Native women in higher education have faced many challenges and disparities, specifically within 4-year institutions. This research used a qualitative method known as storytelling to identify ways of progression for Native women in higher education leadership while being supported by the theoretical framework of aspirational capital. Additionally,…

What are modern-day educational experiences like for Native American students who are moving through a system rooted in racism and the extermination of their culture? One would hope that they now have safe, inclusive spaces where all students feel welcome and respected; where they can navigate their educational journeys successfully. Rather than…

Academia has been dominated by European/settler ways of knowing while denying the existence and validity of Indigenous epistemologies, science, and philosophies. Post-secondary structures were not built to be inclusive spaces, they were built without Indigenous voices or considerations and often housed individuals and departments who have…

All people deserve the opportunity to earn a better living and build a better life for themselves, their families, and their communities through a postsecondary education. But that opportunity is not available equally to all in the United States, and current postsecondary data sets and collection practices at the federal, state, and institutional…

Since the late 1960s, the fields of indigenous and environmental history have boomed. In the United States these large, nuanced, and often-overlapping historiographies have provided college educators with enormous scope to re-evaluate the past and contextualize contemporary political and social issues related to Native peoples and the environment.…

What does it mean to be a good citizen? In some ways, the answer is simple: participate in government (vote), pay your taxes, don't break the law, and contribute to the economic well-being of the United States. But there is more. The definition of being a good citizen is bound up in society's core cultural values and how those values are practiced…

The lives of tribal people emerge from the stories of creation and teachings about how to be in relationships. For tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) the essence of who they are can be seen in how tribal institutions were created and in how they deliver their missions every day. Over decades of interaction with American education systems,…

University-level sustainability education aims to reduce future harm to people and the planet, however, this goal is challenged by the tight relationships between Western academia and settler colonialism (SC). As a process that is predicated upon Indigenous erasure and harmful land relations, SC is antithetical to sustainability goals. This raises…

The story of Deganawidah-Quetzalcoatl (D-Q) University is rooted firmly in the land and peoples of California, but also in other Native nations and nationals who have recently relocated. There are many versions of where and how D-Q began. D-Q's articles of incorporation, which were based on the "brief proposal" of June and August 1970,…

Although giving back is consistently recognized as a goal of Native (Native Hawaiian, Native American, and Alaska Native) college students, little in the literature describes giving back in detail. To fill this gap, this research examines the essence of giving back as it is experienced by Native college graduates. It explores, through both…

In the 1960s, the Native American "self-determination" movement crusaded for increased Native sovereignty. The first tribally controlled college, Navajo Community College (later renamed Diné College), was founded in 1968 by the Navajo Nation in rural northeast Arizona, with a mission to sustain traditional Diné culture and to provide…

This qualitative study explored leadership in higher education through the perspectives of six Native American women faculty at a southwest university. The study utilized a Dine informed conceptual framework incorporating the Dine Philosophy of education, the Dine philosophy of life (Sa'ah Naaghai Bik'eh Hozhoon - SNBH), and the Dine ceremonial…

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…

Written by the SECEIJ Special Forum editorial team, this Project Report summarizes the interdisciplinary, collaborative, and inspiring research journey and theoretical background leading to the creation of a strategic plan for the 'IKE Alliance for Transforming STEM Education. 'IKE, which stands for Indigenous Knowledges, Encouragements,…

This qualitative research study is an endarkened narrative inquiry that tells the stories of how endarkened collegiate women know themselves as leaders or worldbuilders, trace their lineage as leaders or worldbuilders, and hope to (re)member themselves as leaders or worldbuilders. Featuring endarkened storywork, the findings honor the narrative…