Leilani Sabzalian Indigenous Studies

Leilani Sabzalian

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF INDIGENOUS STUDIES IN EDUCATION

BY MATT COOPER, OREGON QUARTERLY PHOTO BY NIC WALCOTT, UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS

Indigenous students deserve Indigenous teachers. This philosophy drives the University of Oregon Sapsik’wałá Education Program, which Leilani Sabzalian, of the Alutiiq people of southcentral Alaska, leads with Professor Michelle Jacob, of the Yakama Nation in Washington. In a collaboration between the nine federally recognized Tribal Nations in Oregon and the College of Education UOTeach master’s program, Indigenous students are trained to teach in Indigenous communities (“Sapsik'wałá” pronounced “sahp-seekwuh-THLAH,” means “teacher” in Ichishkíin/Sahaptin, a language traditionally spoken along the Columbia River in southern Washington.)

“Our motto is: ‘Education strengthens our people,’” Sabzalian says. “We model how to put Indigenous pedagogies and knowledge at the center of teaching. Our students aren’t there to learn just what I think is important—we invite them to turn toward their own communities and ways of life that are full of brilliance.”

One venerable Indigenous pedagogy is storytelling. Sabzalian shared a story herself—of an Indigenous youth in public schools whose absences prompted mischaracterizations of laziness and disinterest by a principal; in fact, the youth was fulfilling ceremonial obligations in their community, a show of maturity that should have been applauded.

“Public schools don’t typically value the knowledge and culture of Indigenous youth,” Sabzalian says. “It’s vital that our students see their knowledge and culture as a source of strength before they become teachers.”