This dissertation is a comprehensive description of the grammar of Sierra Popoluca (SP, aka Soteapanec), a Mixe-Zoquean language spoken by approximately 28,000 people in Veracruz, Mexico. This grammar begins with an introduction to the language, its language family, a typological overview of the language, a brief history of my fieldwork, and the…

This dissertation describes the phonetic characteristics of a phenomenon that has previously been denominated "unstressed vowel reduction" in Andean Spanish based on the spectrographic analysis of 40,556 unstressed vowels extracted from the conversational speech of 150 residents of the city of Cusco, Peru. Results demonstrate that this…

This article examines sign languages that belong to a complex of indigenous sign languages in Mesoamerica that K'iche'an Maya people of Guatemala refer to collectively as Meemul Tziij. It explains the relationship between the Meemul Tziij variety of the Yukatek Maya village of Chican (state of Yucatan, Mexico) and the hitherto undescribed Meemul…

This article explores the impact of standardization policies of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 on the American Indian/Alaska Native community and the ability of educational policy to promote sovereignty, liberty and equity within indigenous communities. Examining current research and data generated from the National Indian Education…

Among the Haudenosaunee, the clan system is an ancient tradition of matrilineal descent that has maintained the social, political, economic, and spiritual cohesion of the people for centuries. Following the American Revolution and the relocation of large numbers of Haudenosaunee people from America's traditional homelands in what is now New York…

Native languages are disappearing quickly in this country, but there are many programs that are underway trying to save Native languages before they are gone. One such program is the Euchee/Yuchi Language Project which uses a modified version of the Master-Apprentice Language Learning Program (MALLP). Elder language speakers, masters, and younger…

This article critiques the evolution of higher education in Mexico in light of the political "change" that led to the establishment of Intercultural Universities (IUs) for Indigenous communities. We argue that the "change" touted by the post-2000 regime isn't as profound or beneficial as claimed. Although IUs embody valuable…

In Mexico almost ten million people speak an indigenous language. Recognizing the pluralistic nature of the nation, the Mexican Constitution mandates bilingual-intercultural education; in reality, however, the school system typically imposes the Spanish language and dominant culture on indigenous children. For these children their academic success…

This article discusses Quechua speakers' religious literacy practices in the native language in a rural community located in the department of Cuzco (Peru). I argue that in a situation where the school did not play the role of developing or maintaining the written vernacular, a group of community members found specific situations where they felt…

This paper examines teachers' implementation of a bilingual intercultural education (BIE) program in Peru. This program is inspired by global policies that promote cultural pluralism and educational access to marginalized indigenous populations. Broadly addressed in policy in Andean countries, interculturalism in Peru has remained a core…

In compliance with the Indian Education Act (NMSA1976 Section 22), the purpose of the Tribal Education Status Report (TESR) is to inform stakeholders of the Public Education Department's (PED) current initiatives specific to American Indian students and their educational progress. This report examines both the current conditions and recent trends…

In the Andes, a phonological transference known as "motoseo" has acquired ideological weight. People think that bilingual speakers of Quechua and Spanish "confuse" the vowels when speaking Spanish and that they are inferior to the ones who do not. In this article, I analyze the ideological agenda of the racialized verbal…

This paper explores the complexities of institutional involvement in Native language programming by looking at a program in Kenai, Alaska. The work contrasts learner goals with stated grant goals in order to investigate the tensions between institutional (university, funding agency) and individual learner goals in a language revitalization effort.…

In this article, educational scholars L. Janelle Dance, Rochelle Gutierrez, and Mary Hermes share insights from their lived experience as qualitative researchers trying to work in collaboration with diverse populations. They refer to these insights as "improvisations on conventional qualitative methods," reminding readers that their…

Working in Latin America for several decades to address the educational needs of poor and indigenous groups, the GTZ (Gesellschaft fur Technische Zusammenarbeit) has helped to develop the knowledge base of intercultural bilingual education. The goal of this article is to analyze Germany's impact from the mid-1970s to the present as the GTZ has…