Language, Culture, and Indigeneity: Reflections on their Interplay


Authors:
Robert Davis, The National Indian Council on Aging, USA
Elvira Sanatullova-Allison, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, USA
Email: elviraallison@gmail.com
Published: July 5, 2023
https://doi.org/10.22492/ijcs.8.1.05

Citation: Davis, R., & Sanatullova-Allison, E. (2023). Language, Culture, and Indigeneity: Reflections on their Interplay. IAFOR Journal of Cultural Studies, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.22492/ijcs.8.1.05


Abstract

Language encultures the speaker as subject and provides access to an identity that is grounded in frames of knowing and being. This paper gives an overview of Indigeneity in relation to language and culture from four different pathways: 1) language and self-preservation, 2) nonviolent means to communal well-being, 3) student narratives and agency, and 4) the forward gaze of conceptions of “abode” and “sojourn.” A reflection on the value of Indigenous ways of knowing, remembering, and performing in Native culture, as well as in the dominant, broader society, intersect in these pages.

Keywords

agency, culture, indigenous peoples, language