“What the educator does in teaching is to make it possible for the students to become themselves.”
— Paulo Freire in “We Make the Road by Walking: Conversations on Education and Social Change”
Coming Home And Decolonization Work
As a Native/Indigenous person who was raised ‘Other,’ in Rosa’s case Latina and Colombian, she is very aware of which stories were missing from her childhood and which stories she did manage to receive despite enormous pressure to forget and assimilate into Latinidad.
A classroom is just another venue to tell this story of being Native Raised Other, and draw lessons about how to be ourselves with all of our different relationships to our Native heritages. There are so many different versions of the Native Raised Other story, as there are so many different ways to be ourselves. These classes are intended to help build a common framework of values and principles that Rosa has learned from Native/Indigenous Elders and mentors since 2014 when she began doing her own coming home work. It is with great humility and hope that she offers them as tools to help others along the same journey so that all Native and Indigenous people who wish to come home can do it together.
We offer three classes:
Coming Home Work: A 3 Part Introductory Class for Native/Indigenous Peoples Raised Other
The Journey Home: A 12 Week Class for Native/Indigenous Peoples Raised Other Who Want To Go Deeper
We All Need Friends: An Introduction to Being an Ally to Native/Indigenous Peoples
Our Teaching Philosophy
The goal of Reclaiming Indigeneity is for us to all find the stories that we belong to. Stories teach us who we are, where we belong, and how to behave in this world. We believe that classrooms are protected and intimate spaces for us to explore, learn, and make mistakes together as we figure out how to be ourselves fully and openly. The classes that Rosa teaches are based on her personal life experience of doing ‘coming home’ work as a Native Raised Other person, of being in the labor movement, and of teaching her friends how to think about her as a Native/Indigenous person.
Our teaching style is in the mold of Paulo Freire, a Brazilian educator who believed that educating another person was a revolutionary act. That our duty as educators is not to condition our students into accepting the world as it is, but rather to teach them to believe in their own minds enough to open their hearts to a more just, equal, and joyous future. Teaching in this way is a bit of an art, and a bit of a science, much like making music. Everyone has a unique sound to contribute to the mix. Sometimes we hit the high notes and sometimes the low notes. Sometimes we need to hear discord before we can arrive at harmony. Everyone’s participation is crucial in creating something beautifully balanced.
We hope you feel welcomed when you enter our classes, and like you’ve grown when you leave. For this reason, we encourage several rounds of personal sharing and ask for cameras to stay on during the entire class. If this presents an accessibility barrier, please contact us to discuss.
For Individuals & Groups
Coming home work is beautiful and it is also challenging. We come from many nations. This means that all of our journeys home will start and end in different places, take many different routes, and be filled with different experiences. What we need to make these journeys is each other. For courage, accountability and help along the way.
In order for students to feel at home with each other, Reclaiming Indigeneity only accepts 10 students per class. Our goal is for students to be able to get to know each other as well as understand what the work entails. Building community and learning go hand in hand.
We also work with organizations and groups of people who want this content delivered to their group specifically. We are happy to tailor the curriculum and work with people to adjust the schedule to fit their timelines. The Introductory course can be fit into a weekend retreat for example. Please contact us at rosa@reclaimingindigeneity.com to ask for details.
We advertise online and through word of mouth with only a few weeks lead time before the next class begins. Don’t miss our next intro class. Sign up for our newsletter below.