EXPLORING CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT IN INDIGENOUS EARLY CHILDHOOD LANGUAGE IMMERSION PROGRAMS: AN INDIGENOUS STORYWORK JOURNEY THROUGH THE KIOWA ENCAMPMENT STORY CIRCLE METHODOLOGY

Abstract

Our children represent the future of our people. Each generation has a responsibility to ensure the younger generations have what they need to carry our people forward. With this in mind, I am sharing with you, the reader, a story. This story is the journey that I took to conduct my doctoral dissertation research and the lessons learned as I implemented an Indigenous research methodology in order to explore the process of curriculum development in Indigenous early childhood language immersion programs across the United States. This research story is my way to share a little bit about who I am, where I come from, and how it is that I am doing my part to ensure the success of future generations. I come to you in a good way, with an open heart and with the utmost respect. I want to pause here and offer a note to you, as a reader, regarding the structure of this dissertation. I invite you to step through the boundary between the linear worldview and the relational worldview, and meet me on the other side, where the worldviews intersect. Join me in exploring a research journey grounded firmly in Indigenous ways of knowing, and specifically approached from my own Kiowa perspective. In an effort to remain true to who I am as an Indigenous scholar, I am using the methodology of Indigenous Storywork (ISW) (Archibald, 2008), specifically, I am writing from my own Indigenous worldview of the Kiowa people. Through this approach I will explore the various facets of my dissertation journey. Like all Kiowa stories of lived experiences, there is a beginning event, the journey to the destination, and a lesson to be learned. You have entered a space for decolonized research methodologies. I invite you to join me in this journey, a journey towards exploring curriculum development in Indigenous early childhood language immersion programs. Ah-koh (let us begin).