As a Cultural Studies and Social Thought in Education major there are a few definitions of culture in which the most often shared pertains to beliefs. For Indigenous people, we have a deeply woven context that is much more complex.
As I diligently work through my readings for an upcoming oral defense, I found this explanation of “culture” in a literature review of culturally responsive schooling. Our deep understandings of culture are not fixed and are more than a good idea, it is a lived experience and a way of life that is felt. When I read this excerpt I found a deep peace in my readings.
Wherever you are out in the world today, I hope you can feel today’s Indigenous quote of the day. Yox~
Like an anchor in the ocean, it is rooted to some place — for many Indigenous peoples, the seafloor is the lands on which they live and their ancestors lived and roamed before them. The anchor shifts and sways, like culture, with the changing tides, ebbs, and flows of the ocean or the life, contexts, and situations for Indigenous peoples.
*Castagno, A., & Brayboy, B. (2008). Culturally Responsive Schooling for Indigenous Youth: A Review of Literature. Review of Educational Research 78(4), pp. 941-993.
