Colonized and Racist Indigenous Campus Tour: Research-in-Brief

This Research-in-Brief explores the macro-structural aspects of college campuses and environments to understand how higher education institutions have created, maintained, and justified hostile campus climates against Indigenous students. It uncovers the embedded racist and genocidal values that are often cherished through dominant campus tours. This includes addressing how an incomplete understanding of history leads to centering oppressive values that disenfranchise Indigenous students in higher education. Offered is an abbreviated interpretation of the concept of Power and Place (Deloria & Wildcat, 2001), centering critical Indigenous values in the assessment. The case study articulates the historical and contemporary aspects of space and place in higher education. The authors embark upon a virtual racist campus tour by rearticulating typical campus tour components: history, student life, academic life, and campus leadership through a critical Indigenous approach. Lastly, recommendations are offered who wish to engage in work that dismantles educational systemic racism

Colonized and Racist Indigenous Campus Tour

This article explores the macro-structural aspects of college campuses and environments to understand how higher education institutions have created, maintained, and justified hostile campus climates against Indigenous students. It uncovers the embedded racist and genocidal values that are often cherished through dominant campus tours. This includes addressing how an incomplete understanding of history leads to centering oppressive values that disenfranchise Indigenous students in higher education. Offered is an abbreviated interpretation of the concept of Power and Place (Deloria & Wildcat, 2001), centering critical Indigenous values in the assessment. The case study articulates the historical and contemporary aspects of space and place in higher education. The authors embark upon a virtual racist campus tour by rearticulating typical campus tour components: history, student life, academic life, and campus leadership through a critical Indigenous approach. Lastly, recommendations are offered who wish to engage in work that dismantles educational systemic racism

Indigenous Women’s Approaches to Educational Leadership: Creating Space for Indigenous Women in Education

This article addresses the problematic deficiency in research and scholarship that centers Indigenous women’s voices in educational leadership. As Indigenous women scholars, we engaged a qualitative study that involved Indigenous women leaders from across the United States, and our discussion in this work focuses on the perspectives of Indigenous women working in education. We first provide a current snapshot of Indigenous women in postsecondary education and review preliminary theories on Indigenous leadership. We highlight cultural, social, and political factors that influence Indigenous women educational leaders, and we conclude with recommendations for the cultivation of future Indigenous women leaders

Reconceptualizing Indigeneity Within the Fraternity and Sorority Community

The purpose of this article provides fraternity and sorority communities with an understanding of the impact of a Native American sisterhood on the cultivation in how it conceptualized itself, its centering an Indigenous structure, and how it affirms the women who join through building relationality. Through the first research inquiry of a Native American sisterhood, the findings reveal/highlight how the sisterhood has centered Indigeneity in its conception to how it lives today. Fraternity and sorority communities need to shift their culture to honor Indigenous ways of being

Robin Minthorn, Ph.D., Teaching Philosophy

Robin Minthorn, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Educational Leadership and Native American Studies, UN

Indigenizing the Doctoral Experience to Build Indigenous Community Leaders in Educational Leadership

In this case, readers will learn how the University of New Mexico educational leadership program intentionally created a doctoral cohort that is Indigenous based and focused that included Indigenous and tribal community narrative and feedback in its development. The NALE doctoral cohort program included these same communities as sites for reciprocation and centering community in many of the courses offered. Instead of community being an afterthought, there was intentional inclusion in all aspects of honoring and including Indigenous community as the center to build Indigenous educational leaders who are also community leaders and advocates

Developing Native Student Leadership Skills: The Success of the Oklahoma Native American Students in Higher Education (ONASHE) Conference

This article examines the development of leadership skills among Native American college students through the Oklahoma Native American Students in Higher Education (ONASHE) annual conference. It provides opportunities for students to develop and strengthen their leadership skills through interaction with tribal leaders, contemporary and leadership focused workshops, and fellowship with other Native students. A research study was designed to assess the impact of ONASHE on the development of leadership skills among student attendees of the conference. Three major themes emerged regarding Native student leadership development, including developing a positive self-image, community building, and Native role models

Indigenous Women’s Approaches to Educational Leadership: Creating Space for Indigenous Women in Education

This article addresses the problematic deficiency in research and scholarship that centers Indigenous women’s voices in educational leadership. As Indigenous women scholars, we engaged a qualitative study that involved Indigenous women leaders from across the United States, and our discussion in this work focuses on the perspectives of Indigenous women working in education. We first provide a current snapshot of Indigenous women in postsecondary education and review preliminary theories on Indigenous leadership. We highlight cultural, social, and political factors that influence Indigenous women educational leaders, and we conclude with recommendations for the cultivation of future Indigenous women leaders

Visioning Indigenous Futures: Centering Sovereignty and Relationality in Belonging

In this article, we share how a Tribal–University partnership fosters and centers sovereignty and relationality in creating a Tribally based doctoral cohort. This is the first tribal–university partnership that offers a doctoral program on tribal lands. We have embedded a collective approach to support Indigenous students since its inception. We have approached belonging through an Indigenous way of being. This has included building relationality in how we offer opening and closing each quarter for students to share their tribal communities’ ways. We have built in connections through offering monthly writing time with an Indigenous scholar to support their development, growth, and contributions. During their second year, we built into their community-grounded praxis an opportunity to honor Indigenous knowledges where they earned an Indigenous Knowledge and Community Grounded Certificate. As we move into their last year of their doctoral program, we center belongingness in how we support them through their dissertation process through a co-chair model of Indigenous faculty supporting and integrating opportunities to connect holistically. This storying is a model of how to build authentic partnerships that center place and belonging in intentional ways