This Is How We "Role": Moving Toward a Cosmogonic Paradigm in Alaska Native Education

Abstract

This article describes the Alaska Native Policy Center's efforts to develop arole-centered conception of educational success that contrasts school- andculture-centered conceptions common in Indigenous education research. Becauserole-centered success hinges on relationality over resources, it makes apparent thedangerous roots of a standards and accountability paradigm. As such, role-centeredsuccess draws on a cosmogonic paradigm that emphasizes relationships in places;over time; and across human, natural, and spiritual realms. Tracing the genealogy ofhigh-stakes testing, the author highlights the limits of a standards and accountabilityparadigm. Further, by presenting a place-based approach to data-collection thatprivileges Native-to-Native comparisons and a brief report of research on AlaskaNative conceptions of success, she explains how role-centered success can informIndigenous education policy and development.