.