"Disability" through Diné Relational Teachings: Diné Educational Pedagogy and the Story of Early Twilight Dawn Boy

Abstract

Abstract:Several years ago, I came across a story that took up disability from a Diné perspective. At that time, it had been the only story I had ever heard that focused on this topic. The primary figure in the story is a young boy. His name is Early Twilight Dawn Boy. And, although he is understood as a person with 'disability', the story's focus was not entirely centred on his ability or inability. Rather, the concept of disability in Dine thought is not located to one definable thing or person. It is a relative term, and many things can embody the teachings of 'disability'. These lessons are associated with their relational nature which illuminate Diné value systems rather than the condition of a singular person. The teachings of disability ground the Diné principle of k'é, (positive relationships to all life), and have inter-relational connections to community, land, the non-human, and our own self-understanding. This article engages Diné relational principles embedded in Diné Educational Pedagogy, a distinct lifeway and model of living for Diné people. I retell the story of Early Twilight Dawn Boy to bring forward another understanding of disability based on Diné lifeways and intellectual pedagogy. Such perspectives have been widely excluded throughout educational discourse, structural policy and within institutions that serve Indigenous peoples more broadly. Story gives us all a lens to see other ways of being which are grounded in place, community, and belonging. To relate, is the foundational form of knowing and being known, through a Diné perspective.