| dc.description.abstract | This holistic single-case study aims to understand the impact of digital storytelling on the identity development of Native American youth. The question that guides the study asks, “How do Native American adolescents in a rural, tribal-run after-school program for Indigenous youth explore and express who they are through digital storytelling?” Five Indigenous youth enrolled in the tribal-run program participated in the study, and they completed a digital storytelling project that contains multiple components and interviews. Data sources include funds of knowledge maps, shields, storyboards, and interview transcripts. In addition to using thematic analysis as an overarching method to identify themes, depending on the specific data type, the researcher also conducted constant comparison, content analysis, and/or intertextual transcription to analyze the data. The findings indicate that the youth engaged in the process, explored and solidified their personal identity, and discovered personal strength through reflection. The findings suggest that digital storytelling enabled the youth to draw on Indigenous knowledges and literacy, enact agency and voice, and exercise sovereignty and self-determination. The findings additionally reveal the continued presence of racism in school as well as the need to transform schools into more inclusive, multicultural sites that embrace and support the cultures, languages, and identities of all students. Overall, digital storytelling is an especially valuable activity for Indigenous youth, and it can facilitate a transformation within the educational system. | en_US |
