Experiences in Higher Education: Perspectives from America ’ s First Peoples

1. Native American Experiences in Higher Education:Perspectives from America’s First Peoples Carlisle Indian Industrial Boarding School, ca 1890 • Zachary Kealohalaulā Wong

2. Overview • Purpose • Education, then (historical perspective) • Education, now (data from literature review) • Methodology • Implications/Significance Lac de Flambeau U.S. Government School for Indian Children, ca 1895 Carlisle Indian Industrial School, ca. 1900

3. Purpose • 64% of Native American students enroll in Higher Education Institutions • 75% leave before graduation • Native Americans account for 1% of students enrolled in HE Institutions • Research Question: What is the educational experience of Native Americans in Higher Education institutions?

4. "KILL THE INDIAN… • SAVE THE MAN" • - U.S. Army Captain Richard Henry Pratt, ca 1880

5. Education, then • Solve the “indian problem” by the formation of Boarding Schools in the late 1800s to “civilize” Native American youth, to “save the man” • Pratt established the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in 1879 (Florida) as an educational experiment • These schools: • completely removed young children from their homes • replaced their mother-tongue and culture with English and Christianity • resulting in cultural genocide and forced assimilation - Publicized the success of his experiment through a series of "then-and-now" photographs showing the "savage" versus the "civilized" Indians.

6. Tom Torlino (Navajo), Carlisle Indian Industrial School, ca. 1882 Government Boarding Schools • 3 years later

7. 11 Apache Children, Carlisle Indian Industrial School, ca. 1886 Government Boarding Schools • Upon arrival

8. 11 Apache Children, Carlisle Indian Industrial School, ca. 1887 Government Boarding Schools • 4 months later

9. The effects of Boarding Schools • Relationship between Native Americans and the U.S. Government • Native American students are still experiencing the effects of Boarding Schools as many people still have grandparents and parents who attended Boarding Schools

10. Education, now • Experiences in Higher Education • Racism & Discrimination • leads to: disempowerment and marginalization • Cultural Pressure/Reservation Barriers • leads to: trouble maintaining identity with their home communities • Academic Unpreparedness • coupled with: lack of resources for Native students on-campus

11. Education, now • Support needed in Higher Education • Familial Support • maintaining culture, values, and beliefs, along with encouragement • seen as spiritual, emotional, financial support system • Structured Social Support • student groups, activities, instructor and administrative support and understanding • help counter feelings of loneliness, seclusion, and isolation • Spiritual Resources • far from traditional way of life and participation in cultural activities

12. Education, now • Support needed in Higher Education (cont’d) • Institutional Support • understanding of the historical trauma • understanding of the difference in cultures • individuality and independence is not a native value • native values: collaboration, cooperation, interdependence, present-time orientation

13. Methodology • “Indigenous ways of thinking, understanding, and approaching knowledge have long been dismissed by the academic world because they have been considered not to belong to any existing theory or, often, they have been reduced to some nativist or even illogical and contradictory discourse.” • -Linda Tuhiwai Smith (Maori, Aotearoa-New Zealand) • “Indigenous peoples’ interests, knowledge, and experiences must be at the centre of research methodologies and construction of knowledge about indigenous peoples.” • -Lester-Irabinna Rigney (1999, 119) (Narungga Nation, Australia)

14. Methodology • Qualitative • Interviews • Students from varying parts of the country and varying communities • “Successful” students vs. “Unsuccessful” students • Research Review • Native vs. Non-native • Qualitative vs. Quantitative

15. Implications/Significance • Contribute to the amount of research available • Contribute to the understanding of Indigenous persistence in Higher Education • Native students have different needs than other students, due to social, cultural, and economic capital • Influence policy and recruitment practices of Institutions

16. Thank you Ahee’hee (Navajo) Ashoge (Apache) Pilamaya (Lakota) Miigwitch (Ojibwe) Wado (Cherokee) Yakoke (Choctaw) Ura (Commanche) Neaeshe (Cheyenne) Nyeahweh (Tuscarora) Pidamayado (Dakota)