According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the number of American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN) students enrolled in institutions of higher education increased 127% between 1976 and 2012. Higher education as a whole has yet to respond to the unique needs of this growing student population and often overlooks the influence that this group plays among diverse peers. Institutions must make systemic changes to improve outreach efforts, accessibility, retention programs, and better serve AI/AN students to eliminate educational achievement gaps.
The original inhabitants of this land are increasingly ignored and often deemed invisible on college campuses. Institutions of higher education must consider the lived experiences of AI/AN students to implement effective change. Administrators and faculty must provide a space for these voices. Educational leaders must reevaluate policies and pedagogy that work against this population and work to dismantle the hurdles that AI/AN students face in their pursuit of higher education.
In the 2010 Census, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) defined American Indian or Alaskan Native as “a person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment.” The AI/AN population has increased in recent decades. The 2010 Census indicates that 5.2 million or 1.7% of the total U.S. population identified as solely AI/AN or as AI/AN in combination with other races. The fact that this group accounts for a very small percentage of the larger U.S. population reflects the urgent need to reframe how institutions support AI/AN students and their interactions among diverse peers. Institutions of higher education must take measures to ensure this student population continues to grow.
In Status and Trends in the Education of Racial and Ethnic Groups , among students enrolled in college in 2008, about 81 percent of Hispanics and 79 percent of AI/AN students attended public institutions, higher than the percentage of Whites (73 percent), Blacks (68 percent), and Asian/Pacific Islanders (75 percent). If clearly so many AI/AN college students are attending public institutions, why aren’t there more resources available for them at these colleges?
As a student of Hopi, Cherokee, and Mexican descent, attending large public four-year institutions for both undergraduate and graduate studies it has been unsurprisingly unsettling to frequently feel marginalized among classmates and across campus as well. Being a spokesperson for all Native Americans isn’t the way that I like to frame my perspectives. Oddly, colleagues often approach and perceive my experiences through catalogued presumptions as though all AI/AN come from similar backgrounds; we all live(d) in tipis, or have a casino that we receive revenue from, or attend college for free. Voicing struggles that AI/AN populations face is a part of the process, but breaking down erroneous assumptions and instead elaborating upon collective and distinct tribal qualities and strengths brings me joy. I know that I am honoring those that have come before me in this way.
Still, one cannot discount the significance of having a cultural center , feeling safe, being recognized, or having an integral role within the campus community, or mattering inside and beyond the classroom.
Both institutions that I attended take pride in their diversity rankings. My experience as a student at each of these colleges was strikingly dissimilar. At my undergraduate institution, I had one Hopi faculty mentor and later, one Navajo student affairs mentor. With their guidance, their actions, and the existence of a Native American Student Center on campus, I always had a friend or a place to go to that validated my experience as a student in higher education and even as an alumna. The quality of my experiences with these individuals made me overlook the fact that there was just one within each position in the entire university. At the institution where I am completing my graduate studies, there is no such center or student affairs mentor. Fortunately, I am now much more confident in navigating this world of higher education, which is all too foreign for many others from similar first generation AI/AN backgrounds, and have worked with inspirational faculty that have cultivated this thirst for continuing graduate education. Yet, scenarios of racism and resistance persist at this institution during events held by the Native American Student Association. In the face of limited administrative advocacy and assistance, I worry about the campus climate for current and future AI/AN students.
