How Colleges Can Make American Indian Students Feel at Home

Colorado State U. campus police via AP

An hour north of American Indian College Fund headquarters in Denver, Colo., all it took was one nervous mother to turn what should have been a happy rite of passage for two young Native American men — a campus tour of their dream school — into a dispiriting experience. They were pulled from the tour group on April 30 and questioned because the woman told police they were quiet and “creepy,” citing their skin color and race, among other things.

By the time campus police officers determined that the young men had signed up for the tour, it had gone on without them. Officials at Colorado State University later apologized, offered to reimburse the young men for their travel expenses, and invited them back for an all-expenses-paid tour.

College visits are an important part of the pre-college experience. The American Indian College Fund encourages them so potential students will feel safe and accepted wherever they choose to enroll. As the president of the American Indian College Fund, I am angered when negative experiences, like what happened at Colorado State, deter Native Americans from entering college and pursuing their dreams. It is ironic that this incident occurred on a university campus, where learning about and experiencing diverse cultures, race, and languages are extolled.

As upsetting as this was, I wish I could say that I was surprised — but I can’t. Statistics, combined with personal anecdotes of students in the communities we serve, reveal a crisis with regard to college access for Native Americans.

The American Indians/Alaska Natives college-degree attainment rate is less than half of the national average for the overall population, at 14 percent, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, and college-enrollment rates are lower compared to the general population as well.

For most college students, the transition from high school to a two- or four-year college occurs in the fall following high-school graduation. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2016 the national transition rate for all students was 70 percent.

The national college-going rate for all Native American high-school students is unknown (pointing to the need for adequate national education data about them). However, many states report a college-enrollment rate for native students in the low 40-percent range. And although, again, hard figures aren’t available, we estimate that enrollment rates for students who attended reservation-based high schools are in the low 20-percent range.

College choice is presumed to be closely linked to student interest and access to resources, but in reality, where a student chooses to study is more complex.

Many students tell us they feel invisible or unwelcome at mainstream colleges, and we have no reason to believe this will change until those institutions take steps to remedy systemic and institutional racism. This, coupled with financial need, may be the reason for low college enrollment and degree-attainment rates among Native Americans.

Racist mascots, Halloween festivities in which students dress up as “cowboys and Indians,” and lack of a significant population of Native American faculty, staff, and students contribute to the feeling of invisibility. Colorado State, for example, reports on its website that only 2 percent of its 26,301 students enrolled in the spring-2018 semester were Native American.

A college curriculum that does not include or acknowledge Native American cultural, historic, scientific, and literary perspectives, contributions, and achievements can also add to Native American students’ feelings of being invisible or unwanted. Being part of a small minority can thrust them into an unwanted additional role — that of educator and spokesperson about and for Native Americans.

For many, the discomfort is difficult to overcome: Some drop out; others transfer to another institution, like a tribal college or university chartered to serve American Indian communities, or one where the environment is more welcoming.

College isn’t the beginning of Native American students’ troubles, however.

Native high-school students often navigate the college-admissions process with limited access to mentors or resources to help them find the right college. At high schools where counselors exist, students are often told they are not college material.

The truth is that a higher education is possible for all students, whether they decide to learn a skilled trade, attend a tribal college, or enroll in a large university. Native American high-school students, like any others, need mentors and support to help them successfully make the transition.

We know that education is the answer to creating engaged, involved, economically and culturally sustainable communities. It gives individuals a greater voice in the issues that affect them and their communities.

Education is also the answer in helping mainstream colleges provide Native American students with educational opportunities in an environment that welcomes, supports, and embraces them. So we are asking higher-education institutions to join us in our efforts to increase the numbers of Native American students going to college and earning a degree by taking the following steps:

• Acknowledge the indigenous people on whose lands institutions exist.
• Train and help students, faculty, and staff to call out racism when it happens.
• Educate college personnel about indigenous culture, history, and inclusion.
• Examine curriculum to ensure fair representation.
• Include Native American student data in institutional data points.

It’s time colleges get serious about providing Native American students with an equitable education, by eliminating institutionalized racism and giving them the chance they deserve to succeed.

Cheryl Crazy Bull, Sicangu Lakota, is president and chief executive of the American Indian College Fund.