“You Should Know the Name of the Wind Where You Live”-Relationality and Relational Accountability in Indigenous-Language Education

This article explores relationality and relational accountability in Indigenous education, contextualizing these processes within a current US-wide study of Indigenous-language immersion (ILI) schooling. With the goals of promoting language and culture revitalization alongside education equity, self-determination, and community well-being, ILI exemplifies a form of holistic education. The teacher’s quote that gives title to this article speaks to the multifaceted relationality at the heart of ILI, expressing Indigeneity as being in relationship with each other, place, and the more-than-human world. These relations are given meaning through the Indigenous language. Situating our analysis within a paradigm of storywork, we present the storied vignettes of parents, teachers, school leaders, and youth at diverse ILI schools.