Protecting the Promise is the first book in the Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies Series edited by Django Paris. It features a collection of short stories told in collaboration with five Native families that speak to the everyday aspects of Indigenous educational resurgence rooted in the intergenerational learning that occurs between mothers and their children. The author defines "resurgence" as the ongoing actions that recenter Indigenous realities and knowledges, while simultaneously denouncing and healing from the damaging effects of settler colonial systems. By illuminating the potential of such educational resurgence, the book counters deficit paradigms too often placed on Indigenous communities. It also demonstrates the need to include Indigenous Knowledges within the curriculum for both in-school and out-of-school settings. These engaging narratives reframe Indigenous parents as critical and compassionate educators, cultural brokers, and storytellers who are central partners in the education of their children.Book Features: A window into how and why Indigenous resurgence through (and sometimes in resistance to) education can happen. A narrative style of writing that builds accessible stories that are both relatable and connected to larger social issues. An interdisciplinary approach that has implications for pre- and in-service teachers and school administrators, as well as for the communities from which these stories originated. A teacher-friendly Afterword that offers lesson ideas for the classroom and companion questions to the short stories.

Table of Contents:
Contents Series Foreword Django Paris xi Foreword Megan Bang xiii Acknowledgments xv Prologue xix Introduction 1 Co-Developed From the Beginning: Self-in-Relation 3 Resurgence in the Everyday 7 Refusing the "Me": Toward the Implications of "We" 8 An Unfulfilled Promise: Formal Schooling in Indigenous Communities 10 Combating "Deficit Distractions" 12 Listening to Connect as a Story Supporter: Methods 16 Questions to Consider 18 1. Michael and Mali 21 Michael Munson and Timothy San Pedro History of Homelands 22 Introducing Michael and Mali 23 Songs From the Spirits 24 Wiping Tears Away 25 At Home: In Community 26 Identity Detours 26 Head Start to Where? 28 Head Start to Love 31 Nk̓ʷusm Salish Language School 32 Stepping Up by Stepping In 34 Protecting the Seams 35 2. Alayna, Kyyalyn, and Waaruxti 39 Alayna Eagle Shield and Timothy San Pedro Introducing Alayna 41 #NoDAPL 41 Introducing Waaruxti 43 Introducing Kyyalyn 45 Coming Together as One Family 46 Living Language Together 48 Language Post-Its 49 White Buffalo Calf Woman 51 Waaruxti and School 52 Standing Up 54 Singing Prayer 55 Sharing Lakȟóta 56 Spirit Dish 57 Language and Tribal Knowledge Intertwined 57 3. Tara and Scyla 61 Tara Ramos, Scyla Dowd, and Timothy San Pedro Scyla Raised Her Hand 62 Introducing Scyla 63 Introducing Tara 65 Tara and Scyla's Relationship 67 Going "Home" 68 The Dangers of a Model Minority 73 Advocating for Equity 75 Decolonizing vs. Indigenizing 75 Advocating for Indigenous Peoples' Day 77 Refusing Indigenous Peoples' Day 79 4. Kristina and Demetrius 85 Kristina Lucero, Demetrius Lucero, and Timothy San Pedro Introducing Kristina 85 Introducing Demetrius 88 "Can I Help You?" 90 "They're So Native" 91 Enduring Lacrosse 92 Forcing Special Ed 96 Demetrius and Schooling 97 In the In-Between 99 "I Do It to Get Through School" 103 Thanksgiving Dinner Talk: Learning With Grandma 105 5. Faith and Daliyah 113 Faith Price, Daliyah Killsback, and Timothy San Pedro Phone Call Reflection 113 Introducing Daliyah 116 Introducing Faith 117 Pendleton Pillows 118 Required Freshman Humanities Course 119 Back to School 123 First Native Instructor 124 "There Are an Infinite Possibility of Ways to Be Indigenous" 126 School Talk: Rants/Lectures 127 A Place to Be Native 129 Changing the Humanities Course: Blah, Blah, Blah Pedagogy 132 Presentation of Gifts 135 Conclusion: Montana Gathering 137 Epilogue: Questions to Connect Forward 157 Purposes of the Epilogue 159 Lesson Ideas: Carrying Stories to New Places 161 Questions Forward 163 Chapter 1: Michael and Mali 165 Chapter 2: Alayna, Kyyalyn, and Waaruxti 169 Chapter 3: Tara and Scyla 173 Chapter 4: Kristina and Demetrius 178 Chapter 5: Faith and Daliyah 183 Appendix: A Note on Terms 191 Notes 195 References 197 Index 204 About the Author 214