"Reaching the Hearts of the People": Education, Language, and Literacy in Indian Territory

• In Event: Sovereignty and Self-Determination in Education: Empowering Native Voices

Abstract

The history of federal Indian educational policy is well documented with the inhumane measures that were taken to assimilate Indigenous children through schools. In Indian Territory, Indigenous tribes were developing their own educational systems in which the acquisition of English was fundamental, yet did not require the loss of their own respective languages. In these tribally funded and constructed spaces, young children began learning English, while simultaneously fostering their Indigenous languages through school based experiences. This article explores the language and literacy practices that were experienced by children in these spaces.

Author

• Jennifer Johnson, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign