Toward an Indigenizing, Anti-Colonial Framework for Adolescent Development Research

As a means to disrupt the historical and present narratives of adolescence and adolescent development, which often build upon and reify settler colonialism and white supremacy, this article calls for theoretical and methodological reconsiderations of colonial-centered developmental science, particularly regarding Native American youth. Thus situated, this article has two purposes. The first is to illuminate the constitutive nature of settler colonialism, white supremacy, and the constructs of adolescence and adolescent development—and the ways these continue to adversely impact Indigenous youth. From this exigency, the second purpose is to articulate a framework designed to inform developmental science’s anti-racist aims, especially related to disrupting ongoing settler colonialism, engaging in culturally humble inquiry with Native youth and communities, and supporting Indigenous (youth) futurity. To elucidate this framework, this article brings together Native youth-focused developmental research, Indigenous methodologies scholarship, and experiences gained and lessons learned from a long-term research project with Native youth.

A Language Fair, a Community and a Museum

Founded in 2003 the Oklahoma Native American Youth Language Fair (ONAYLF) has become one of the largest gatherings of Native American language learners in the United States. The Fair is unquestionably the most significant and sustained interaction with Native American communities in the history of the Sam Noble Museum, quickly becoming a signature event that contributes to the museum’s reputation and stature. As the Fair gained increased prominence and importance in the Native American communities of Oklahoma and the surrounding regions it was consistently marginalized within the institutional culture of the museum. Over the course of our respective leadership of the ONAYLF we encountered the continued need for anthropological intervention to “re-institutionalize” a very successful program. In this report we focus on specific impacts of this failed ownership and the anthropological methods employed to address them. We conclude with an assessment of the ONAYLF in terms of on-going efforts to decolonize museum practice.

Reactions to Participating in Sexual and Dating Violence Research Among Native American Youth

The purpose of the current study was to explore the reactions of Native American adolescents to participating in survey research on sexual and dating violence. Participants were 149 Native American adolescents who completed a survey in school. Survey items included sexual assault, dating violence, sexual harassment, and demographic questions. At the end of the survey, participants were asked if they were upset by the survey. Results showed that almost a quarter of youth were upset by the survey (24.2%), victims were more likely than non-victims to be upset by the survey, perpetrators were more likely than non-perpetrators to be upset by the survey, and sexual minorities were more likely than non-sexual minorities to be upset by the survey. Sex and age did not emerge as significantly associated with being upset. Participants were asked to describe why they were upset, and a content analysis revealed four categories of responses (i.e., feeling awkward or weird, topic of the survey, reminders, and “other”). Overall, although the research was well tolerated by most of the participants, researchers should consider adding information about what might increase feelings of upset in parental consent and youth assent forms, such as being reminded of a past upsetting experience and/or feeling awkward or weird because of some of the questions.

Addressing Substance Use Utilizing a Community-Based Program among Urban Native American Youth Living in Florida

This study was conducted in Florida among two urban Native American youth programs that are sponsored by urban Native American community organizations. Convenience and snowballing were used as a sample recruitment strategy. Assignment to the experimental condition (UTC) and the control condition (SE) was established by randomizing the two community youth program sites to the two conditions. Utilization of a culturally relevant theory, Native-Reliance, guided the intervention approach for the prevention of substance use among urban Native American youth. Results of this study provided evidence that a culturally based intervention was significantly more effective for the reduction of substance use interest and general well-being than a non-culturally based intervention for urban Native American youth. Prevention programs for urban Native American early adolescent youth that utilize Native American strengths, values, and beliefs to promote healthy behavior and reduce the harm associated with high-risk behaviors such as substance use are strongly recommended.