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Evolving Identities Among Russian-Born Buriat Mongolian Children in a Chinese Bilingual School

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 March 2016

Valerie Sartor
Valerie Sartor*
Affiliation:
Center for International Programs, St Mary's University, One Camino Santa Maria, San Antonio, Texas 78228, USA
*
address for correspondence: Valerie Sartor, c/o 193 Vaquero Road 10, Santa Fe, NM 87508, USA. Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

This article addresses identity issues among a specific group of Indigenous youth, young Buriat Mongolian students, born in Russia, who struggled to understand their sense of cultural identity while living and studying in Chinese Inner Mongolia. This qualitative research project employed ethnographic methodology. Sociocultural theory, specifically Bakhtin, was employed to analyse findings. Results indicated that ties to the land, family practices and spiritual practices are significant identity markers for the Buriat youth involved in this study and Buriat parents and elders taught young Buriats about the moral dimensions of living upon Buriat lands.

Keywords

Indigenous multilingual youthChinese bilingual educationcultural identityBuriat MongolianNorth ChinaBakhtin
Type
Research Article
Information
The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education , Volume 45 , Issue 1 , August 2016 , pp. 36 - 47
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2016 

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