The Policing of Native Bodies and Minds: Perspectives on Schooling from American Indian Youth

Educational Manifest Destiny: Exclusion, Role Allocation, and Functionalization in Reservation Bordertown District Admission Policies

“…US policy makers have long used physical and cultural boundaries to exclude peoples of color, promote assimilation, and protect settler-colonial constructions of property and progress (Brayboy 2005;Quijada Cerecer 2013). In particular, as Faircloth and Tippeconnic (2013) note, "The policies and practices of formal education for American Indians, Alaska Natives, and other Indigenous peoples across the world have been characterized by a colonizing (i.e., hegemonic, assimilationist, acculturating) and oppressive approach to education" (483).…”

“…Although they claim to focus first on establishing safe learning environments, these policies inappropriately target students of color (Anyon et al 2016;Winn and Winn 2015), with Indigenous youth nearly twice as likely to receive disciplinary referrals as their white peers (Whitford and Levine-Donnerstein 2014). Through zero-tolerance initiatives and related practices, educational policy can become a tool of continued removal or forced assimilation, which can lead to hostile learning environments, erosion of cultural identity, internalized racial inferiority within Indigenous communities, and an increase in the number of dropouts (Henderson et al 2015;Khalifa et al 2016;Quijada Cerecer 2013). As Smith (1999) emphasizes, "Assimilation policies in education were intended to provide one way roads out for those indigenous people who 'qualified.'…”

“…Indigenous community members emphasize that white teachers, leaders, and policy makers must cross physical and metaphorical borders to engage in collaborative, culturally grounded research and planning with Indigenous peoples (Rogers and Jaime 2010;Smith 1999;Williams 2013). Policies can honor cultural ways of knowing and promote high levels of learning, as long as policy makers commit to sustainable change and partnerships with Indigenous communities (Brayboy and Castagno 2009;Lomawaima and McCarty 2006;Quijada Cerecer 2013;Santamaria and Santamaria 2015).…”

Addressing racial inequalities within schools: Exploring the potential of teacher education

“…For example, Kohli and Solórzano () find that teachers mispronouncing and/or refusing to say ethnic minority students' names can lead students to feel inferior, burdensome, or alienated in school years and beyond. Johnston‐Goodstar and VeLure Roholt () and Quijada Cerecer's () studies demonstrate that Native Americans experience microaggressions in schools that lead to feelings of invisibility, discomfort, and low self‐esteem. While space limitations here constrain a comprehensive review of microaggressions in schools, it is crucial to recognize the intricacy of intersectional microaggressions.…”

“…For example, lessons commonly equate civilization with whiteness and bolster notions of White supremacy while diminishing the experiences of indigenous peoples and other non‐White groups (Florence, ; hooks, ). Quijada Cerecer (), writing from a Tribal CRT perspective, finds that Native American students believe their Indigenous knowledge is dismissed by their teachers and school staff. Research by Johnston‐Goodstar and VeLure Roholt () similarly demonstrates that Native American students feel they are rendered invisible, and that when that Indigenous populations are represented in curricular materials, they are depicted in inaccurate and demeaning ways.…”