From racial trauma to healing: identity negotiation and resilience of a Native American teacher

Despite a growing interest in trauma research, racial trauma has received limited attention in language teaching and learning. Few researchers have examined how a language teacher with historical trauma stemming from colonialism and systemic racism navigates a complex array of emotions and seeks a possibility for healing. To fill this gap, this longitudinal ethnographic study conducted in the U.S. Midwest was designed to explore the traumatic experiences and healing journey of a TESOL teacher of Native American heritage. Main findings show that the repeated, unchallenged, legitimatized, and systemic normalization and institutional sanctioning of racial injustice resulted in a profound sense of helplessness leading to long-term, life-altering outcomes of trauma. Nevertheless, healing can emerge from resilience developed by deeply engaging in critical awareness, shifting positioning in the power dynamics, and internalizing an asset-based orientation. This study highlights the need for ethical and humanizing pedagogies to facilitate collective commitment to advocacy, empathy, and care to prevent retraumatization of racially marginalized learners and teachers in TESOL.