Critical Indigenous Literacies

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to present the experiences of Indigenous youth when a critical literacies/Indigenous knowledges (IK) approach was used in a graphic novel creation project. We conducted research over a six-week period in two alternative high schools in British Columbia. In this paper, we look primarily at research findings from the Indigenous program. We analyzed classroom observations, the graphic novels, and transcripts of semi-structured interviews according to four principles of critical literacy: understanding power, control, and equity of information; collaboration using multiple perspectives; authentic and multimodal learning; and enacting social change and civic engagement.

Memes and Social Messages: Teaching a Critical Literacies Curriculum on DAPL

“…For example, Native guest speakers from the local community spoke with the class about the cultural and historical significance of the Water Protection movement. Including local tribally enrolled members in both the design and teaching of the curriculum mirrors Reese's (2018) assertion that teachers can better serve Native students by locating Native people in the present rather than in the past, empowering "tribal nationhood within the states of origin" (p. 391). During the CML_DAPL unit, students analyzed digital imagery that included culturally recognizable symbols, which they readily identified during class discussions.…”

“…Teachers creating space for students' critical engagement with textual materials should honor the funds of knowledge (Moll, Amanti, Neff, & Gonzalez,1992) students employ when making sense of those texts. Similar to Reese's (2018) Critical Indigenous Literacies framework, CML_DAPL engaged students in a critical line of questioning about how Native people are positioned in media imagery; however, the ways in which students engaged with text materials varied in their criticality. Consequently, while CML_DAPL was meant to disrupt "the historically marginalized treatment of Native stories-and by extension, Native people" (p. 390), students' collaborative processes illustrated the complex dance that arises when a group of critical thinkers deconstructs and reconstructs digital imagery depicting a culturally divisive topic.…”