Saskias Casanova, Ph.D. | Diasporic Indigenous Students & Their Learning Environments
11/14/2023 - Saskias Casanova, Ph.D. | Diasporic Indigenous Students & Their Learning Environments
Diasporic Indigenous students from Mexico attain cultural knowledge through transnational
learning communities outside traditional K-12 classrooms. Educators are often unaware of the
strengths these learning environments foster in these students. Using socio-ecological systems
and critical Latinx Indigeneities (Blackwell et al., 2017) frameworks, Dr. Saskias Casanova
highlights the intricate, collaborative, and intergenerational learning environments
Indigenous Mexican students recreate and sustain across diasporic contexts.
Casanova will share how these learning environments foster assets, such as agency,
multilingualism, identity development, and a sense of belonging, which diasporic Indigenous
students bring to their classrooms. Casanova will discuss incorporating decolonizing
methodologies (Adams et al., 2015; Smith, 1999) in her research to center Indigenous youth
voices and expand traditional psychological epistemologies. She will also recommend
practices for cultivating positive learning environments that support diasporic Indigenous
students and affirm their Indigenous worldviews to create more equitable educational
experiences for these students.
