Trans-Indigenous education

• In Event: Presidential Highlighted Session: Comparative Indigenous education: Indigenous knowledge systems, research, and decolonial practices

Proposal

Trans-Indigenous education encompasses spaces, practices, and programs that allow for the examination of similarities and differences amongst diverse Indigenous students. Trans-Indigenous education attends to the interpersonal and spatial dimensions existing in higher education settings that center diverse Indigenous knowledges to build communities based on a shared consciousness. This paper highlights the ways that American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) and Pacific Islander (NHPI) students engaged in trans-Indigenous education across Tovaangar (what is known as the Los Angeles Basin). We offer insights from four trans-Indigenous higher education programs at UCLA and the Claremont Colleges. We conclude by offering trans-Indigenous education as an anti/decolonial framework, arguing that these spaces foster relationalities amongst people and place, reinforce Indigenous knowledge systems that encourage students to remain Indigenous while providing stronger networks of support amongst diverse Indigenous students.

Authors

• Kehaulani Vaughn, University of Utah

• Theresa Ambo, University of California, San Diego