“We Exist”: Dismantling Colonial Racial Injustice—The Possibilities and Promise of Indigenous-Language Immersion

• In Event: Academic Well-Being and Decolonial Racial Justice: Findings From a National Study of Indigenous-Language Schooling

Abstract

Objectives/Purposes. This presentation integrates the larger lessons from this study, drawing out its theoretical, methodological, pedagogical, and policy/praxis implications. We speak directly to the conference theme, “Dismantling Racial Injustice and Constructing Educational Possibilities: A Call to Action.” Reflecting this theme, we look back, but use the findings from this study to “imagine forward.” Perspectives/Theoretical Framework. Our final presentation brings together the transdisciplinary perspectives and theoretical constructs that inform the Indigenous-Language Immersion (ILI) study: research and practice in Indigenous immersion, dual-language, and heritage-language education (Hermes & Kawai‘ae‘a, 2014; W.H. Wilson & Kamanā, 2011); the constructs of opportunity to learn and outcomes, locally defined (Boykin & Noguera, 2011); Indigenous epistemic, ontological, and axiological emphases on relationality and accountability to relationships (S. Wilson, 2008; S. Wilson et al., 2019); and, most importantly, the perspectives of ILI stakeholders. Guided by the tenets of TribalCrit (citation removed), we place this analysis in the context of settler colonialism and the Indigenous resurgence and co-resistance movements (Simpson, 2016) that shape the current moment. These movements are powerfully reflected in the work of the ILI Partner Schools in the study. We take the title of this presentation from the words of a key ILI leader, who urged the research team to share findings from this study broadly: “We need them to know Native American language medium exists. …We are developing and implementing programs that are raising multilingual students who succeed in many measures that we determine are important to us.” Methods/Modes of Inquiry. Relationality and relational accountability – qualities observed in ILI schooling – are also central modes of inquiry in this study. The research is multimethod, combining survey, ethnography, and a quantitative matched-pair component, with the aim that the qualitative and quantitative components work in sync to learn from and with ILI stakeholders. Data-sharing and the fostering of Indigenous data sovereignty are key design principles (Sumida Huaman & Martin, 2023). Data Sources. Data include responses to a team-designed survey of Indigenous-language programs disseminated throughout the U.S.; in-depth case studies of eight ILI Partner Schools; and a matched-pair analysis of ILI and non-immersion students’ English, mathematics, and IL development. Findings and Significance. Findings for each of the study’s three data-gathering components have been reported in Presentations 1, 2, and 3. Relational pedagogies and an orientation toward holistic academic wellbeing are core program features underlying these findings. In this presentation, we elaborate on these findings and their wider significance. Specifically, we (1) advance a theory of ILI as a decolonial relational project with broad implications for Indigenous and other diverse communities and schools; (2) draw out the study’s methodological lessons for research with, by, and for Indigenous Peoples and Communities of Color; and (3) consider the study’s policy ramifications. We conclude with a multifaceted, evidence-based response to the conference Call to Action designed to promote academic wellbeing and decolonial racial justice.

Authors

• Teresa L. McCarty, University of California - Los Angeles

• Tiffany S. Lee, University of New Mexico

• Sheilah E. Nicholas, University of Arizona

• Michael H. Seltzer, University of California - Los Angeles

• Kyle Halle-Erby, University of California - Los Angeles

• Thomas Jacobson, University of California - Los Angeles

• James McKenzie, University of Arizona