Reclaiming Indigenous Research in Higher Education

Edited by Robin Zape-tah-hol-ah Minthorn and Heather J. Shotton; Foreword by Bryan McKinley Jones Brayboy

Rutgers University Press

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.

A critically important contribution to Indigenous research methodology literature and guide to stronger, wiser research in academe and society. These authors facilitate decolonization of existing paradigms of research and continued creation and reclaiming of Indigenous epistemologies and practices of scholarship.'
Alicia Fedelina Chávez, coauthor of Teaching Across Cultural Strengths

Reclaiming Indigenous Research in Higher Education asserts the rightful place of Indigenous knowledge and ways of doing in the academy. The wisdom and 'heart work' exhibited by these authors honors the teachings of our elders and underscores the importance of authenticity and realness in our scholarly work.'
Susan C. Faircloth, professor, University of North Carolina Wilmington

Selected New Books on Higher Education' compiled by Ruth Hammond Chronicle of Higher Education

The editors have curated a beautiful collection of Indigenous research approaches and discussion that help to fill higher education's gaps in knowledge. Journal of College Student Development

Reclaiming Indigenous Research in Higher Education offers an important medicine for higher education scholars and practitioners who seek to start or continue to do this work. Review of Higher Education

ROBIN STARR MINTHORN (KIOWA) is an assistant professor in educational leadership and Native American studies at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. She’s the coeditor of Indigenous Leadership in Higher Education.

HEATHER J. SHOTTON (WICHITA) is an associate professor of Native American studies at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. She is the coeditor of Beyond Access: Indigenizing Programs for Student Success.

Foreword ix
Bryan McKinley Jones Brayboy (Lumbee)

Introduction: The Roots of Reclamation 1
Robin Starr Zape-tah-hol-ah Minthorn (Kiowa/Apache/Umatilla/Nez Perce/Assiniboine)
Heather J. Shotton (Wichita/Kiowa/Cheyenne)

1 The Need for Indigenizing Research in Higher Education Scholarship 7
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)

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 18
Erin Kahunawaikaʻala Wright (Native Hawaiian)

3 A Methodology of Beauty 36
Charlotte Davidson (Diné/Three Affiliated Tribes: Mandan/Hidatsa/Arikara)

4 Understanding Relationships in the College Process: Indigenous Methodologies, Reciprocity, and College
Horizons Students 47
Adrienne Keene (Cherokee Nation)

5 Story Rug: Weaving Stories into Research 64
Amanda R. Tachine (Navajo)

6 Stealing Horses: Indigenous Student Metaphors
for Success in Graduate Education 76
Sweeney Windchief (Assiniboine)

7 Predictors for American Indian/Alaska Native
Student Leadership 88
Theresa Jean Stewart (San Luis Rey Band of Mission Indians, Gabrieliño/Tongva)

8 Tribal College Pathways 107
David Sanders (Oglala Sioux Tribe)
Matthew Van Alstine Makomenaw (Grand Traverse Bay Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians)

9 Moving Beyond Financial Aid to Support Native
College Students: An Examination of the Gates Millennium Scholars Program 124
Natalie Rose Youngbull (Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma)

10 The Intersection of Paying for College and Tribal Sovereignty: Exploring Native College Student Experiences with Tribal Financial Aid 146
Christine A. Nelson (Laguna/Navajo)

11 Toward Equity and Equality: Transforming Universities into Indigenous Places of Learning 162
Kaiwipunikauikawēkiu Lipe (Native Hawaiian)

12 Indigeneity in the Methods: Indigenous Feminist Theory in Content Analysis 178
Stephanie Waterman (Onondaga, Turtle Clan)

13 Iḷisaġvik College: Alaska’s Only Tribal College 191
Pearl Kiyawn Brower (Iñupiaq Eskimo/Chippewa/Armenian)

Conclusion: Repositioning the Norms of the Academy: Research as Wisdom 206
Heather J. Shotton (Wichita/Kiowa/Cheyenne)
Robin Starr Zape-tah-hol-ah Minthorn (Kiowa/Apache/Umatilla/Nez Perce/Assiniboine)

Notes on Contributors 215
Index 223

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