This article presents the first psychometric validation of the Culturally Responsive Assessment of Indigenous Schooling (CRAIS) tool, alongside a call for methodological complexity when engaged in research with and in Indigenous contexts. We examined the 23 culturally responsive schooling (CRS) principles underlying the newly created CRAIS tool in…

Little research has been conducted on the multimodal writing of contemporary Native American women that would refute stereotypical and outdated notions of Indigenous peoples as a dying population. This case study was undertaken to address that gap in the extant research by examining the writing practices of a young Native American woman to…

Background: Recently there has been considerable interest in making as a means to promote interest in engineering careers. Leveraging making practices that already exist in communities could provide a way to address the severe underrepresentation of minority groups, such as Native Americans, in engineering. Before any programs or curricula can be…

This article presents a tool and discusses the rationale for the authors' development of a tool designed to assess the alignment of culturally responsive schooling principles within schools serving predominantly U.S. Indigenous students. Schools that serve a majority of Indigenous students are generally located on or bordering Native Nations that…

Physical educators face many daily challenges in their work. Delivering culturally responsive programming that speaks to all students regardless of race, religion, nationality, gender, and motor abilities (Kozub & Hodge, 2014) is one of these challenges. Teachers who build a meaningful physical educational environment with skilled activities…

This article reports on the first three years of a teacher-led professional development program on the Navajo Nation. We draw on both quantitative and qualitative data from our end-of-year surveys to highlight some of the early lessons we have gathered from the Diné Institute for Navajo Nation Educators (DINÉ). We highlight two guiding principles…

Many of us have multiple stories that would be appropriate to tell given the theme of this Special Issue. I am compelled to tell a story about my work with teachers, teacher leaders, and other allies on the Navajo Nation. The Diné Institute for Navajo Nation Educators (DINÉ) was started by teacher leaders who envisioned a collaborative…

Background: Diverse perspectives, including those of Native Americans, are needed to drive innovation in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Tribes such as the Navajo Nation are seeking to strengthen their communities, create economic opportunities, and improve the lives of their peoples by encouraging members of their tribe to…

This article provides an overview of the Navajo (Diné) K'e model and associated Indigenous and multitribal concepts that the Native American Community Academy (NACA) teachers, curriculum directors, instructional team members, programming mentors (aunties and uncles), community partners, staff, and school leaders draw from to inform how they design…

Students bring valuable cultural ways of knowing and worldviews to the classroom. Teachers who build on student cultures are able to motivate and make learning more meaningful. We believe that teachers should "Think Local" within a holistic orientation to create a student-centered and culture-centered education that arises out of student…

Preserving the unique contours of cultural communities is integral to the rich weave of our collective human heritage. However, the postcolonial United States (US) educational paradigm, reflected in curricula and standards based on white middle-class norms, has a flattening effect on the vibrancy of diverse languages and community traditions.…

Navajo Technical University first opened its doors in 1979 as the Navajo Skills Center with the simple intention of training an unemployed workforce and putting people to work. At the time, the Diné were just a generation removed from attempts at forced assimilation, which included unwarranted military action by the U.S. Cavalry during the Long…

This brief provides contextual information and descriptions of select programs and practices serving Native students, regarding state identification and support, representation of Native student interest, and locally created examples. The National Comprehensive Center's American Indian and Alaska Native Education Project developed this brief to…

This article analyzes factors that might be associated with Navajo college students' writing anxiety. Oral tradition, reading, syntax, and past experience are the factors discussed. Suggestions based on previous literature and personal experience are provided.

The Summer Research Enhancement Program (SREP) at Diné College provides students with a solid foundation of public health research methods and includes a hands-on internship in their home community to test their newly acquired skills while enhancing the communities' health. Focusing on health issues prioritized by Navajo health leaders, from…