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Toward a Tribal Critical Race Theory in Education

  • Special Issue: Race and Schooling: Theories and Ethnographies
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Abstract

In this article, I outline the central tenets of an emerging theory that I call Tribal Critical Race Theory (TribalCrit) to more completely address the issues of Indigenous Peoples in the United States. TribalCrit has it roots in Critical Race Theory, Anthropology, Political/Legal Theory, Political Science, American Indian Literatures, Education, and American Indian Studies. This theoretical framework provides a way to address the complicated relationship between American Indians and the United States federal government and begin to make sense of American Indians’ liminality as both racial and legal/political groups and individuals.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am grateful for comments of prior drafts from: Dolores Delgado Bernal, Donna Deyhle, Perry Gilmore, Tsianina Lomawaima, Emma Mecham, Michael Olivas, Laurence Parker, Richard Reddick, Katherine Schultz, Kristin Searle, William Smith, Daniel Solorzano, Octavio Villalpando, Sofia Villenas, Doris Warriner, Tara Yosso, and Ofelia Zepeda. Without the research and editorial assistance of Emma Mecham and Kristin Searle, this article might not have happened. I am indebted to the Center for the Study of Empowered Students of Color and the University of Utah’s American Indian Teacher Training Program for research and financial support. Additionally, I want to thank University of Utah Vice Presidents Karen Dace and David Pershing for their support of my work. Finally, I am grateful for the generous and insightful feedback from Lesley Bartlett and anonymous reviewers. All mistakes are my own.

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  1. University of Utah, 1705 E. Campus Center Dr., Room, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA

    Bryan McKinley Jones Brayboy

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Correspondence to Bryan McKinley Jones Brayboy.

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Bryan McKinley Jones Brayboy is an Assistant Professor in the University of Utah.

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Brayboy, B.M.J. Toward a Tribal Critical Race Theory in Education. Urban Rev 37, 425–446 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11256-005-0018-y

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