The Transformational Indigenous Praxis Model: Stages For Developing Critical Consciousness in Indigenous Education

Abstract

The Transformational Indigenous Praxis ModelStages for Developing Critical Consciousness in Indigenous Education Cornel D. Pewewardy (bio), Anna Lees (bio), and Hyuny Clark-Shim (bio) The historical and ongoing struggles for Indigenous communities in settler-designed school systems across what is now named the United States call for radical educational reform that includes a decolonized curriculum model for Indigenous children.1 These efforts must first acknowledge that Indigenous education existed prior to European contact and that settler-designed schools were and are detrimental to the well-being of Indigenous children and communities.2 Radical reform efforts must also recognize the continued systemic racism ingrained in school structures that privilege the dominant, whitestream communities and disadvantage communities of color, including Indigenous communities.3 As Indigenous scholars responding to such profound inequity, we engage in insurgent research to actualize decolonization through radical reform. In these efforts, the lead author of this article developed the Transformational Indigenous Praxis Model (TIPM) to promote critical awareness and cultural consciousness among educators. This model was shared over the past decade at multiple settings, including national conferences and invited speaking events. With each presentation, followed by discussion, critique, and feedback from colleagues, the authors modified and further developed the TIPM. The purpose of this article is to put forth the TIPM as a structure to support educators in decolonizing and indigenizing their practices as they support the development of their students' critical thinking skills.4 This in turn supports collective engagement, critical thinking, healing, and cultural restoration in the [End Page 38] improvement of school-based educational offerings in order to better serve all children, especially Indigenous children. The article provides a step-by-step framework for educators to transform their practices, a framework that not only challenges Eurocentric knowledge bases but also was designed to scrutinize the foundations of the current dominant Western educational models. It also serves as a catalyst for critical thinking conversations about reclaiming Indigenous education. It is crucial to note that this model is not designed to "diagnose" an individual's "condition" but rather to provide terminologies that support educators to transform their practices as they articulate their experiences, the stages of the model that they aspire to embody, and the obstacles and promoters that actualize their collective hopes and visions. We begin this study with an introduction to our praxis and agency as scholars of Indigenous education. Next, we offer a brief history of Indigenous education and depict the impact of systemic racism on Indigenous children and educators in U.S. schools. We discuss the challenges presented by the adoption of neoliberal multiculturalism in whitestream educational systems and reframe our resistance to this context within our respective teaching settings. We explain the theoretical frameworks that grew from our praxis and how those frameworks helped us develop the TIPM and then describe the TIPM, which reflects multiple stages of critical thinking development. We also discuss resistance to each stage and antidotes to that resistance. SITUATING OUR PRAXIS, AGENCY, AND PROLOGUE The authors have nearly fifty years of combined experience working for Indigenous education. Our experience during these times helped us realize the importance of challenging the Eurocentric knowledge base and providing culturally responsive teaching strategies that counter the whitestream educational experiences of Indigenous learners. The culturally responsive strategies include incorporation of theoretical frameworks and language that reflect "our responsibility to bring to our communities useful ways of talking about our experiences and co-creating a culture of resistance."5 Our accountability to our communities as educators centers us in Indigenous educational sovereignty, which includes our rhetorical sovereignty, especially given that "the professional vocabulary can be imperialistic, falsely generous and self-serving for the colonizer and less than 'empowering' and fair to Indigenous Peoples."6 Therefore, here we introduce ourselves in our languages, along with English, to represent our indigeneity, since our languages shaped and reflect our cultures and worldviews.7 Our introductions below capture the inherent "sacred responsibilities" we bring into the academy. The art of speaking and using [End Page 39] Indigenous languages to reclaim our historical stories and reframe our existence is one of the most courageous acts that Indigenous scholars can perform. In many Indigenous cultures, it is our...

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