Sovereignty, Refusal, and Relational Pedagogies: Indigenous Frameworks of Accountability, Love, and Responsibility in Education

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 4:15 pm - Gold 2

Session Type: Roundtable Session

Abstract

This roundtable explores Indigenous sovereignty and refusal as generative educational frameworks grounded in love, accountability, and relational responsibility. Drawing from higher education, policy, and community contexts, presenters engage how Indigenous educators and researchers center kinship, reciprocity, and resistance to colonial expectations as acts of continuance. Papers examine pedagogical sovereignty, tuition equity, and the Four Rs—Respect, Responsibility, Relevance, and Reciprocity—as interdependent principles guiding educational transformation. Together, they demonstrate how Indigenous knowledge systems unsettle institutional hierarchies while reaffirming collective self-determination and care. These discussions illuminate how Indigenous refusal is not rejection but relation: a reaffirmation of responsibility, presence, and educational sovereignty sustained through love, story, and accountable practice.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Indigenous Peoples of the Americas

Chair

• M. Nathan Tanner, University of Nevada - Reno

Papers

• Woven with Refusal: From Resistance to Sovereignty through Indigenous Presence and Love - Kelly Leah Stewart, University of California, Los Angeles

• Relational Pedagogies and Living Sovereignty: Reclaiming Indigenous Histories in Education - Lydiah Nganga, University of Wyoming; John Kambutu, University of Wyoming; Sergio Maldonado, University of Wyoming

• Creating a Sense of Belonging utilizing Indigenous theory’s four R’s: Respect, Responsibility, Relevance and Reciprocity. - Adolfo Velasquez, San Francisco State University

• Native Tuition Waivers: Honoring the Sovereignty of Native Students Rights to Education - Robin Zape-tah-hol-ah Minthorn, University of Oklahoma; Natalie Rose Youngbull, University of Oklahoma; Patricia McDaniels-Gomez, University of Oklahoma; Noetta Harjo, University of Oklahoma