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The Yazzie Case

Building a Public Education System for Our Indigenous Future

Edited by Wendy S. Greyeyes, Lloyd L. Lee and Glenabah Martinez

Studies in Indigenous Community Building

Published by: University of New Mexico Press

320 Pages, 6.00 x 9.00 in

Paperback
9780826365095 | October 2023

$34.95

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EPUB
9780826365101 | October 2023

$65.00

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Hardcover
9780826365088 | October 2023

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Description
Contributors
Acclaim
Table Of Contents

"An unchanged education effectuated by systems and institutions not designed for us will continue to marginalize our Indigenous people and children. The heart of this continuing fight is for justice and equity. It is about the right to exist as we choose. Wilhelmina Yazzie personalizes the heartbreaking story of generations of parents in this struggle. She eloquently speaks of her love of her language and culture and the value of a balanced education, treating both as equally valuable for the health of our children and the future well-being of our people.

"The Yazzie Case is an extraordinarily and profoundly compelling call to action. It should be read by policymakers and educators at all levels. The book provides a history that should be required reading for us to realize what we are doing to ourselves in a state where 80 percent of our children come from linguistic and culturally different backgrounds. That is what enriches our diversity. We must act to do the right thing for the right reasons at the right time. This is the time!"--Regis Pecos, former governor of Cochiti Pueblo

"A critically important collection. . . . The text offers high-quality educational and Indigenous education research, and it proposes recommendations and insights for practitioners in the field. Practitioners, lawyers, educators, parents, undergraduate and graduate students, policymakers, and white, non-Native public school teachers--all those who are invested in the education of our Native children will benefit."--John P. Hopkins, author of Indian Education for All: Decolonizing Indigenous Education in Public Schools

"A superb collection of essays analyzing the issues involved in the Martinez/Yazzie lawsuit and what needs to be done to fully implement the judge's decision supporting the plaintiffs."--Jon Allan Reyhner, coauthor of American Indian Education: A History

List of Illustrations
List of Tables
Preface
Wilhelmina Yazzie

Introduction. An Examination of the Yazzie Side of the Martinez/Yazzie Lawsuit
Wendy S. Greyeyes, Lloyd L. Lee, and Glenabah Martinez

Part I. The Case
Chapter One. The Legal Significance and Background of the Yazzie/Martinez Lawsuit
Preston Sanchez
Chapter Two. Post-Summit Report on the Yazzie/Martinez Ruling: Action Report
Glenabah Martinez, Terri Flowerday, Lloyd L. Lee, Leola Paquin, Wendy S. Greyeyes, Nathaniel Charley, and Carlotta Penny Bird
Chapter Three. Witness Perspective from a Mother and Academic
Georgina Badoni
Chapter Four. The Significance of the New Mexico Indian Education Act in the Yazzie/Martinez Case
Carlotta Penny Bird

Part II. The Response
Chapter Five. The New Mexico Public Education Department Response: An Analysis of the 2021 Strategic Plan to Resolve the Yazzie/Martinez Case
Wendy S. Greyeyes
Chapter Six. Navajo Nation's Response to the Yazzie/Martinez Case: Implications for Navajo Nation's Educational Sovereignty
Alexandra Bray Kinsella, Navajo Nation Department of Justice Attorney (2018-2021)
Chapter Seven. Narratives and Responses to Yazzie/Martinez: Tribal Consultation and Community Engagement
Natalie Martinez
Chapter Eight. The Department of Native American Studies at the University of New Mexico: Role and Responsibilities with the Yazzie v. New Mexico Education Ruling
Lloyd L. Lee

Part III. The Future
Chapter Nine. The Yazzie/Martinez Ruling: The Politics of Culturally Relevant Curriculum
Glenabah Martinez
Chapter Ten. The Complexities of Language Learning for New Mexico's Indigenous Students
Christine Sims and Rebecca Blum Martínez
Chapter Eleven. Diné Language Teacher Institute and Language Immersion Education
Tiffany S. Lee, Vincent Werito, and Melvatha R. Chee
Chapter Twelve. Lessons from the Past: Fifty Years after Sinajini v. Board of Education of San Juan School District
Cynthia Benally and Donna Deyhle
Chapter Thirteen. Promoting Solidarity for Social Justice and Indigenous Educational Sovereignty in the Cuba Independent School District
Leola Tsinnajinnie Paquin, Shiv R. Desai, Vincent Werito, Nancy López, and Karen Sanchez-Griego
Conclusion. Constructing Critically Conscious Race Policy for Our State: The Case for a Re-racialization and Indigenizing of Our Education Policies
Wendy S. Greyeyes and Navajo Nation president Jonathan Nez

Appendix A. Teaching Recommendations for this Book
Appendix B. Martinez/Yazzie v. State of New Mexico Lawsuit Timeline
Bibliography
Contributors
Index