Beyond Access: Indigenizing Programs for Native American Student Success

This book argues that two principal factors are inhibiting Native students from transitioning from school to college and from succeeding in their post-secondary studies. It presents models and examples of pathways to success that align with Native American students’ aspirations and cultural values.

Many attend schools that are poorly resourced where they are often discouraged from aspiring to college. Many are alienated from the educational system by a lack of culturally appropriate and meaningful environment or support systems that reflect Indigenous values of community, sharing, honoring extended family, giving-back to one’s community, and respect for creation.

The contributors to this book highlight Indigenized college access programs--meaning programs developed by, not just for--the Indigenous community, and are adapted, or developed, for the unique Indigenous populations they serve.

Individual chapters cover a K-12 program to develop a Native college-going culture through community engagement; a “crash course” offered by a higher education institution to compensate for the lack of college counseling and academic advising at students’ schools; the role of tribal colleges and universities; the recruitment and retention of Native American students in STEM and nursing programs; financial aid; educational leadership programs to prepare Native principals, superintendents, and other school leaders; and, finally, data regarding Native American college students with disabilities. The chapters are interspersed with narratives from current Indigenous graduate students.

This is an invaluable resource for student affairs practitioners and higher education administrators wanting to understand and serve their Indigenous students.

Stephanie J. Waterman is Onondaga, Turtle Clan. She is an Associate Professor, in Leadership, Higher & Adult Education, at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, and coordinates the Student Development/Student Services in Postsecondary Education at the University of Toronto. Prior to her appointment at OISE, she was a faculty member in Higher Education administration in Educational Leadership at the Warner Graduate School of Education and Human Development, University of Rochester, and Faculty Associate for the Syracuse University Native Student Program, she researches Native student experiences, faculty/staff/student interaction, and First Nations/Native American Student Affairs units.

Shelly C. Lowe is Navajo from Ganado, Arizona. She is the Executive Director of the Harvard University Native American Program (HUNAP). Prior to being at Harvard she worked in Native American student affairs at Yale University and in American Indian Studies at The University of Arizona, where she is completing her Ph.D. in Higher Education.

Heather J. Shotton is a member of the Wichita & Affiliated Tribes, and is also of Kiowa and Cheyenne descent. She currently serves as an Assistant Professor in Native American Studies at the University of Oklahoma. Her research focuses on Native American student success, Indigenous higher education, and Indigenous women in the academy.

George S. McClellan is Associate Professor of Higher Education at the University of Mississippi. He previously served as the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs at Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) for ten years. Prior to joining the IPFW community, McClellan served as Vice President for Student Development at Dickinson State University, Interim Director of Assessment and Research for Campus Life at the University of Arizona, and Director of Graduate and Off Campus Housing at Northwestern University. Dr. McClellan has served as a member of the editorial boards for both NASPA’s Journal of College and Character and ACPA’s Journal of College Student Development.