Educating for Sovereignty: A K-12 Recovery Framework for Indigenous and Latinx Students

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

This symposia examines how educators and communities are redefining culturally and linguistically sustaining education in New Mexico. We explore how notions of “recovery” and justice challenge traditional approaches. Our analysis draws from three studies: the first explores a dual-credit course centering Indigenous and Latinx/Chicanx histories, the second investigates community-rooted education in a transnational Indigenous context bridging Mexico and the U.S. borderlands, and the third examines how Spanish Language Arts teachers develop decolonial curriculum. These studies highlight how educators and students respond to systemic neglect by enacting educational sovereignty, promoting biliteracy, and affirming local histories and identities. The findings offer a framework for understanding how grassroots curricular and pedagogical practices can inform policy and advance educational justice.

Sub Unit

• Division B - Curriculum Studies / Division B - Section 5: The Places and Praxis of Curriculum

Chair

• Minea Armijo Romero, New Mexico State University

Papers

• The Implications of K-12 Recovery Work for Public Education in the Twentieth Century - Elena Vicentita Valdez, New Mexico Highlands University

• Exploring the Definitions of Intercultural Education for the Borderlands - Minea Armijo Romero, New Mexico State University

• La Trenza Curricular: Spanish Language Arts as Decolonial Praxis in Dual Language Secondary Education - Mishelle Jurado, University of New Mexico

Session Organizer

• Elena Vicentita Valdez, New Mexico Highlands University

Discussant

• Carlos A. LopezLeiva, University of New Mexico