Roots, Resilience, and Empowerment through Indigenous Education

About this program

This literature review examines the historical, cultural, and political dimensions of Indigenous education in the United States, centering Indigenous resilience and agency in reclaiming schooling for self-determination and cultural continuity. The review highlights how Indigenous communities have resisted colonial education systems and advanced culturally sustaining models rooted in relationality, land, community knowledge, and intergenerational mentoring. Key themes include Indigenous epistemologies, the legacies of boarding schools and deculturalization, educational justice and sovereignty, and strategies for recruiting and retaining Indigenous educators. The scholarship demonstrates that sustainable transformation requires shifting power to Indigenous communities through community-based educational models, recognition of elders as pedagogical leaders, and policy reforms that affirm tribal sovereignty in educational governance.