The legacy of US federal Indian residential schools continues to influence narratives of what it means to be Indigenous today. The forced removal of children from their homes, languages, and kinship relations traumatized generations of Indigenous families. This presentation will discuss efforts to maintain cultural continuity that help Indigenous communities demonstrate resilience and work towards healing from the painful dislocations of the recent past.
Mike Taylor is an associate professor of English and co-director of American Indian Studies at Brigham Young University (BYU). His research focuses on Indigenous North American literatures. He is coauthor of Returning Home: Diné Creative Works from the Intermountain Indian School (U Arizona Press, 2021). His research focuses on the interconnected histories and writings of Native Nations, US citizenship, and assimilationist education.
Taylor is a winter 2025 Kennedy Center faculty research fellow.
Part of the Kennedy Center's winter 2025 lecture series, "Building and Brokering Peace."