•  
  •  
 

Author Bio

Dra. Johanna Estrella is a daughter of immigrant Mexican parents (Ñuu sabi and Nahua diaspora) as well as the first in her family to obtain a university degree. Born in Oakland, California and raised in the "shady-eighties", Dra. Estrella attributes her 10-year work and study abroad experiences in Europe and the Republic of Korea to her bilingual, multicultural, working-class upbringing. Coming home full circle, Dra. Estrella’s research interests include exploring community-based efforts in the preservation of Indigenous Latinx/e languages and culture in the Bay Area. 

Dr. Rosa M. Jiménez is Associate Professor of International and Multicultural Education at the University of San Francisco. Her research examines K-12 classroom pedagogies and theoretical principles necessary for conceptualizing and enacting critical language education and culturally responsive learning environments. She centers her research on Latinx education, the children of immigrants, and bilingual ‘English learners’. Dr. Jiménez has twenty years of experience doing community-engaged research with TK-12 public schools and community educators. 

Abstract

Public schools are facing a new diaspora of immigrant students entering their schools—Indigenous Latinx youth. There is considerable literature on immigrant communities and immigrant students, particularly the Latinx origin youth who are overwhelmingly classified as “English Learners.” Much less attention has been paid to Indigenous immigrant youths’ educational and lived experiences. In response, indigenous families are seeking alternative ways to preserve their language and culture. This qualitative study documents a planned non-formal language preservation project with Mam Indigenous mothers and their children. Using Human Rights in Education (HRE) and Linguistic Rights frameworks, we analyze the Mam Language project as a human right. Findings detail: (1) how Mam mothers co-constructed and led language lessons on Mam vocabulary and loom weaving. Both the children and mothers began to have a deeper appreciation for the Mam “mami teacher” (Mam language mother teachers) as language knowers and knowledge creators; and (2) Findings demonstrate that Mam mothers’ held ancestrally rooted beliefs about language rights and language preservation. This study illuminates the possibilities of HRE and linguistic rights in community-based spaces, with broader implications for public schooling.

Download

Included in

Education Commons

Share

COinS