Reclaiming Indigenous Research in Higher Education

Robin Zape-tah-hol-ah Minthorn, Heather J. Shotton

• Publisher: Rutgers University Press
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9780813588711
• Topic: Didattica
• Subtopic: Istruzione superiore

Indigenous students remain one of the least represented populations in higher education. They continue to account for only one percent of the total post-secondary student population, and this lack of representation is felt in multiple ways beyond enrollment. Less research money is spent studying Indigenous students, and their interests are often left out of projects that otherwise purport to address diversity in higher education.  Recently, Native scholars have started to reclaim research through the development of their own research methodologies and paradigms that are based in tribal knowledge systems and values, and that allow inherent Indigenous knowledge and lived experiences to strengthen the research. Reclaiming Indigenous Research in Higher Education highlights the current scholarship emerging from these scholars of higher education. From understanding how Native American students make their way through school, to tracking tribal college and university transfer students, this book allows Native scholars to take center stage, and shines the light squarely on those least represented among us.  
 

Chapter 1

The Need for Indigenizing Research in Higher Education Scholarship

Charlotte Davidson (Diné/Three Affiliated Tribes: Mandan/Hidatsa/Arikara)

Heather J. Shotton (Wichita/Kiowa/Cheyenne)

Robin Starr Zape-tah-hol-ah Minthorn (Kiowa/Apache/Umatilla/Nez Perce/Assiniboine)

Stephanie Waterman (Onondaga, Turtle Clan)

Well chronicled is the view of higher education, as a traditional structure of colonization, and its failure to maintain a cultural memory Indigenous to the earthen back upon which its buildings have been erected. Thus, the particular and contemporary impact this lack of remembrance has pedagogically prompted is the exclusion of Indigenized forms of research and its potential role to weave a new—and at the same time, layered—narrative into the academy. Writing on the dialectic of Indigenous and non-Indigenous knowing, Williams and Tanaka (2007) ardently point to how space-making, in the material and pedagogical sense, can impact the sensibilities belonging to the mainstream: “It is not a question of choosing one pedagogical perspective over the other. Rather, it is finding a way to make space for both—and to be enriched by both. This is a process that requires the dominant academic discourse to pause, listen, and make room for a discourse that may seem incongruous and dissonant at times” (p. 16). Thus, the concept of Indigenizing is not meant to express a destination, but a process that encourages Indigenous scholars to privilege what is within themselves as a starting point for scholarly and research inquiry. This is critical to understand, because Indigenous and non-Indigenous research approaches and practices are not coterminous. However, in circling back to Williams and Tanaka, the possibilities that exist from the willingness to expand research and scholarly perspectives depend precisely on the pedagogical positions of the scholar or researcher. What is further made clear by Tanaka and Williams is that it is often Indigenous scholars and researchers who make concerted efforts to gain a more balanced perspective.

To that end, we hope the ideas put forward in this book inspire readers to render a response to our clarion call for scholarship and research to increasingly become a site that holds positive regard for Indigenous perspectives and approaches. Along with this is the hope that those who read this book will acquire an appreciation of new definitions of what it means to Indigenize research in higher education. This chapter explores the landscape and foundation of what currently exists within the realm of Indigenous research in higher education, particularly focusing on research that is Indigenous authored and focused on Indigenous methodologies.

The Need for Indigenous Research in Higher Education

Much has been written about Native education, particularly the historical development of Native education in this country and Native students in K-12 systems. However, the research on Native people and issues in higher education remains limited (Brayboy, Fann, Castagno, & Solyom, 2012). Some scholars have pointed out the disturbing lack of attention paid to Native students in higher education research, despite the increasing enrollment of Native students over the years (Willmott, Sands, Raucci, & Waterman, 2015). In their analysis of 20 years (1991–2011) of scholarship in the leading higher education journals, Willmott et al. (2015) found that out of 2,683 articles, only 36 dealt with Indigenous people in higher education. Their findings assert that Indigenous experiences and voices have long been excluded from the broader higher education scholarship.

What is even more troubling is that much of the early research pertaining to Indigenous people in higher education was conducted by non-Indigenous scholars. The limitations and problematic nature of Western dominated scholarship about Indigenous people in academia has been well noted. Vine Deloria, Jr. (2004) was very critical of scholarship on Indigenous people written by non-Indigenous scholars, acknowledging the inherent challenges and issues:

They were content to perpetuate the old stereotypes of Indians that they had learned in graduate school decades before. Academia has often been a hotbed of racism because scholars are taught to pretend that they can observe phenomena objectively. In fact they observe data through culturally prescribed categories that restrict the possible answers and understandings to a predetermined few selections. With Western thought primarily a binary, yes/no method of determining truth, so much data is excluded. (p. 18)

At the heart of the problematic nature of this type of research is that it has allowed for the privileging of Western perspectives, ignoring critical Indigenous perspectives and silencing Indigenous voices.

Missing Perspectives and Voices of Indigenous People

Research in the academy often represents a continued form of oppression and colonization for Indigenous scholars, whose voices are marginalized and perspectives as Indigenous people are challenged. Gatekeepers within the academy maintain rules and methods that continue to colonize and oppress Indigenous scholars and populations (Mihesuah & Wilson, 2004). Scholars have long criticized the privileging of non-Indigenous scholars as “experts” on Native education. Swisher (1998) pointedly argued, “their authority is cited more often than the experts from whom their experience and information was gathered, and they have become the experts in Indian education recognized by their mainstream peers” (p. 193).

Indigenous scholars have noted issues with the invisibility of Indigenous people within the academy, particularly with regard to higher education scholarship, asserting that Indigenous people have been “virtually written out of the higher education story” (Shotton, Lowe, & Waterman, 2013, p. 2). This means that Indigenous perspectives are not represented in higher education scholarship, resulting in a large gap. A mere 1.3% representation in 20 years of scholarship (Willmott et al., 2015) is testament to the sheer invisibility of Indigenous people in higher education scholarship.

There has been a continued call for increased representation of Indigenous perspectives and voices in the scholarship. The need for Indigenous voices is critical, and the inclusion and centering of Indigenous epistemologies in scholarship provides for a richer understanding of Indigenous higher education (Shotton et al., 2013). Additionally, there continues to be a call for scholarship that includes not only our voices, but research methodologies that more appropriately address our unique positions and responsibilities as Indigenous people and scholars; or what Kovach (2009) more aptly acknowledges as our “collective responsibility to take back” research (p. 178).

Challenges to Indigenous Scholarship in Higher Education

Our experiences and stories as Indigenous scholars provide critical insight into some of the challenges to Indigenous scholarship in higher education. In this section we share some of the challenges we each encountered as emerging Indigenous scholars. We each share stories from our early journeys and the challenges we faced throughout the dissertation processes with non-Indigenous faculty members, particularly with issues of asserting and including an Indigenous knowledge system and framework. These stories acknowledge the importance of understanding that we do not need permission to include ways of being as Indigenous people in the process of conducting research and writing.

In the first anecdote we hear Stephanie’s story. Stephanie is one of the first Indigenous scholars in the United States in the field of higher education to be promoted to associate professor. Her story speaks to her challenges with the limited use of Indigenous methodologies, as well as the lack of acknowledgment of the need for Indigenous voices in higher education scholarship.

When I completed my dissertation, Indigenous students in higher education, let alone Indigenous Knowledge Systems and methodologies, were not widely discussed or acknowledged in our field nor at my institution. When I first began submitting articles to journals I was asked to use a single term for Indigenous people. I also had an article returned from a journal in our field because they could not find someone “sufficiently qualified” to review my article. Another journal indicated that my article was too narrow as it focused on Haudenosaunee college students. A national conference proposal was rejected because “there was a lack of interest” in this population. Since the early 2000s the field of Indigenous higher education/student affairs has grown, and I no longer receive reviews such as those noted above. We have made great strides; yet, we have a long way to go.

The second anecdote provides Heather’s description of her experience discovering critical theories, such as Tribal Critical Race Theory and Critical Race Theory, that were not taught in her doctoral courses. She also discusses her experience of using a decolonized lens in her research and having to justify and validate her own approach in her dissertation process with committee members.

Throughout my dissertation work I struggled with locating a conceptual framework that really felt like it fit my work. At one point I came across Bryan Brayboy’s (2005) Tribal Critical Race Theory. TribalCrit of course had not been discussed in any of my courses, nor had Critical Race Theory for that matter; so reading it was like an awakening for me in terms of my own research. It helped me to articulate what I had struggled to convey in terms of the unique issues of colonization for Indigenous people in higher education. During my dissertation defense one of my committee members argued with me at length about the use of the term colonization; they could not understand why I was not using the term assimilation and they incorrectly viewed the two terms as interchangeable. The argument represented a complete dismissal of my view as an Indigenous researcher, the use of Indigenous Knowledge Systems, and the experiences of Indigenous people. I was fortunate that I had a Native faculty member on my committee to step in and validate my use of TribalCrit and the term colonization. That was a salient moment for me. It solidified for me the need for more Indigenous scholars who could conduct appropriate and needed research, develop appropriate frameworks, and defend the value of our scholarship in higher education.

In the next anecdote, Robin shares her experience of including an Indigenous Research Paradigm in her dissertation research and how that led to further scholarship on how to assert an Indigenous voice in the writing styles for other, up and coming Indigenous scholars.

I began my work in Indigenous research methodologies when I began my dissertation journey by beginning to use the Indigenous Research Paradigm and Relationality by Shawn Wilson (2008), who encourages the perspective of Research as Ceremony, also encouraging Indigenous peoples to view our own birthing and conceptualization of knowledge to be done through an Indigenous lens. In this effort, my dissertation was based on Indigenous thought and knowledge as seen through the eyes of the Native students in the research. Since then all of my work has included Indigenous research methodologies, especially, in the evolution and work of the book, Indigenous Leadership in Higher Education. This book used Indigenous methodologies and acknowledged the voice and writing styles of Indigenous leader authors, as well as the acknowledgment of capitalizing Indigenous and Elder throughout to connote the importance of who we are as Indigenous Peoples and the important role that Elders have in our communities. Lastly, when Indigenous leader/authors utilized their own Indigenous language we chose not to italicize it, because in APA standards they see italicizing for foreign language and we acknowledge our Indigenous and tribal language as original language, not foreign but a birthright. As Indigenous scholars we have the opportunity to use our voice and give power to the voice of those we work with and represent. We are the voice for current and future students and scholars to make an easier pathway for them.

In the last anecdote, Charlotte shares her experience of being able to insert her own tribal epistemology and knowledge systems in the academy and how she grappled with the validation of their use. This led to her own dissertation, which acknowledged the Indigenous/Diné tradition closely tied to her family that can be a lens to inform her research.

An early challenge I grappled with was cultivating the capacity to question afresh matters long discussed in Diné creation narratives and to understand their significance to contemporary conditions of struggle within our life-worlds. More to the point, these stories chronicle a series of lessons for moral living and I wanted to arrive at an understanding of how to open a research process that remained in integrity with my identity as a Diné, Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara woman. After a short time and with counsel from family, I learned that an epistemological antecedent necessary in approaching the tradition of inquiry and knowledge making was to recover and enact practices inclusive of non-human relations (i.e., cedar, sweet grass, and sage)—practices customarily missing from linear, solitary, and disembodied academic training. Engaged meaningfully, non-human relatives improve our faculty of thinking by endowing us with maximum clarity. Engaged inappropriately or not at all, can result in the researcher exteriorizing themselves from their research. And so, what else does this involve and lead to when such exercises are influenced by cultural sensibilities? The answer is not simple. Like the processes associated with beading, sewing, carving, weaving, and painting, the manner in which knowing is made material is as diverse as the meaning of the patterns formed by their makers. That said, one thing remains clear; we must embrace the historical challenge to actively struggle against repressive forces that seek to rob us of our sense of humanity.

Within each of the anecdotes shared, one can see the progression of awareness in the ability to use Indigenous methodologies and frameworks in the dissertation and early scholarship for each of us. Over time, there has been a deepening awareness to be more Indigenous based and grounded in ancestral knowledge and ways of being in approaching research and scholarship. These anecdotes provide evidence of why this book is of utmost importance, so that current and future Indigenous higher education scholars see themselves being honored in what is accepted as scholarship in the academy.

Evolution of Indigenous Higher Education Scholarship

The evolution of higher education scholarship began in early works of non-Indigenous scholars writing about Native American students and often from the deficit perspective (Shotton et al., 2013). As referenced in the Introduction, in recent works completed since the turn of this century, Indigenous scholars have begun to transform scholarship to be Indigenous based and reflective of the conceptual frameworks and values of their own Indigenous roots and passion to give a strengths-based insight into Native student experiences. We are living at a time in which we have a growing number of Indigenous scholars in higher education to address critical issues facing Indigenous students, administrators, and campus contexts that affect the persistence and lived experiences of those who are Indigenous in higher education. In this section, we will address how spaces have begun to be created within the available literature surrounding Natives in higher education and then the need to plant seeds to grow and cultivate future generations of Indigenous scholars.

Creating Our Own Spaces Through Our Scholarship

Within the last 15 years we have witnessed an increase in the scholarship written by and with Indigenous practitioners and scholars in higher education. In 2003, the Renaissance of American Indian Higher Education (Ah Nee-Benham & Stein), which addressed issues and realities in Native higher education inclusive of a TCU perspective, was released. Following was the publication of Serving Native American Students (Fox, Lowe, & McClellan, 2005), which addressed the lived experiences of Native students, faculty, and administrators in higher education. This became a resource that many have cited and revered as a cornerstone publication. Subsequent to that, Warner and Gipp (2009) addressed the TCU perspective with their book Tradition and Culture in the Millennium. This book highlighted the specific issues and needs of TCUs, such as leadership and mentorship of future TCU presidents and the realities of retention and financial aid for TCU college students. A couple of recent pivo...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Foreword
• Introduction: The Roots of Reclamation
• Chapter 1. The Need for Indigenizing Research in Higher Education Scholarship
• Chapter 2. “It Was a Process of Decolonization and That’s about as Clear as I Can Put It”: Kuleana-Centered Higher Education and the Meanings of Hawaiianness
• Chapter 3. A Methodology of Beauty
• Chapter 4. Understanding Relationships in the College Process: Indigenous Methodologies, Reciprocity, and College Horizons Students
• Chapter 5. Story Rug: Weaving Stories into Research
• Chapter 6. Stealing Horses: Indigenous Student Metaphors for Success in Graduate Education
• Chapter 7. Predictors for American Indian/Alaska Native Student Leadership
• Chapter 8. Tribal College Pathways
• Chapter 9. Moving beyond Financial Aid to Support Native College Students: An Examination of the Gates Millennium Scholars Program
• Chapter 10. The Intersection of Paying for College and Tribal Sovereignty: Exploring Native College Student Experiences with Tribal Financial Aid
• Chapter 11. Toward Equity and Equality: Transforming Universities into Indigenous Places of Learning
• Chapter 12. Indigeneity in the Methods: Indigenous Feminist Theory in Content Analysis
• Chapter 13. Iḷisaġvik College: Alaska’s Only Tribal College
• Conclusion: Repositioning the Norms of the Academy: Research as Wisdom
• Notes on Contributors
• Index