Page 15 - 2022_Jour_89-1

Empowering Indigenous Identity Through

Instructional Frameworks

By Amber Godwin, Janelle Abela, and Kathleen Rice

Schools are expected to empower students to develop not just academically but also socially
and emotionally. In the United States, the typically Eurocentric ideologies that undergird
opportunities and curricula in the schools may make such empowerment difficult for Indigenous
students. This article explores Sabzalian’s (2019) six frameworks for instruction that can
empower Indigenous identities in the classroom.

ducators who seek to empower Indigenous students need to be attentive to the
Eimpact of the underlying culture of education in the United States to ensure that
such students find identity and opportunity in their classrooms. What is learned in
school through both hidden (Anyon, 1980; Shyman, 2020) and direct curriculum
implementation indicates a social construct that may reinforce previously constructed
power structures, historical contexts, and social relations (McLauren, 2017). Although
schools reflect the communities in which they are situated (Vygotsky, 1978), it is no
secret that those in the United States also adhere to and perpetuate Eurocentric ideologies
(Abela & Dague, 2020; Rovito & Giles, 2013). Furthermore, the idea of an equal
opportunity for a standards-based classroom education does not necessarily equate
to equal opportunities or equal representation in school curricula (Godwin, 2021a).
Unfortunately, schools usually act as a reinforcement of a colonial mindset (Graveline,
2000) and inherent Protestant values (Weber, 1905) that align with capitalism—a
thriving root of education still today in many cases. Furthermore, scholars have been
expressing concern for decades (Harrigan, 1983; Wilson & Jones, 1976), recounting
how education is primarily focused on bureaucracy, social control, and classism.
These observations are concerning because there is evidence that students learn socio-
cognitive behaviors through instructional models (Bandura, 1986).
When considering schools in such a sense, the institution exists as a reinforcing
structure that does not allow for escape from that initial colonial mindset. Challenging
that ideology can feel dangerous for students, particularly those with Indigenous
identities (Johnson, 2003) but should instead be celebrated as a transformative act
(Shirley, 2017). All students in the United States should have the opportunity to
become liberated through their education (Freire, 1973) rather than repressed or
underrepresented through an exclusion of their community and culture (Battiste,
2017; Woolford & Gacek, 2016). That dynamic cannot be changed without a
transforming action (Freire, 1970) on the part of the players within the school.
Teachers can help facilitate that liberation through critically reflecting on
their practice (Brookfield, 2017), intentionally making changes to what and how
they teach, and then growing from there to include more critical thinking and
participatory learning practices (Mason et al., 2019). For the purposes of this article,
the terms “Indigenous” and “Native” will be used to refer to those who self-identify
as Indigenous and/or Native American. We concur with Quinn (2020), who noted,
The use of this term is not intended to diminish the distinctiveness of specific
identities, nor is it supporting Pan-Indian/Indigenous approaches to working
with Indigenous Peoples… it is not possible to address all Indigenous Peoples

Changing Perspectives on Teaching and Learning 13