TribalCrit

TribalCrit addresses both the racialized and unique political status of Indigenous peoples as members of sovereign nations. 

Tribal Crit is guided by 9 interrelated tenets: 

“1) Colonization is endemic to society; 

2) U.S. policies toward Indigenous peoples are rooted in imperialism, White supremacy, and a desire for material gain; 

3) Indigenous peoples occupy a liminal space that accounts for both the political and racialized natures of our identities; 

4) Indigenous peoples have a desire to obtain and forge tribal sovereignty… and self-identification; 

5) The concepts of culture, knowledge, and power take on new meaning when examined through an Indigenous lens; 

6) Governmental policies and educational policies toward Indigenous peoples are intimately linked around the problematic goal of assimilation; 

7) Tribal philosophies, beliefs, customs, traditions, and visions for the future are central to understanding the lived realities of Indigenous peoples, but they also illustrate the differences and adaptability among individuals and groups; 

8) Stories are not separate from theory; they make up theory and are, therefore, real and legitimate sources of data and ways of being; and 

9) Theory and practice are connected in deep and explicit ways such that scholars must work towards social change” (Brayboy, 2005, 429-430).