The event titled “Indigenous Language Politics in the Schoolroom: Cultural Survival in Mexico and the United States”, in collaboration with associate professor of political science Mneesha Gellman, took place on February 25, 2026, at the Anarad Hığutyun Building.

Mneesha Gellman gave a talk based on her book Indigenous Language Politics in the Schoolroom: Cultural Survival in Mexico and the United States. Gellman discussed how Indigenous language classes in public schools create space for young people to make their identities visible and resist processes of assimilation.

Drawing on ethnographic narratives, interviews, and field research, Gellman compared the experiences of students attending Yurok language classes in Northern California with those of students taking Zapotec language classes in Oaxaca, Mexico. She shared how access to Indigenous language education can shape young people’s sense of identity, agency, and civic engagement.

The talk also highlighted that Indigenous language classes create learning and solidarity opportunities not only for Indigenous students but also for their non-Indigenous peers. Based on a collaborative research approach developed together with Indigenous communities, the study explores what it means to be a young Indigenous person in the twenty-first century and to work toward social change.