Language and Literacy Planning and Local Contexts: The Case of a Rarámuri Community

Abstract

On the basis of a ten‐month ethnography of a Rarámuri school and community, this article contributes to the understanding of the role of sociolinguistic and socioeconomic contexts in creating Indigenous‐language maintenance programs. Employing concepts of micro‐ and macrolevel variables in language endangerment and language vitality scales, it provides an example of how these variables should inform language and literacy planning (LLP). It also discusses how LLP for Indigenous communities needs to embrace a biocultural diversity perspective. [Rarámuri, Tarahumara, language maintenance and shift, language policy and planning, bilingual education, indigenous education, Mexico]