Introduction to the special issue. Indigenous education in urban settings: critical examinations and meaningful responses

Abstract

Around the world, colonial and post-colonial practices have systematically harmed Indigenous peoples’ identities, knowledges, value systems, environments, and relationships (Moore & Nesterova, 2020; Nesterova & Jackson, 2019). Despite recent initiatives of state and non-state actors to rebuild and strengthen Indigenous identities and optimize education for Indigenous learners (such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007), Indigenous peoples continue to grapple with economic, social, cultural, and political challenges and barriers. Many remain trapped in the cycle of poverty. Indigenous peoples thus represent one of the most disadvantaged, marginalized, and vulnerable groups in the world today (International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs [IWGIA], 2020). Due to the decline of traditional Indigenous communities, migration of Indigenous people to urban areas to pursue employment and education has intensified in the past few decades. As a result, more Indigenous learners are joining urban schools. However, such schools are traditionally tailored more to the needs of dominant settler populations than to those of Indigenous learners. For Indigenous learners in this context, few, if any, adjustments are made to better meet their needs, as urban Indigenous populations are often assumed to be assimilated into the dominant culture and accustomed to a life separated from their traditional cultures and communities (Bang et al., 2013). Urban education thus tends to overlook Indigenous ethnic, cultural, and linguistic ties. It typically dismisses or discounts Indigenous knowledge. Urban educators rarely appreciate the extent of socioeconomic diversity among Indigenous learners. Nor do they recognize how mainstream schooling and society can negatively affect Indigenous people. Thus, urban education usually fails to respond critically to the legacy of colonial history on Indigenous populations today. Rather than sustaining unjust structures shaped by colonization, urban education should address discriminatory perceptions dominant groups have of Indigenous people and ameliorate the unequal and antagonistic relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities. In this context, Indigenous learners are often viewed through a cultural deficit lens that blames them for their “difference” and aims to “correct” it (Bishop, 2003; Nelson & Hay, 2010). In the process Indigenous learners are exposed to culturally insensitive curricula, textbooks, and pedagogies (Snyder & Nieuwenhuysen, 2010). They also find themselves studying in a tense and taxing environment where they have complex, often hostile relationships with non-Indigenous peers and teachers (Martinez, 2011). In such cases, distrustful relationships between schools and Indigenous communities do not allow collaborations to improve education quality and relevance (De Plevitz, 2007). Indigenous learners feel isolated from both Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities (Graham & Van ZylChavarro, 2016). Their urban education can imply losing their Indigenous identity and sense of belonging (Kamwangamalu, 2016), intergenerational ties, and cultural continuity (McCarty, 2020). For many, such culturally and politically problematic education also restricts their academic progress, and can lead to poor outcomes (Kearney et al., 2014; Weinstein, 2014).