This is an interesting resource because it connects patterns of colonization across the world to different Indigneous communities but then focuses specifically on North American rights to self-determination and the principles that that describes. The article explores how globalization has affected the overall commentary as Indigneous groups become represented as homogenous groups of people. This resource does not take a victim-based approach and aims to create a vision that “emphasizes the resilience, determination, and successes of Indigenous peoples in (re) claiming and (re)creating their lives, languages and futures” (Dehyle et. al., 2008, p.3). This article argues that self-determination is a vital part of this process of reclamation. As a teacher, this resource provides a critical lens on the educational patterns and trends that have both colonized and can decolonize curriculum and teaching practices. A main strategy is through using language as a pillar and foundation to bind pieces of a culture and Indigenous ways of being. Further, that language could be used as a way of exploring the diverse identities of each community compared to the homogeneity of the global representation. Dehyle et. al. (2008), explore the meaning of language and argue that “meaning is more important than words” (p. 9).
While I continue to explore the relationship of colonization, language and revitalization this article gave me pause to think about what language really means and how these values may be different across cultures.
A boom pow point for me was when Dehyle et. al (2008) argue that there is a need for a “epistemological reorientation” that would see a change in education thinking and focus from:
Ways of teaching to ways of knowing and being
Deyhle, D., Swisher, K., Stevens, T., & Galván, R. (2008). Indigenous resistance and renewal: from colonizing practices to self-determination. In D. Deyhle K. Swisher, & T. Stevens Indigenous resistance and renewal: From colonizing practices to self-determination (pp. 329-348). SAGE Publications, Inc., https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412976572