Praxis and insider-outsider relationships: the role of non-indigenous teachers in promoting indigenous language and culture in educational spaces

Abstract

In many places throughout Alaska, non-Alaska Native certified teachers are working in communities that foster (or seek to foster) Alaska Native language and culture revitalization in the schools. Often, this means teachers with limited knowledge of the target language need to figure out how to support that content in their classrooms. This qualitative thesis examines interview and field note data collected from five non-Alaska Native teachers (working in Southwest schools) while they took summer classes at an Alaskan university. The teachers shared reflections on their struggles and successes in seeking to facilitate the integration of local Indigenous Knowledges into their schools and classrooms. Several common themes were identified, including Positioning Self as Co-Learner, Transforming Attitude towards Village English (VE)/Yugtun, Promoting VE/Yugtun in the Classroom, and Valuing Linguistic Affordances to Transform Self. When viewed through the lens of critical pedagogy, these themes indicate that participants are engaging in praxis -- or reflecting critically and acting -- in order to move towards supporting Indigenous knowledges in beneficial, non-appropriative ways.