This dissertation is comprised three main sections including a journal article, book chapter and a policy reflection piece. My guiding research question is the following—How do Jemez Pueblo people and their descendants who migrated to California as a result of the Relocation Act of 1956 define their cultural identities?



The journal article seeks to address the question: How can we explore the experiences of Urban Native Americans from a strengths-based approach, restructuring dominant narratives, and breaking barriers between urban and reservation spaces? Additionally, the journal article will provide a literature overview on urban American Indian experiences, including the stories of three generations of my family impacted by the Relocation period, in addition to the major findings of my research study. The book chapter is informed by the following question: How might Pueblo perspectives of identity benefit from examining multiple theories of Indigeneity? I seek to explore the complexity of Indigenous identities and examine multiple theories of Indigeneity that can assist Pueblo peoples in thinking about community and membership, and in particular, with regards to those tribal peoples who have relocated away from their Pueblos. I will include salient points from my dissertation research that help us to answer this question.

The policy reflections piece conveys the urgency to address the continued use of blood quantum in our Pueblo communities as a measurement for tribal citizenship. Like many other Indigenous parents, my interest in this issue is of personal importance to me as my own child is not eligible for enrollment in any of my tribal nations; thus, I have had to consider what a post “American Indian” identity is going to look like for her. I want to urge Pueblo communities and tribal governance to begin to rethink notions of citizenry and belongingness rooted in our original instructions, what Pueblo people refer to as our core values. The three sections of this dissertation are interrelated in that they seek to grow a more inclusive Pueblo community in effort to retain our cultural practices and belief systems for generations to come.

This dissertation explores Brain Drain and Brain Circulation phenomena at Taos Pueblo, an Indigenous community located in northern New Mexico, USA. The study examines the push and pull factors that influence the migration of educated Taos Pueblo tribal members. The information contained in this dissertation was derived from a study that was completed from 2016-2017 in Taos Pueblo. It has become evident that Indigenous communities worldwide are currently experiencing massive migration away from reservations, rural, and communities of origin and towards urbanized centers. The research conducted in this dissertation was focused on both patterns and trends and possible distinct reasons for intellectual migration, especially in Indigenous communities. This dissertation is separated into three sections. The first part is a journal article that focused on Taos Pueblo intellectual migration patterns. The article draws from studies literature review, fieldwork methodology, methods, data and findings. The second part is a book chapter that centers on a literature review and theory development. The book chapter includes a discussion on the study findings and contains broad recommendations for addressing brain drain and promoting brain circulation in Taos Pueblo. The third and final section is a Policy Paper is aimed at two audiences, the first is Indigenous Leadership and secondly, college age students who are interested in working with Indigenous Communities. The policy brief provides solutions and recommendations that were gathered from secondary literature and from the data gathered during the various interviews that were conducted during the research period.

The following study is based on my individual and collective practice as a former staff member of El Centro de Desarrollo Alternativo Indígena A.C., a non-profit who works in the Sierra Madre Occidental in the north of Mexico, and my experience as a master student in the US. I am developing this research as a reflective instrument to improve the strategies that I have been developing and implementing. To reach this goal I present the concept of praxis, which Paulo Freire and Antonio Gramsci used some years ago, as a methodology to shorten the gap between my practice and theory. Furthermore, I use the theoretical framework of popular education, and other ideas from the complementary fields of community development, and Critical Race Theory/TribalCrit, to shed light on how to improve our practice and the pedagogies we use as part of our work. The main question that is guiding this study is: What is the learning dynamic of organizations and participants who are doing community development work with Indigenous communities? To answer this, I analyze the data I collected in 2016, which includes: two months of participant observation, sixteen in-depth interviews, and one focus group with staff members. The findings of this research suggest that staff members have learned to respect time and culture of the community and to validate local knowledge; community members have shared that they have learned new agricultural practices, production of organic fertilizers and pesticides, earthworm compost, food conservation methods, communication skills and to work together. The ways identified in which participants have learned are: by doing, by observation, by dialogue, by receptivity, by recognition, through meetings and by reflection. The results of this research are consistent with what popular educators say: neutrality is impossible. Practices of the nonprofits do not occur in a vacuum; therefore, the mechanisms of auto analysis and reflection that CEDAIN staff shared, in conjunction with the attempt of this research to unveil the hidden and explicit curriculum of the practices of CEDAIN, are great tools to trigger critical consciousness, challenge what we have taken for granted, and recreate better practices. This research is a result of the compilation and analysis of the narratives, experiences and knowledge of community and staff members who participated in this study. In this sense, these set of ideas, which place grassroots experiences as the principal source of knowledge, could be applied to plan and design future pedagogical interventions.

My research focuses on Indigenous and Pueblo women’s knowledges and the role of our knowledges as they relate to the future of Indigenous and Pueblo communities. My main research question is multifaceted—what is Indigenous and Pueblo women’s knowledge, how is this knowledge communicated and taught, what changes have occurred to those knowledges over time, and what changes have happened due to perceived and real threats. In answering that question, the sources used for my research include the qualitative data collected from personal interviews with Pueblo women, my literature review, and information that I know or have learned from personal experience, including my knowledge as a Pueblo woman.

My dissertation is in three parts: a journal article, a book chapter and a policy paper. The journal article responds to this question: How and in what ways have Pueblo and Indigenous women’s knowledges been impacted, influenced or shaped by colonialization? I contribute to conversations about how colonization has impacted, influenced, and transformed Indigenous women’s identities, knowledges, roles, and ways of living.

My book chapter takes a look at definitions of Indigenous and Pueblo women’s knowledges and teachings from the perspectives of Indigenous and Pueblo women. The book chapter focuses on the modern day issues facing Pueblo women, specifically, how to ensure our survival and our Pueblo ways of life in the face of colonization. The book chapter focuses on Pueblo women’s teachings and knowledges as they are passed down from generation to generation. Those teachings have been key to our survival and key to maintaining our traditions, our language and our Pueblo way of life.

The policy paper discusses my views on the importance for Pueblo nations to adopt policies that protect Pueblo women which will protect and ensure the passage of Pueblo women’s knowledges to future generations towards ensuring that Pueblo people continue to exist and be who we are, Pueblo people. In the policy paper, I also discuss what well-being or health means and how that relates to the importance of adopting policies to protect Pueblo women from sexual assault, domestic violence, human trafficking and other forms of violence that may be used against Pueblo women in our communities.

This dissertation describes a qualitative research study that was conducted in order to deconstruct the notion of trauma using a resiliency framework in one Pueblo Indian community in New Mexico. Trauma is widely discussed in relation to mental health issues impacting Indigenous peoples worldwide, as demonstrated in my review of the literature and throughout this work. Yet, the result of most research tends towards pointing out deficiencies in Indigenous communities. Rarely, if ever, is trauma explored through a strengths-based and resiliency approach. This study represents the first attempt to do so in and with a Pueblo Indian community. As a Pueblo researcher working with my own community of Kewa, my goal was to go back to the very people consistently being studied, that is, the Indigenous community, and to re-examine what is trauma, including its definitions and with a focus on local culturally-based interventions.

This work is broken down into three components that are woven together through the common theme of understanding, deconstructing, and addressing trauma: a journal article, book chapter and policy brief. The journal article is titled: “Walking the Path: A Pueblo Journey through Trauma and Healing.” The journal article begins by reviewing concepts on trauma and resilience documented in a literature. I both review the literature and offer critiques from the perspective of a Pueblo Indian researcher working in the field of health. This segues into my dissertation study. A series of eight qualitative, semi-structured interviews were conducted using an interview guide with open-ended questions. I found that participants reported ample evidence of both trauma and resilience, documenting the need for further research in this area and, most importantly, a values-based intervention. Critical in my research findings is that participants revealed the types of trauma relevent to Pueblo people, which points to our understanding of local issues that may also resonate with the experiences of other Indigenous peoples but that are intended to speak to Pueblo communities. Through my research, I consistently assert that understanding trauma also includes the need to document how Pueblo people have coped and overcome their trauma. These forms of resilience were also documented in the findings.

The book chapter is titled, “Using Pueblo Values to Heal from Trauma.” This section of the dissertation details Pueblo values and the implications on trauma. Pueblo values are described in detail based on my research and explicated in relation to theory that I propose. In this book chapter, I argue that these Pueblo values play an integral role in how we cope and heal from trauma. To summarize what participants explained, the idea is proposed that following these values will lead you to “the right path.” Suggestions for an ideal intervention based on participant interviews include the development of a values-based curriculum whose success is contingent on following Pueblo values that teaches values as defined by the Pueblo community.

My dissertation concludes with a policy section that focuses on “Finding the Path when you have Fallen Off.” This section talks about “cultural freezing” and the need to integrate positive cultural identity in youth, who are especially vulnerable in Indigenous communities, through the development of a values-based curriculum. The policy section will focus on the implications of trauma concepts defined for Native People that have demonstrated the need to process trauma. In order to process trauma, culturally-relevant frameworks and curricula such as “Transcending the Trauma” or “Gathering of Native Americans” (GONA) have been developed to help guide communities to begin the conversation around trauma. These discussions help to raise awareness around trauma and help people begin their healing journey. However, these developed concepts, frameworks and curricula have only started the journey and now there is a significant need for interventions to sustain recovery from trauma. These interventions also must include levels of individual and community readiness to address trauma and align with the values of the community and individual. It is a step we need to take to decolonize education and unfreeze culture

This study argues for Indigenous-led community development as a salient field of study whereby both theory and practice would be held to the goals of decolonizing entrenched systems that suppress indigeneity, as well as embodying processes to rediscover, regain, and reimage aspects integral to Indigenous well-being and sustainability. Building on fieldwork with Cherokee youth in Stilwell, OK using community mapping and photovoice methods, it is argued that holistic and culturally relevant frameworks that fully situate such salient factors are needed when examining topics related to sustainability, well-being, and resurgence in Native American communities. Utilizing youth narratives, the study proposes a starting point for a Cherokee-led community development framework.

These are unprecedented times. Like never before, humans, having separated themselves from the web of life through the skillful use of their opposable thumbs, have invented the means of extinction and have systematized it for the benefit of the few at the expense of all else. Yet humans are also designing fixes and alternatives that will soon overcome the straight line trajectory to ugliness and loss that the current order would lead the rest of humanity through. The works in this dissertation are connected by two themes: (1) those humans who happen to be closely connected to the lands, waters and wildlife, through millennia of adaptation and inventive association, have a great deal to share with the rest, who, through history have become distanced from the lands and waters and wildlife they came from; and (2) as the inheritors of all the insults that the current disrespectful and wasteful system is heaping upon all true sensibilities, young people, who are Indigenous, and who are the critical generation for biocultural survival, have an immense role to play - for their cultures, and for all of the rest. The survivance of autochthonous culture through intergenerational conduct of cultural practice and spirituality is profoundly affected by fundamental physical factors of resilience related to food, water, and energy security, and the intergenerational participation of youth. So this work is not so much an indictment of the system as it is an attempt to reveal at least two ways that the work of these young Indigenous people can be expedited: through the transformation of their education so that more of their time as youths is spent focusing on the wonderful attributes of their cultural associations with the lands, waters, and wildlife; and through the creation of a self-sustaining youth owned and operated enterprise that provides needed services to communities so they can adapt to and mitigate the increasingly variable, unpredictable, and dangerous effects and impacts of global heating and climate disruption.

In 2005 the Navajo Nation Tribal Council passed the Navajo Sovereignty in Education Act (NSEA). The NSEA has been herald as a decisive new direction in Diné education with implications for Diné language and cultural revitalization. However, research has assumed the NSEA will lead to decolonizing efforts such as language revitalization and has yet to critically analyze how the NSEA is decolonizing or maintains settler colonial educational structures. In order to critically investigate the NSEA this thesis develops a framework of educational elimination through a literature review on the history of United States settler colonial elimination of Indigeneity through schooling and a framework of decolonizing education through a review of literature on promising practices in Indigenous education and culturally responsive schooling. The NSEA is analyzed through the decolonizing education framework and educational elimination framework. I argue the NSEA provides potential leverage for both decolonizing educational practices and the continuation of educational elimination.

ABSTRACT

Because economic advancement has been defined by Western society and not by Indigenous peoples themselves, the material gains of such narrowly defined notions of advancement have long been an elusive dream for many Indigenous communities in the United States. Many reasons have been given as to why significant economic advancement through a Western materialistic lens has been unattainable, including remoteness, the inability to get financing on trust land, and access to markets. These are all valid concerns and challenges, but they are not insurmountable. Another disconcerting reason has been the perception that the federal government through its trust responsibility is to do everything for the tribes, including economic advancement, job creation and economic diversification. Despite the problematic nature of this lens, this work is concerned with both how Indigenous--and particularly southwestern tribal, Pueblo Indian nations--interpret and participate in the drive to achieve measures of prosperity for their communities. Granted, the U.S. government does have a trust responsibility to assist tribes, however, that does not mean tribes are relieved of their obligation to do their part as well. Here, I provide an observation of the notion of government responsibility towards tribes and ultimately suggest that there is a strong and devastating addiction that hinders Indigenous communities and impacts economic advancement. This addiction is not alcoholism, drugs, or domestic violence. Instead, this is an addiction to federal funds and programs, which has diminished Indigenous inspiration to do for self, the motivation to be innovative, and has blurred responsibility of what it means to contribute. I will also include the need to utilize data to develop new economic policies and strategies. Last, I will include a policy suggestion that will be aimed at operationalizing the trust reform and data concepts. While discussing these challenges, my focus is to moreover offer a suggestion of how to strategize through them. Drawing from Pueblo Indian examples, the argument becomes clear that other Indigenous citizens across the lower forty-eight have an opportunity to break the prescribed mold in order to advance their economies and on their terms.

This dissertation explores the notion of Pueblo community engagement at multiple levels, from the communities’ role in engaging its members, the individual’s responsibility in engaging with the community, both the community and individual’s engagement relationship with external forces, and the movement towards new engagement as it relates to youth and community. This research recognizes both the existing and the changing nature of engagement in our Pueblo communities. Because the core value of contribution is critical to being a participant in community, both participants and communities need to think of what needs to be done to strengthen Pueblo community engagement , for community and for youth. On the community side, this dissertation examines past community programs impact to the social structures of Pueblo communities and highlights a couple of new strategies to incorporate community voice in programming efforts. In addition, this dissertation explores youth contribution to community. The notions of community recognizing and being receptive to new ideas for youth engagement and of instilling their sense of community in youth is critical to the ‘new engagement’ paradigm. This dissertation proposes that one strategy is to incorporate youth in the governance structures of community through innovative programming with the ultimate goal of instilling in youth the feeling that they belong to their community.