Transforming Diné Education

Book excerpt: Transforming Diné Education: Innovations in Pedagogy and Practice gathers the voices of Diné scholars, educators, and administrators to offer critical insights into contemporary programs that place Diné-centered pedagogy into practice. Bringing together decades of teaching experience, contributors offer perspectives from school- and community-based programs, as well as the tribal, district, and university level. They address special education, language revitalization, wellness, self-determination and sovereignty, and university-tribal-community partnerships. These contributions foreground Diné ways of knowing both as an educational philosophy and as an active practice applied in the innovative programs the book highlights. The contributors deepen our understanding of the state of Navajo education by sharing their perspectives about effective teaching practices and the development of programs that advance educational opportunities for Navajo youth. This work provides stories of Diné resilience, resistance, and survival. It articulates a Diné-centered pedagogy that will benefit educators and learners for generations to come. Transforming Diné Education fills a need in the larger literature of curricular and programmatic development and provides tools for academic success for all American Indian students. Contributors Berlinda Begay Lorenda Belone Michael “Mikki” Carroll Quintina “Tina” Deschenie Henry Fowler Richard Fulton Davis E. Henderson Kelsey Dayle John Lyla June Johnston Tracia Keri Jojola Tiffany S. Lee Shawn Secatero Michael Thompson Pedro “Pete” Vallejo Christine B. Vining Vincent Werito Duane “Chili” Yazzie