ERIC Number: EJ1456358
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1534-8458
EISSN: EISSN-1532-7701
"What You Know You Hold onto It … That Is Being Navajo": A Critical Analysis of Diné (Indigenous) Youth's Perspectives about Race, Culture, Language, and Identity
Journal of Language, Identity, and Education, v24 n1 p14-27 2025
This article addresses critical issues of how Indigenous (Diné/Navajo) youth construct meaning of their racial, cultural, and linguistic identities within the historical, political, and socio-cultural contexts of the United States of America as a racialized, settler/colonial society. Using Tribal Crit theory, the author, a member of the Diné (Navajo) Nation, shares insights about Diné youth's perspectives that reaffirm Indigenous-centered understandings of identity in resistance to dominant racialized discourse and white supremacy. In discussing the different ways Diné youth make meaning of multiple identities, the author postulates the need for Diné communities to articulate Diné-centered counter narratives about what it means to be Diné for the benefit of the youth. Key implications include the need for Diné communities to engage in critical dialogue about race, race relations, nationhood, language, and identity using Indigenous-centered perspectives.
Descriptors: Navajo (Nation), Indigenous Populations, American Indian Students, American Indian Culture, Time Perspective, Cultural Context, Social Environment, Political Issues, Self Concept, Racial Identification, Student Attitudes, Tribal Sovereignty, Cultural Influences, Racial Factors, Ethnicity, College Students, Native Language, Cultural Maintenance, Indigenous Knowledge, American Indian Languages, Tribally Controlled Education, Nonreservation American Indians
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Arizona; New Mexico; Utah
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A