The Higher Education Experiences of Native American Students: A Qualitative Study of Historical Trauma, Identity, and Institutional Support

This study addressed Native American students’ perceptions of their educational experiences, 142 years after the first federally-run, off-reservation Indian Boarding School opened, and their perceptions of how university staff, faculty, and administrators could better serve Native students. Qualitative interviews were conducted with five Native students and two Native alumni who were members of an American Indian student organization at a university that sits on Tribal land in California. Owing to COVID-19 pandemic protocols, 60-90 minute interviews took place online utilizing a video-conferencing tool. Research questions focused on Native students’ intersectional identities, experiences identified by students regarding the historical trauma of Indian Boarding Schools, students’ descriptions of challenges and gaps in service at the university, and students’ descriptions of how the university might better support Native students. The literature reviewed for the study included how education was brought to Native Americans and its impact, the theoretical underpinnings of Indigenous research methodologies, and belongingness among Native students. Study findings were organized according to major themes, minor themes, and subthemes related to challenges (such as lack of funding, space, and resources), identity, belongingness, and trauma, including first- and second-generational accounts of trauma. Students (termed Relatives) relayed the connections they felt to the history of the Indian Boarding Schools and other acts of historical trauma. They indicated there were so few Native-identified students on campus that they sometimes felt isolated, invalidated, unsafe, and deeply dissatisfied, citing numerous examples. Suggestions for improvements on campus, related to the types of support they wanted the university to provide, also were offered. Findings from this study supported what is authored by other Native researchers and expanded understanding about belongingness and resilience, as well as Native students’ desires to practice heritage languages, ceremonies, and Indigenous knowledgeways. Implications for practice included creating a Native student support center/department, creating a full academic program, and initiating partnerships with local Tribes.Keywords: Native American, American Indian, Indigenous research methodologies, intersectionality, historical trauma, Indian boarding school, higher educatio