In the Business of Futurity: Indigenous Teacher Education & Settler Colonialism

In this article, the author analyzes two Indigenous teacher education students’ experiences at a private liberal arts college where they are participants of an Indigenous teacher education program. The experiences are analyzed through two mechanisms of settler colonialism: the logic of elimination and the recuperation of indigeneity. The author describes how the mechanisms manifest in the experiences of the students within their content area coursework, including Social Studies and Visual Arts. Critical Indigenous consciousness is deemed necessary to successfully navigate the mechanisms of settler colonialism by speaking up and making Indigenous perspectives known. Equally important, the author calls for a critical settler consciousness as the counterpart to support a critical Indigenous consciousness. The implications for teacher education programs include cultivating both types of critical consciousness in support of Indigenous futurity.