Drawing and Storytelling as Strengths-Based Pedagogical Approaches to Affirm the Lived Experiences of Native American Children in Pre-K

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ABSTRACT This participatory narrative inquiry was conducted by a researcher embedded in a Native American community for 10 months who examined 15 pre-K children as they made meaning of their lived experiences through arts-informed methods, including drawing and storytelling. These culturally appropriate, strengths-based methods preserve Indigenous knowledge and oral traditions while fostering a sense of belonging and affirming the voices of potentially marginalized children. Avoiding overreliance on Western perspectives, theoretical frameworks from Indigenous scholars were used in the analysis of children’s drawings and accompanying stories highlighting ethics of reflexivity and respect. Findings focused on children’s perceptions around four key ideas: Emotions in the Here and Now (children focused on emotions felt in the present, not when events in drawing/story occurred); Longing for My Father (children’s expectations regarding relationships with their fathers); Mom as a Source of Happiness (consistently depicting times spent with mothers as highly positive); and “Fighting Monsters and Bad Guys” (captures children’s sense of agency and resilience handling big emotions). Findings suggest this arts-based method is a holistic pedagogical practice, facilitating children’s processing of emotions – big and small – and providing the adults a window into how children see and feel the events in their lives.