"What You Know You Hold Onto It horizontal ellipsis that is Being Navajo": A Critical Analysis of Dine (Indigenous) Youth's Perspectives about Race, Culture, Language, and Identity

This article addresses critical issues of how Indigenous (Dine/Navajo) youth construct meaning of their racial, cultural, and linguistic identities within the historical, political, and socio-cultural contexts of the United States of America as a racialized, settler/colonial society. Using Tribal Crit theory, the author, a member of the Dine (Navajo) Nation, shares insights about Dine youth's perspectives that reaffirm Indigenous-centered understandings of identity in resistance to dominant racialized discourse and white supremacy. In discussing the different ways Dine youth make meaning of multiple identities, the author postulates the need for Dine communities to articulate Dine-centered counter narratives about what it means to be Dine for the benefit of the youth. Key implications include the need for Dine communities to engage in critical dialogue about race, race relations, nationhood, language, and identity using Indigenous-centered perspectives.