Crystal Briskey
Pronouns: She/her
Research Mentor(s): Anna Almore
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Joint Program in English and Education / Education
Program:
Authors: Anna Almore, Anna Almore, Crystal Briskey
Session: Session 7: 4:40 pm – 5:30 pm
Poster: 2
Abstract
The ongoing colonization of the United States of America is well documented in the academic community, but how does education play a role in the ongoing colonization of indigenous people in North America, and how is it continuing to erase indigenous culture and language? To narrow the focus, this project will compare the experience the researcher had growing up in the American educational system in Michigan to what is being done within the educational system in South Dakota. This project seeks to explore through ethnography how schooling contributes to citizenship while covering ongoing settler colonialism. This research explores the life of the researcher as they discover what it means to be a white settler while also being a natural born citizen and what conclusions they have come to during the research process. This auto-ethnography will trace the role curriculum and policy play in the maintenance of settler colonialism. The dichotomy of being both colonizer and citizen for this researcher was born from the American educational system and how they were coaxed into their belief system regarding colonization as a consequence of how it was taught in their school. Due to the nature of an auto-ethnography, results of this research are ongoing. Methods of research include data collection, participant observation, and the ethnographic method. The purpose of this research is to describe how colonization in the United States continues through the educational system. Through this comparative analysis, this research locates potential opportunities for further investigation.
