Developing Language Trajectory Drawings as a Cross-Context Method for Insights Into Indigenous Language Reclamation Experiences

Around the world, individuals and communities are engaging in Indigenous language reclamation as a response to the marginalization and endangerment of Indigenous languages in the face of colonial histories and persistent prejudices. People of different backgrounds, ages, and identities are engaged in Indigenous language reclamation in different ways, including efforts to use, teach, learn, and/or otherwise promote their languages. This article introduces language trajectory drawings as a method for researching Indigenous language reclamation experiences within and across contexts. Language trajectory drawings were developed as part of the SPEAKERS project, which aims to support language reclamation through comparative insights into individual and environmental factors impacting the trajectories of people involved in Indigenous language reclamation over time. We present the development of the method and its foundation in existing visual, biographic, and participatory approaches to qualitative research. The use of the method to explore Indigenous language reclamation experiences individually and across contexts is illustrated with brief examples from our research in three contexts: Sámi in Norway, Kichwa in Ecuador, and Isthmus Zapotec in Mexico. We discuss the affordances and limitations of language trajectory drawings, and propose that this method could be adapted and applied to other areas of research on language learning, as well as other human experiences over time.