Nation-building and giving back represent a cyclical relationship rooted in Indigenous ways of knowing. To give back in a postsecondary context means to acquire a college degree to help advance efforts of nation-building. Therefore, students' desire to give back is an Indigenous teaching that emphasizes relationality relationships, reciprocity,…

Empirical studies on minority serving institutions (MSIs) have proliferated in higher education scholarship in the past two decades. Using the MSI designations to identify distinct types of postsecondary institutions can be a useful, race-aware strategy for understanding the US higher education landscape. However, such usage warrants further…

Responses from 604 Native American undergraduates to the 2015 administration of the Multi-Institutional Study of Leadership (MSL) survey were examined to determine the effects of involvement in culturally based organizations, collective racial esteem, and being mentored by someone on campus on perceptions of a belonging campus climate and a…

Although sense of belonging has been conceptualized by higher education institutions in marginalizing ways, we reclaim the construct as authentic relationships characterized by humanization, mutuality, and respect for students' cultural assets, values, and social identities. To dismantle colonizing perspectives and foreground Indigenous ways of…

This article outlines Indigenous data collection as a methodology that expands a sampling frame by using tribal Indigenous cultural knowledge, such as creation stories like those of the Cocopah and Quechan nations, to address limitations found in the methodological quality of Native American survey data in currently available datasets. Indigenous…

I engaged TribalCrit Theory to explore ACPA's Strategic Imperative for Racial Justice and Decolonization as an option to advance the possibilities of critical conscious legal literacy. Critical conscious legal literacy equips student affairs educators to identify colonized logics that undergird law and legal interpretations and to offer…

As a result of the U.S. government's involvement in Native American education, the current experiences of Native American college students are characterized by educational disparities. Higher education professionals are in an ideal position to meet the needs and interests of Native American students; however, most of the literature concerning this…

Limited research exists to address Native American college student experiences and culturally appropriate ways of integrating student affairs practices (Shotton, Lowe, & Waterman, 2013). In fact, the dominant society's culture in institutions of higher education is often contradictory to, and even discriminatory toward, American Indian student…

American Indian and Alaska Native students have a significantly lower college graduation rate than that of other ethnic groups in the United States. These students often face a variety of barriers to the completion of their education. Overcoming barriers for the achievement of an advanced education takes commitment, hard work, and dedication on…

According to Tribal Critical Race Theory, Native American students have low retention rates due to the structural barriers and racism inherent in colleges and universities. Similarly, structural barriers and racism could put Native American students at risk for victimization and substance use, thus influencing their academic success. The purposes…

A national sample of 647 Native American students who took the National Survey of Student Engagement was used to test a path model to predict learning for Native American students. Institutional support for students' success and a positive interpersonal environment contributed both to engagement and learning. Support for student success was the…

With a national sample of 700 Native American students who took the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), this study tested the ways faculty interaction and inclusion of diverse perspectives in the classroom contributed to learning for Native American students. Significant predictors of learning were quality academic advising, faculty…

Native American and First Nations (herein collectively referred to as Indigenous) women college students are faced with the challenge of balancing their cultural imperatives and the demands of the dominant Western culture in family, school, and work/employment roles. In order to explore these women's experiences and perspectives, this study…