Darold Joseph

University of Arizona
Disability and Pshycholeducational Studies
Minor: Language, Reading and Culture
PhD Candidate

I am a member of the Hopi Nation and currently enrolled in the Disability and Psychoeducational Studies PhD program at the University of Arizona, majoring in Disability Studies with a minor in Language, Reading and Culture.  I am also known by my Hopi name, Sӧlӧ (Breathing in the Snow), in my village of Moenkopi and also represents the Isswungmuy (Coyote Clan).  I have previously served as an Elementary Special Educator and a Junior High and High School Special Education Administrator in the Hopi community.  Through my experience, I have learned the relevance and importance in representing underrepresented communities such as Hopi in academic spaces to advocate for research and practice relevant to American Indian communities between Indigenous knowledge systems and Western educational paradigms, utilizing the historical lenses of indigenous ways of being and the impacts of colonization; to further understand the development of cultural identity of American Indian youth with learning disabilities.