Supporting and Inspiring Native Youth: 3 Your Identity: Curriculum

Structural vs. Individual Racism

Structural racism: A system in which public policies, institutional practices, cultural representations, and other norms work in various, often reinforcing ways to perpetuate racial group inequity.

Example: Historical discriminatory practices, such as housing segregation or relocation, relegate people of color to communities with inferior or less desirable housing. Over time, lower housing appreciation often means lower wealth accumulation for families. Low savings, combined with poorly resourced schools, limits access to higher education and postsecondary training—thus making a person of color “less qualified” for better job opportunities. These structural disadvantages can hamper future generations from moving up the economic ladder without any overt racial discrimination in hiring.

Individual racism: Intentional actions (direct or covert) toward a person that express bias, hate, or prejudice based on race.

Example: A hiring manager does not hire someone based on their race.
Implicit Bias

Implicit bias refers to the attitudes or stereotypes that unconsciously affect our understanding, actions, and decisions. These biases, which encompass both favorable and unfavorable assessments, are activated involuntarily and without an individual’s awareness or intentional control. They are different from known biases, which individuals may choose to conceal.

The implicit associations we harbor in our subconscious cause us to have feelings and attitudes about other people based on characteristics such as race, ethnicity, age, and appearance. These associations begin to develop at a very young age through exposure to direct and indirect messages. In addition to early life experiences, the media and news programming are often-cited origins of implicit associations.
Characteristics of Implicit Biases
A Few Key Characteristics of Implicit Biases

Everyone possesses them, even people committed to impartiality, such as judges.

The implicit associations we hold do not necessarily align with our declared beliefs or even reflect stances we would explicitly endorse.

We generally tend to hold implicit biases that favor our own in-group, although research has shown that we can still hold implicit biases against our in-group.

Implicit biases can change. Our brains are incredibly complex, and the implicit associations we have formed can be gradually unlearned through various techniques.
Going Beneath the Iceberg

Implicit associations happen unconsciously, but over time, you can start to increase your awareness of your identity and how you may or may not be favoring your own cultural group. When you interact with a different culture, consider the “Cultural Iceberg” metaphor—if you imagine a ship approaching an iceberg, remember that part of it is immediately visible, but its foundations go deep beneath the surface.

Above the waterline: Aspects of culture that are explicit, visible, and/or taught (including food, language, and music).

Below the waterline: “Hidden” aspects of culture; the habits, assumptions, understandings, values, and judgments we know but do not or cannot articulate. Consider how you know whether someone is treating you in a friendly manner. Do they shake hands? Keep a respectful distance with downcast eyes? Leap up and hug you? Across cultures, there are different concepts of time, leadership, authority, respect—and so much more.
Cultural Appropriation
So often we see examples of culture portrayed in media from an “above the waterline” perspective (language, food, clothing, etc). Not taking the time to understand what lies “below the waterline” can lead to unintentionally normalizing your own cultural values or even misappropriating elements of another culture. Cultural appropriation is defined as “the act of taking or using things from a culture that is not your own, especially without showing that you understand or respect this culture.”

Cultural appropriation:

Perpetuates the values of white settler colonialism

Erases communities’ true histories, identities, complexities, and more

Blurs the beauty of cultural exchange

Creates misperceptions and stereotypes that wrongly influence ethnic identity development

Dehumanizes people and continues the narrative of theft and erasure

Common examples of cultural appropriation in the United States:

Dressing up as a cultural identity other than your own as a costume

Using ceremonial clothing as fashion accessories

Sports mascots

Names of cars
Different Ways of Knowing and Being

Shadiin Garcia PhD, Critical and Sociocultural Studies in Education

Supporting and inspiring Native youth involves celebrating the distinct ways of knowing and being from their community—not asking them to assimilate into mainstream or traditionally Western cultural values. Listen to this introduction from Dr. Shadiin Garcia.

Consider the following situations. Click on each box to learn more about what this scenario implies and how we can acknowledge different ways of operating.

Asking: How did you spend your Christmas/Thanksgiving break?

Implies that everyone celebrates these occasions and does so in a particular way. Click play to learn more.

In conversation: Everyone goes straight to college, and then in four years, they go to graduate school.

Implies that there is only one pathway to success. Click play to learn more.

At graduation: You cannot wear an eagle feather on your cap because it violates the school’s “no adornment” policy.

Implies that the honor codes or even the cap and gown themselves are neutral and don’t imply a value. Click play to learn more.