Weaving culturally responsive and decolonizing research through a Diné epistemological lens

How can educational research become liberatory if the discipline is rooted in the systemic oppression of communities of Color? Building on Dr. Geneva Gay’s legacy of culturally responsive teaching, we, of Navajo/Diné (Melissa) and European (Emily) ancestries, theorize how culturally responsive research can act as an ongoing project of decolonizing research paradigms by rejecting deficit framings of racialized students, and instead engendering culturally accurate knowledge for and with communities of Color. Utilizing the creation of a Navajo sash belt as a physical bridge between the concepts, we illustrate links between culturally responsive and decolonizing research, with dreams for a more just, culturally and ecologically contextual, and equitable research praxis. We conclude with four overarching principles that overlay culturally responsive and decolonizing research: (1) relationships, (2) reflexivity, (3) reciprocity, and (4) reflection for accountability.