An Indigenous Community’s Fight for Cultural Continuity and Educational Equity With/In and Against a New England School District

Abstract

Background/Context: Indigenous communities of the “Americas” have a long history of exercising sovereignty over and self-determination in the education of their children that predates colonial invasion. This was disrupted by the advent of colonial education and its assimilationist aims, and Indigenous communities have been in an ongoing battle to reclaim and recenter Indigenous knowledge, culture, and values in teaching and learning. This research describes one community’s fight for cultural revitalization and educational equity in the schools their children attend. Focus of Study/Research Questions: This study explored Indigenous parents’ and community leaders’ engagement within, against, and beyond the public schools their children attend, centering their perspectives, priorities, and practices. It explored the questions: What are Indigenous parents’ and community leaders’ engagement practices? Are their engagement practices culturally sustaining/revitalizing? How so, and/or why not? Setting: The research site was a small New England school district and town that is home to a Wampanoag tribe that has inhabited the area for 12,000 years and whose children represent the largest group of students of color in the local public schools. Research Design: This qualitative, exploratory case study foregrounded, privileged, and normalized Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing in research using Indigenous protocols, such as relationality and relational accountability, and Indigenous methodologies that included semi-structured conversations and talking circles. Findings/Results: Together, Native parents, through their focus on inequitable and exclusionary practices, and Native community leaders, through their mission to expand language and culture-centric curricula and programming, are challenging and fighting to change the overall objectives of colonial education in the schools their children attend. Separately, Native parents are experiencing more resistance from educators for their failure to comply with racialized and classist rules and expectations of engagement. Moreover, the advocacy efforts of Native leaders may be hampered by a lack of parent and student voice and contributions. Conclusions/Recommendations: We learned from the participants in this study that merging efforts and collectively holding schools accountable may be an essential move in creating and sustaining an education system that meets all their wishes and needs. This includes viewing parents and students as valuable knowledge holders who should be consulted and listened to in matters that concern and impact them. In addition, local school districts must do more than just respond affirmatively to and support community members’ initiative(s); they must also be the initiators and funders of changes that dismantle policies, practices, curricula, programming, and instruction that uphold a colonized school system.