Re-Visioning Self-Determination: Planning for Culturally Sustaining/Revitalizing Oral Histories with Indigenous Communities

Abstract

Within Indigenous communities, oral history education has long served to advance culturally significant knowledges and ways of knowing. However, formal educational contexts in North America have typically privileged Eurocentric, settler histories over Indigenous histories. The purpose of this chapter is to advance the conversation regarding the development and distribution of oral histories with Indigenous peoples. Three projects illustrate ways that storywork can promote learning about the dynamic nature of history, the distinction between individual and collective historical understanding, the importance of reciprocity in oral history work, and the need for sustained relationships in oral history education. The projects also provide insights to methodological and pedagogical challenges related to oral history storywork with Indigenous communities. The resulting lessons relate to engaging participants as co-researchers throughout storywork processes, confronting Eurocentric institutional barriers, balancing individual artistic vision with culturally appropriate representation, and promoting access in responsible ways. These lessons offer implications for scholars, educators, and project leaders interested in facilitating culturally sustaining/revitalizing oral history storywork within schools and communities.