Indigenous Literatures and Languages in the Americas: Translanguaging and Education in Global Contexts

The international team involved in this network will examine aspects of linguistic and cultural hybridity in different indigenous communities of the Americas that engage with today's global languages: French, Spanish, English and Portuguese. The aim is to bring together experts on indigenous literatures, translation theory, historians, educational specialists, indigenous educators, writers and community leaders to 1) develop a cross-linguistic and cross-cultural understanding of the relationship between indigenous literatures and these global hegemonic languages and 2) devise pedagogical strategies to employ this literature in order to combat the erosion of indigenous cultures and knowledges. Through a series of symposiums and workshops the network will produce practical and flexible teaching methodologies that will help shape the teaching curriculums of indiegnous schools in Colombia, the United States, Mexico, Canada, and Brazil. In the long-term we aim to influence local and national educational policies in these countries.

While studies abound on the hybrid character of indigenous literatures written in the dominant languages of the Americas, very little has been done how these types of texts can inform educational contexts and strategies. We aim to fill this gap by combining the theories of postcolonial translation and translanguaging with the educational approaches of creativities theory and critical pedagogy and the expert knowledge of indigenous teachers. According to postcolonial theory the act of translating texts from a subaltern language to that of the dominant culture usually results in the production of an 'other'. By bringing together historical experts on indigenous societies, indigenous literatures and translation theory in a two-day colloquium, we will identify the ways in which the power relations between indigenous peoples and the discourses of colonialism and modernity continue to influence such 'self' translations into 'accepted' and 'expected' representations of indigenous cultures. On the other hand, the theory of translanguaging has challenged this standpoint by proposing that linguistic, symbolic and philosophical aspects can be transferred from one language to another. The team will also examine, therefore, the possibility that indigenous writers are able to decolonise the four major languages by translating through the ideological and linguistic barriers in order to articulate codes and symbols that express meanings that stem from the respective indigenous cultures.

The network will then explore how these new perspectives on indigenous literatures of the Americas can contribute to the field of indigenous education studies and indigenous schools. In a conference panel in the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association in North America we will share the knowledge accrued in the colloquium with educational studies experts, indigenous leaders and indigenous educators. The aim is to debate the ways in which this type of literature can be used in educational contexts, focusing on its potential to 1) educate students on the discursive positions imposed on indigenous communities and, therefore, enable them politically, and 2) educate indigenous students at risk of becoming culturally disenfranchised from their traditions and knowledges. The panel will promote an exchange of ideas between the knowledge of indigenous educators and academic experts of critical pedagogy and creativities theory. The outcomes of this collaboration will be employed in educational workshops in indigenous schools in La Guajira, Colombia. A report informed by this experience will also be prepared for schools in the other countries mentioned above. It will also be disseminated via an interactive multilinguistic website for researchers and indigenous teachers and students, and a multi-authored book that will provide a holistic vision of the benefits and risks of employing literature in educational contexts.

Impact is programmed into the design of the network. Our aim is to produce a multi-authored monograph that will function as a multilingual aid for educators of indigenous communities on how indigenous literature of the Americas can be used to conserve, develop and disseminate traditional knowledges. The network, therefore, will tackle two of the goals identified in the Global Challenges Policy of the AHRC: the protection of minority cultures and the promotion of interculturalism.

The general public in the US, the UK, Latin America and Canada will benefit from the network's contribution to increase awareness about the cultural, social and linguistic positions of indigenous societies. We foresee establishing digital links via our website and those of other associations in order to disseminate more widely the network's findings to the general public. The associations include but are not restricted to the following: the Association of American Indian Affairs in the US and Canada, Fundacao Indio in Brazil, Organizacion Nacional Indigena de Colombia, Fundacion Patrimonio Indigena in Mexico, and the Native Studies Research Network in the UK. The network's website and themes will also be promoted via public talks that will take place in the University of Montreal, in London and Hull as part of the Hull Freedom festival, which attracts tens of thousands of people.

Impact will also be achieved through the creation and dissemination of teaching methodologies that are designed to support the conservation of indigenous traditions and knowledges. The main aim of the two-day panel at the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association conference is to foment a dialogue with members of indigenous communities and indigenous educators in order to devise flexible methodologies in which literature written by indigenous writers can be used in educational contexts.

The outcomes of this panel will be disseminated via the following six strategies: The PI will work with the Wayuu community-led project Anaa Akua'ipa ('For the good of our customs'), the local governmental cultural programme, La Historia como Instrumento para Fortalecer la Identidad Cultural Wayuu, in order to carry out workshops in four bilingual indigenous schools. We shall also team up with our official partner, Red Cultural del Banco de la Republica's programme, Club Juvenil de Lectura Woumainpaa, in order to carry out workshops for local students of La Riohacha in the bank's Cultural Centre. The overall aim of the workshops is to employ examples of Wayuu literature to promote positive appreciations and knowledge among the students of their cultural background and traditions and to inspire them to independently learn more about them in traditional environments.

The workshops will also benefit from the contributions of Wayuu author, Estercilia Simanca Pushaina, who has agreed to perform public readings of her stories. We will also organise a writing competition in which the stories written by Wayuu students will be published in a book for the La Guajira public, with a foreword from Estercilia Simanca Pushaina. The anticipated circulation of this book will be around 200 copies.

The experience of the Wayuu educators and students participating in the network's workshops will be recorded and will inform a report composed by Wayuu educators and the PI. This report will be aimed at local education policy makers, who have been identified by Wayuu members of the network as having the potential to influence the curriculum of indigenous schools in the area.

The experience gained in these workshops in La Guajira will benefit other indigenous communities and schools across the Americas. The aforementioned report will be distributed to schools in Brazil, Mexico, and North America. The network's webpage will also serve as a repository of knowledge for researchers in education, indigenous teachers, students and communities in the Americas.