INDIGENOUS WAYS OF KNOWING, DIGITAL STORYTELLING, AND ENVIRONMENTAL LEARNING — A CONFLUENCE OF TRADITION AND NEW MEDIA TECHNOLOGY A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Cornell University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Jason N. Corwin February 2016 Copyright © 2016 Jason N. Corwin Abstract INDIGENOUS WAYS OF KNOWING, DIGITAL STORYTELLING, AND ENVIRONMENTAL LEARNING — A CONFLUENCE OF TRADITION AND NEW MEDIA TECHNOLOGY Jason N. Corwin, Ph.D. Cornell University 2016 This study investigates experiences and perspectives of participants in three nonformal environmental education programs that utilized a combination of digital storytelling and Indigenous ways of knowing, and where the author was a primary instructor and mentor. The research was conducted with Green Guerrillas Youth Media Tech Collective, Ithaca NY (9 participants, 2006 - 2011); Emerging Indigenous Leaders Institute, Pyramid Lake Paiute Reservation (6 participants, 2008 - 2013); and Early Childhood Learning Center, Seneca Nation Cattaraugus Territory (8 participants, 2014). Indigenous research methods, narrative inquiry, and grounded theory were used to guide the study. Stories about participants’ experiences were gathered through interviews, participant observation, visual narrative analysis of digital stories, and autoethnography conducted in 2014-2015. They were woven together to create a polyvocal narrative speaking to the research questions. Digital storytelling was found to foster engagement with environmental learning, as well as providing means for direct nature contact. Indigenous and non-Indigenous young people of color responded favorably to a learning environment grounded in Indigenous ways of knowing. Participants retained significant memories of a sense of empowerment, as well as development and reinforcement of critical environmental literacies, identities, and ethics, as meaningful individual and collective experiences. Aesthetics of nature and food were expressed as important aspects of participants’ environmental learning. The findings suggest that combined digital storytelling and Indigenous pedagogies should continue to be implemented and researched as an effective means of engaging student interest and promoting environmental education goals, particularly with urban Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth. Biographical Sketch Jason N. Corwin received his M.S. in Natural Resources in 2010 and his B.S. in Communications in 2002 from Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. He is currently the executive director of the Seneca Media and Communications Center for the Seneca Nation of Indians. Jason is the co-founder of Southern Tier Advocacy and Mitigation Project, Inc., in Ithaca, NY. He served as the co-coordinator of its flagship program, Green Guerrillas Youth Media Tech Collective, from 2006 to 2011. Since 2008 he has been a visiting faculty member of the Emerging Indigenous Leadership Institute (EILI) based at the Pyramid Lake Paiute Reservation in Nevada. Beginning in 1995 he has produced several TV programs, radio shows, documentaries, and music videos. He is a lifelong photographer, outdoors enthusiast, and a certified Wilderness Skills Instructor. His primary scholarly interests are in the integration of environmental education and the humanities, particularly the creative media arts of photography, music, and video production, as well as Indigenous environmental knowledge, practices, and decolonization. He has been a guest lecturer at many colleges and universities and has presented at academic conferences on the topics of Indigenous ways of knowing, digital storytelling, social justice, environmental education, sustainability, and environmental justice. iii Acknowledgements First and foremost I want to say nya:wëh (thanks) to all the participants in this study. Without you this would not have been possible. The Green Guerrillas Youth Media Tech Collective participants were some of the most inspiring people I have been fortunate to work with. Leslie Jones had a powerful vision for the group, as well as the intelligence, skills, and tenacity to make it happen. I’m honored to have had her as a co- founder and co-facilitator. The other adult volunteers gave of themselves generously to help make the program excellent. Che Broadnax, Alan Gomez, Belisa Gonzalez, Sylvia “Skunk,” and Kyrie Ransom, I am forever thankful for your commitment to the group. Many other community members too numerous to mention made valuable material and energetic contributions. To all the youth members, not just the ones who participated in this study, I have always been inspired by your intelligence, creativity, and willingness to think outside the box and “connect the dots.” Every one of you made worthwhile the hard work necessary to keep the program going. I also must thank all the board members of our organization, who did the behind-the-scenes work that allowed our program to grow and flourish: the late Maggie Goldsmith, Ulises Mejias, Alan Mittman, Troy Richardson, Joe Soto, and Andre Williams — your support for bringing a new approach to social and environmental justice and youth empowerment for the Ithaca area was invaluable. To the students and staff of the Emerging Indigenous Leaders Institute: I have been honored and blessed to be so well received by you whenever I come to give my workshops. Dr. Debra Harry, you are a scholar, educator, and leader of the highest caliber iv who inspires me greatly to revitalize Indigenous ways of knowing and challenge the legacy of colonialism. To the students and staff, especially Lead Teacher Dee Dee Parker, of the Cattaraugus Early Childhood Learning Center After School 3 classroom, I am thankful that you welcomed me and made me feel at home working together. Gardening does grow on us! I am also grateful to Chad Nephew for helping to facilitate the project. Richie Big Kettle was a great teacher and friend throughout the whole process. Prof. Alan Gomez and soon-to-be-Dr. Sheena Sood have been great friends, intellectual comrades, and truly ones who I can call brother and sister. I am very thankful for your time and shared insights serving as peer debriefing readers for my findings chapters. Akiima Price has been a wonderful fellow traveler in the realms of environmental education, ensuring that marginalized communities have opportunities for connecting to nature, as well as critically analyzing and responding to environmental issues. Your encouragement to me to share with the world my insights into the field has been appreciated. I also want to thank the members of my cohort from Prof. Krasny’s group, the members of the Indigenous Graduate Student Association, and all of the students, faculty, and staff I worked with from the Department of Natural Resources and the American Indian Program. You provided me with intellectual, logistical, and physical resources that contributed to my development as a scholar and educator in many ways. I have been fortunate to have a deeply committed committee that guided me through this arduous process. My chair, Prof. Marianne Krasny, exposed me to many schools of thought while providing a variety of opportunities to facilitate my entry into the professional realm of environmental education. Her openness and commitment to new v ideas are inspiring, and her contribution to the creation of a vibrant field of environmental education that is reflective of all peoples is refreshing. Prof. Troy Richardson has been a friend for over 20 years, so I was thankful when he came to Cornell to teach. He has provided untold intellectual stimulation and down-to-earth advice about navigating the complexities of academia. Our coffee-fueled discussions about every imaginable subject from the mundane to the abstract and philosophical have been richly rewarding. His family has always made me feel at home when I visit. Prof. Jolene Rickard has pushed me to strive for excellence and critical thinking in a special way that only she can. Her artistic and academic work has been inspiring to me and encouraged me to see myself as not just an activist filmmaker, photographer, and educator but also an artist. Prof. Scott Peters was the first person to expose me to the field of narrative inquiry. He pushed me to always go deeper to find the stories of lived experience and explore them. His admonitions to sharpen the focus of this study are greatly appreciated, as due to my deep personal investment in all of the research sites, I often wanted to incorporate every possible facet. Were it not for his insistence to home in on a manageable set of research questions, I might never have completed this dissertation. Taken together, I have been very fortunate to have worked with all of you who comprised this committee. My deepest gratitude goes to my family for being so supportive throughout this long journey and encouraging me to stay the course. Maria, Leonard, and Marissa Corwin, you are the best family a person could ask for. From home-cooked meals to supportive phone calls to the editing of this dissertation, you’ve always had my back, and I love you so much. To my spiritual brothers, Jomo Alakoye-Simmons and Joe Soto, I am truly blessed to have had your love and support. Our long and extensive conversations helped vi me to stay grounded, as well as to remember who I am as an Indigenous man and why I was pursuing this work. vii Table of Contents Biographical Sketch ..........................................................................................................