“You Take the Punches”: Native Youth Experiences of School Pushout

ABSTRACT

Research suggests a crisis in Native American education. Disparities in academic success are well-documented and have persisted despite myriad intervention efforts. Utilizing a decolonial Youth Participatory Action Research methodology and mixed-methods design, a team of youth researchers and adult collaborators conducted iterative rounds of participatory education, data collection, and analysis. Through this process, we generated evidence of Native-specific school pushout practices or what we call “punches” delivered by the institution: schooling designed for dispossession, curricular harm, disproportionate discipline, and microaggressions/racism. Collectively, our findings support alternative interpretations of the crisis in Native American education and suggest the institution itself must be placed at the epicenter; schools must be accountable to their co-creation of this crisis. We recommend strategies to address these structural factors and pursue educational justice for Native youth.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Our 2^nd youth worker was an Odawa/Seneca affiliated male who worked in public schools and sport/coaching.

2. Special thanks to Phillips Indian Educators, Migizi Communications, Native Youth Workers Circle, Minneapolis American Indian Center, the late Clyde Bellecourt, and the American Indian Movement Interpretive Center for your support over the course of this project.

3. It is important to note that these curricular experiences did not always include white-identified school staff. At times, teachers with minoritized identities were identified.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Katie Johnston-Goodstar

Katie Johnston-Goodstar is Associate Professor, School of Social Work, University of Minnesota.

LeVi Boucher

LeVi Boucher is a Youth Worker, Native Youth Workers Circle.

Megan Red Shirt-Shaw

Megan Red Shirt-Shaw is the Director of Native Student Services at the University of South Dakota.