Kinlichee Educational-Community Development Study

Tribe: Navajo

Tribal Contact: n/a

Project Type: Master's thesis

Location: Kin Dah Lichii, AZ

UNM Contact:Michaela Shirley

UNM Faculty:Ted Jojola

Students:Michaela Shirley

Project Summary:

Shirley argues that the school was an asset for Kin Dah Lichii’s historic and present-day community development. The Asset-Based Community Development, Indigenous planning, and Landscape perspectives are used to analyze the role of a school in the community development of Navajo Nation and Kin Dah Lichii. The data collection entailed two phases: (1) archival research and (2) community interviews. The insight gained from the archival research is that schools did play significant roles in community development of the Navajo Nation. It provides a meta-narrative to help substantiate claims of the school’s role in Kin Dah Lichii’s community development.