Negotiating Identity : Indo-Trinidadian Youth and Their Perceptions of Self Definition and Agency

This study explores the experiences of Indo-Trinidadian youth and their self-identity. It seeks to generate an understanding of how Indo-Trinidadian youth have to negotiate their identity after migration from Trinidad to Canada. This negotiation comes as a result of their hybrid identity - racially South Asian but culturally Caribbean. Because school is the first space of socialization that immigrant youth encounter after family, this study focuses on issues faced in school. Using a qualitative research design, this study examines the personal narratives of eight (four males and four females) Indo-Trinidadian youth. The in-depth interviews with these youth bring forth the notion that Indo-Trinidadian youth are constantly reconstructing their identities as they negotiate between their Indian and Caribbean cultures. This paper highlights the challenges, that Indo-Trinidadian youth encounter as well as the ways in which they address them, essentially leading to a sense of agency for their self identity.