Transforming regional higher education : the decolonising role of Indigenous-inspired universities in Latin America
Guzmán-Valenzuela, Carolina (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)
Chiappa, Roxana (Universidad de Tarapacá)
Gómez-González, Carolina (Universidad de Tarapacá)

Date:	2025
Abstract:	This paper examines the transformative role of Indigenous-inspired universities in Latin America within the broader context of higher education and decolonial thinking. his term encompasses a variety of institutions, including both state-recognised and grassroots, autonomous ones. Despite their differences in origin and structure, these institutions are united by their commitment to Indigenous knowledge systems, languages, and community-centred governance. Using the modernity/coloniality framework, the paper explores how 35 such institutions navigate epistemic tensions between Indigenous worldviews and dominant academic norms. Drawing on crosscountry mapping of such universities, document reviews and in-depth interviews with representatives from the Universidad Veracruzana Intercultural in Mexico and the Universidad Ixil in Guatemala, the analysis reveals the strategies these institutions use to address these tensions. It examines their missions, governance models and operational challenges, focusing on how they create hybrid and contested spaces that both accommodate and resist hegemonic epistemic and academic frameworks. The findings demonstrate that these spaces encourage epistemic insurgencies and disrupt hierarchical knowledge systems, providing opportunities for alternative approaches to knowledge and existence. The study highlights the diversity of Indigenous-inspired universities. While state-recognised institutions often face tensions between cosmetic reforms and systemic transformation, grassroots initiatives pursue radical autonomy, though they also confront challenges such as financial fragility and limited recognition. Walsh's concept of 'cracks' frames these universities as sites of resistance within dominant systems, where decolonial struggles unfold at multiple levels, revealing the complexity and plurality of epistemic re-existence.
Note:	Altres ajuts: acords transformatius de la UAB
Note:	This work was supported by ANID-Chile, Grant FONDECYT 1240212.
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, i la comunicació pública de l'obra, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original. No es permet la creació d'obres derivades.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Indigenous-inspired universities ; Decoloniality ; Higher education ; Modernity/coloniality ; Epistemic insurgencies ; Cultural hybridity
Published in:	International journal of educational research, Vol. 133, (January 2025) , art. e102731, ISSN 1873-538X

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijer.2025.102731

14 p, 1.1 MB

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