Indigenous students in the United States experience disproportionate outcomes in school, including high rates of special education identification, suspension, and chronic absenteeism. Despite the systemic inequities that affect Native students, state educational agencies (SEAs) employ few staff who specialize in the education needs of these…

In the past year, the Region 15 Comprehensive Center (R15CC), Region 13 Comprehensive Center (R13CC), and Regional Educational Laboratory West (REL West) partnered to convene directors of Indian education at state education agencies (SEAs) to learn together, explore challenges and opportunities of practice, and advance equity for Native students.…

Prior to this study, it was not known it was not known if and to what extent the adoption of the Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) predicts fifth-grade academic achievement in math and reading when controlling for baseline achievement in the previous grade for Native American students in rural elementary schools in Northeastern…

Few studies empirically compare the approaches law enforcement officers (LEOs) and school mental health professionals (SMHPs) use to keep schools safe. Such comparisons are important for improving safety and student wellbeing. A focus on the experiences of racial/ethnic minority students is especially important given evidence that school safety…

This qualitative case study uses comparative case study methodology with discourse analysis to compare Arizona and New Jersey regulations, policies, procedures, and practices influencing high school graduation rates for Hispanic and Native American youth. National and state reports (NCES, 2019) indicated a gap between high school graduation rates…

The partnership between Tohono O'odham Community College (TOCC) and the Southwest Environmental Health Sciences Center (SWEHSC) at the University of Arizona (UA) has relied on principles that have produced a long-term relationship and full participation among the partners. Active listening, travelling to the community, longevity, understanding…

Little empirical attention has been given to the academic stress experienced by Native American undergraduates. This study explored the relation of self-beliefs, ethnic identity, and cultural congruity with academic stress among 158 (65 males and 93 females) Native American university undergraduates. Participants completed instruments assessing…

Engineering schools have been unable to recruit and retain Native American students at the same rate as other students. Consequently, the Native American representation in engineering has been declining over the years in Arizona, even though the state ranks third in the number of degrees earned in the US by Native Americans. To understand the…

This article addresses critical issues of how Indigenous (Diné/Navajo) youth construct meaning of their racial, cultural, and linguistic identities within the historical, political, and socio-cultural contexts of the United States of America as a racialized, settler/colonial society. Using Tribal Crit theory, the author, a member of the Diné…

Family connections are critical for Native student persistence, yet families' voices are absent in research. Using an Indigenous-specific version of educational debt, land debt, we center familial perspectives by exploring the financial struggles among Native families as their students transition to a Predominately White Institution. Findings…

Technology is being integrated inside classrooms to aid in student engagement, learning, and academic growth. The accessibility to mobile devices is on the rise in educational institutions. The change is known as 1:1 computing, U-learning or Ubiquitous learning Schools are implementing these initiatives to enhance learning in all grade levels and…

In light of the current political climate and the effortlessness of disseminating information across social media platforms, the national conversation on information literacy has been focused on combating "fake news." While the urgency of this issue is also a concern in tribal colleges and universities (TCU) classrooms, the librarians at…

Approximately 2,000 teams in the U.S. utilize Native American mascots, the majority of which are associated with schools. Across the nation there continue to be many intense conflicts over these mascots. Most conflicts focus on differences in opinion, rather than on the effects of these mascots. The purpose of this article is to provide…

This article reports on the first three years of a teacher-led professional development program on the Navajo Nation. We draw on both quantitative and qualitative data from our end-of-year surveys to highlight some of the early lessons we have gathered from the Diné Institute for Navajo Nation Educators (DINÉ). We highlight two guiding principles…

Public charter schools present tremendous opportunities to increase the access of Native students to high-quality schools. Understanding current growth and the location of schools serving Native students is an important first step in the larger policy discussion on Native education and charter schools. This brief provides the latest data available…