Toward Indigenous Resurgence: Building Solidarities in Higher Education Through Relationality

Abstract

We examine the meaning and salience of social justice and solidarity building in higher education for Indigenous peoples through the lens of Indigenous resurgence. Indigenous resurgence centers Indigenous worldviews to guide our understanding and behavior while also prioritizing relationality to determine where and how to build solidarities with others. Our piece utilizes the work of the Indigenous People’s Knowledge Community in the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators to provide a formative example of building relationality in higher education spaces.

Disclosure Statement

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

Notes

¹ We use the terms Indigenous peoples, Native, and Indigenous interchangeably to describe the autochthonous peoples of what is now known as the United States including politically affiliated lands/oceans.

² Corrina Gould also serves as the co-founder and co-director, with Johnella LaRose, of the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, an organization that “facilitates the return of Indigenous land to Indigenous people” (Sogorea Te’ Land Trust, n.d.).

³ Although the Hawaiian words used here are already known to us, we still retrieved definitions from Hawaiian dictionaries digitized on Ulukau (n.d.) to ensure accuracy and consistency. We’ve also provided introductory English definitions for Hawaiian words. We encourage readers to use this resource for more information.

⁴ The terms Kanaka (plural, Kānaka), ‘Ōiwi, and Maoli are used interchangeably here to refer to the autochthonous people of the Hawaiian archipelago (Hawai‘i).

⁵ While this section focuses on IPKC, we would like to make clear that there has been varying levels of participation among its members over time like any other organization, especially given the small number of Native professionals (and faculty) in the field. Thus, we do our best to highlight collective and individual contributions.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Erin Kahunawaika‘ala Wright

a

Erin Kahunawaika‘ala Wright ([email protected]) is from Kaluaopalena, Kalihi, O‘ahu, Hawai‘i. Currently, she serves as associate professor of educational administration at the University of Hawai‘i, Mānoa.

Jennifer Māhealani Ah Sing Quirk

b

Jennifer Māhealani Ah Sing Quirk ([email protected]) is a social worker from ‘Aiea, O‘ahu, Hawai‘i. She is director of the Graduate Professional Access Program in the Office of Student Equity, Excellence and Diversity at the University of Hawai‘i, Mānoa.