Forgotten Students

**American Indian High School Students' Narratives on College Going**

![](media/image1.png){width="3.036111111111111in" height="3.7in"}

######## **Amy Fann**

**UCLA Graduate School of Education & Information Studies**

**Prepared for the UC Berkeley Center for the Study of Higher
Education**

**Research Colloquium, May 7, 2004**

Funding for this study was generously provided by the UCLA Institute for
American Cultures and the UCLA American Indian Studies Center and the

UC Berkeley Center for the Study of Higher Education.

# Background

> Indigenous leaders are searching for solutions to the overwhelming
> problems facing their communities in a way that will prepare their
> people to compete in today's world, help restore much of what has been
> lost culturally, protect what remains, and allow them to remain true
> to their basic or central identity as individuals and as indigenous
> people. (Stein ,2003, p. 40)

There is an articulated need for higher education in Native American[^1]
nations (AIHEC, 2002; Barfield, 2003; Benally, 2004, Champagne and
Goldberg, 2002; Jennings, 2004). Native American students enter the
university with their own goals, to acquire skills that are useful for
themselves and their community (Jennings, 2004). Tribal nations
cautiously look to colleges and universities to prepare tribal citizens
for participating in nation building efforts that preserve the political
and cultural integrity of their people. Yet, after decades of national,
state and institutional level initiatives to increase access to higher
education for first-generation and non-traditional students, the college
pipeline for American Indians has largely been unaddressed.

American Indian students have the highest high school dropout rates, the
lowest academic performance rates, and the lowest college admission and
retention rates in the nation (American Council on Education, 2002;
Benally, 2004; Stein, 1999). In 1991, according to the Indian Nations at
Risk Task Force study: "despite several decades of programs and efforts
at both the federal and state level, dropout and achievement for
American Indians did not show any marked improvement" (Cleary and
Peacock, 1997, p.7).

A decade later in California, 2000 census data showed that attainment of
the high school diploma has increased for all race/ethnic groups with
the exception of American Indians who experienced a decline of 5.4
percent in the rate of high school completion (Lopez, 2003). In
California, American Indian students have a fifty-fifty (49.7%) chance
of graduating from high school (Swanson, 2003). Among American Indian
students in California who graduate from high school, only 16% graduate
with "college ready transcripts," [^2](Greene and Forster, 2003).
Nationally, only 17% of Native American students who graduate from high
school attend any level of college, compared to the national college
going rate of 67% (Benally, 2004; Chavers, 2000). Moreover, more than
half of all freshman Native American students start at two year
colleges, and Native students are the least likely of all student groups
to complete four-year degrees (Pavel, et. al., 1998).

The near absence of American Indian students on our college campuses
deprives the higher education community of indigenous perspectives and
contributions to research and teaching, while at the same time depriving
American Indian communities of the contributions that a formally
educated workforce can make to Native communities' sovereignty,
self-determination, health, education, and economic development. While a
growing body of research justifiably addresses college access for
African Americans, Latinos and Asian Pacific American students (Allen,
1988; Attanasi, 1989; Cabrera, & La Nasa, 2000; Freeman, 1997; Hurtado,
et. al., 1997; McDonough & Antonio, 2002; Perez, 1999; Solórzano, 1992;
Solórzano & Villalpando, 1998; Tierney, 1999, Tierney, 2001; Teranishi,
Teranishi, et. al. 2004), very little research has addressed the college
choice and preparation experiences of American Indian students.

# Purpose of the Study and Research Questions

Getting to college is a complex longitudinal process influenced by a
strata of

experiences and factors that start the moment a child enters school if
not before. The purpose of this study is to better understand the
complexities of college going for American Indian students, primarily
from California Native nations. Fifty-three junior and senior American
Indian high school students were interviewed about their experiences in
navigating the pathway to college. In this study, Native students'
access to college is considered in an ecological context that includes
students' school experiences, families, tribes and living in a rural
reservation community. To that end, the following questions were
addressed:

-   What role do the students' schools play in influencing college
    choice and preparation?

-   What role do students' families play in influencing college choice
    and preparation?

-   What role do students' tribes play in influencing college choice and
    preparation?

-   How are students negotiating college preparation?

-   How does life as tribal citizens living on reservations in rural
    areas influence students\' college aspirations and college
    preparation?

-   What are students' suggestions for improving postsecondary outreach
    for other American Indian students?

# A Review of College Access Literature 

The literature on college choice and access focuses on personal and
institutional factors that impact postsecondary access. Personal factors
generally include socioeconomic status (Breen and Goldthorpe, 1997;
Cabrera and La Nasa, 2000; Hossler, Braxton and Coopersmith, 1989;
Hossler, Schmit, and Vesper, 1999; McDonough, 1997), parental knowledge,
encouragement and support for higher education (Hossler, Braxton, and
Coopersmith, 1989; Hossler, Schmit, and Vesper, 1999; McDonough, 1999;
Perez, 1999), peer influences (Hossler, Braxton and Coopersmith, 1989;
Hossler, Schmit, and Vesper, 1999; McDonough, 1997) and individual
academic achievement (Hossler, Braxton and Coopersmith, 1989; Hossler,
Schmit and Vesper, 1999).

Socioeconomic status (SES) is the most influential factor in college
access, affecting students\' college aspirations, eligibility and
attendance beyond ability or achievement (Jenks, et. al, 1972;
McDonough, 1997; Pascarella and Terenzini, 1991). Poor and
first-generation students tend to develop aspirations for college later
than middle class students whose parents are more likely to have college
knowledge and experience (Hossler, Schmit, and Vesper, 1999). Having
early plans for college is critical for completing university
eligibility requirements such as taking the correct sequence of courses,
enrolling in honors or Advanced Placement courses, achieving competitive
scores on college entrance exams and participating in extracurricular
activities and community service (Cabrera and La Nasa, 2000; McDonough,
1997).

While research has shown that parental encouragement and support is the
most important indicator of a child developing college aspirations
(Hossler, Braxton and Coopersmith, 1989; Hossler, Schmit, and Vesper,
1999, McDonough, 1997), parents who have not attended college often lack
critical information that enable them to be preemptive in helping their
children prepare for and become eligible for college (Delgado-Gaitan,
1990; Perez, 1999). These families must rely upon institutional agents
to provide information about college.

Structurally, the K-12 school context directs postsecondary access
through school practices and policies, such as tracking certain groups
of students into either academic or technical education. School agents,
(teachers, counselors, and administrators) also play a role in
\"channeling\" students into college or vocational pathways (Freeman,
1997; McDonough, 1997; Solórzano 1995). Student access to college
counseling within their school further determines how much information
students receive about college options and how to make themselves
eligible for four-year institutions (Freeman, 1997, Orfield et al. 1984
as cited in Freeman, 1997; McDonough, 1997).

Socioeconomic status intersects with structural institutional factors
(schools) affecting postsecondary access. Affluent students have access
to more sources of information about college, inclusive of private
counselors, than their less well off peers (McDonough, 1997; McDonough,
Korn, and Yamasaki, 1997). Family income dictates residential patterns,
which in turn dictate the range of public and private elementary and
secondary schools students are able to attend. Race also plays a role in
students\' schooling. According to Solórzano (1995), the low percentages
of African American, Latino, and American Indian students who are
eligible for university admission can partly be explained by the
cumulative effects of inadequate academic preparation, negative teacher
expectations, and the tracking of students of color disproportionately
into non-academic, vocational courses, making access to college seem
beyond reach for these students.

Schools that educate children from affluent families are more likely to
have a \"college focus\" (McDonough, 1997), where parents, students and
school personnel expect students to attend college. In schools serving
affluent communities, college counseling is demanded by parents and
students to ensure that students meet competitive eligibility for
selective institutions. In schools that serve primarily poor and working
class students, high school graduation is often emphasized over college
preparation and college information, if provided at all, is more likely
to direct students to community colleges as the only option for higher
education after high school. Lack of access to college counseling in
most public schools is exacerbated by the student to counselor ratio,
for example, in California, the average high school counselor to student
ratio is 979:1 (1999-2000 CBEDS), which does not allow for personal
attention with even the best of intentions. Schools play a critical role
in showing children how to get to college, and working class and
children of color are often at a serious disadvantage in accessing
information and resources about college from their schools.

Outside agents, such as university recruiters, also play a role in
providing information and encouragement to students. However, according
to Boyle (1996), even students who ranked at the top of their class in
inner city high schools are less likely to have been visited by college
recruiters than students who attend suburban schools. These students are
also less likely to have visited a college campus, and less likely to
have received the most basic information necessary for college
eligibility and choice. At the same time, in many inner-city *(and rural
schools),* military recruiters are likely to have a weekly presence on
campus and they have been effective in making students aware of the
future economic benefits of joining the service (McDonough, 1999, 2002).

American Indian students may share many similar experiences with other
first-generation and historically underrepresented students in regards
to schooling and college access. Nevertheless, the political, historical
and contemporary experiences of Native Americans may include a unique
set of dilemmas that Native students face as they negotiate their way
through high school and make choices about college. It is therefore
important as context to consider the historical and current educational
experiences of Native Americans.

# Historical and Contemporary Context of American Indians and Western Education

There are more than 500 Indigenous tribes within the continental United
States, each with its own unique history, culture and language. There is
no singular \"Native American experience\" (Deloria, 1988). With this
qualification in mind, many scholars agree that despite the great
diversity within and among Indigenous peoples, participation in formal
U.S. education holds many harsh memories for Native Americans. Education
has been one of the major battlegrounds in the confrontation between the
Indian and White worlds since European contact 500 hundred years ago
(Wright, 1992). Education for American Indians and Alaska Natives is
based on treaty rights and the trust responsibility between the United
States government and sovereign native tribes. As such, "education for
American Indians and Alaska Natives has developed very differently than
in has for other people in this country... is unique, complex, and not
clearly understood by the majority of mainstream America" (Deyhle and
Swisher, 1997 p. 114). Of the 500 plus treaties that were ratified
between 1778 and 1871 in exchange for nearly one billion acres of land,
more than 100 of these treaties included provisions for educational
services and facilities (Deyhle and Swisher, 1997).

Western education for American Indians and Alaska Natives was predicated
on the belief that Indigenous societies had no education structure of
their own, and that Native values, religion and culture were 'savage'
(Grinde, 2004). As such, education designed for Indigenous people has
historically been used as a coercive mechanism to eradicate Native
culture and sovereignty through assimilation (Almeida, 1997; Coleman,
1993; Deloria, 1988, 2001; Deyhle and Swisher, 1997; Grande, 2004;
Grinde, 2004; Jennings, 2004; Lomawaima, 2001; Szaz, 1996; Wilkins,
2002; Wilson, 1992; Wright, 1992). Grande (2004) writes that the
miseducation of American Indians precedes the "birth" of this nation
when in 1611 French Jesuits opened mission schools, soon followed by
Spanish and British missionaries who each developed educational systems
intent on "de-Indianizing" Native children.

Native experiences in U.S. higher education date back to early
colonization when the country's earliest postsecondary institutions
(Harvard, Dartmouth, William and Mary) included the admission of
American Indians as part of their charter (Carney, 1999; Wright, 1992).
The land on which many U.S. universities now stand was exchanged for
Indian treaty rights that included the provision of higher education
(Carney, 1999; Tijerina & Biemer, 1988; Wright, 1992). However,
participation in U.S. higher education has historically exacted a heavy
price on indigenous students over the last four centuries as European
Americans have attempted to "remold indigenous people into their image\"
through educational institutions (Chadwick, 1972. p. 4)

During the nineteenth century, as the United States expanded its
territory across the frontier to the Pacific, it became apparent that
forcibly removing tribes to the West would not solve the "Indian
problem," and a new federal policy aimed to eradicate Indian culture
through education was established (Grinde, 2004). Assimilation began to
supplant removal as the primary Indian policy of the federal government
(Carney, 1999; Coleman, 1993; Grinde, 2004; Szaz, 1999; Wilson, 1997).
Education was seen as the panacea to managing an increasingly
heterogeneous society, and great faith was placed in the ability of
schools to inculcate Protestant ideology and American nationalism
(Adams, 1988; Coleman, 1993). For American Indians, schooling carried
the war against tribal communities into families and individuals
(Wilson, 1993). What was now needed to win the war against Indian
'savagery' was an army of schoolteachers:

> We are going to conquer barbarism, but we are going to do it by
> getting at the barbarism one by one. We are going to do it by the
> conquest of the individual man, woman and child, which leads to the
> truest civilization. We are going to conquer Indians by a standing
> army of schoolteachers, armed with ideas, winning victories by
> industrial training, and by the gospel of love and the gospel of work.
>
> (Merrill Gates, 1891, as cited in Wilson, p. 310)

Under the assimilationist policy at the beginning of the 1800s, the
federal government provided limited funding for Indian education that
went to schools that were typically administered by missionary groups
(Szaz, 1999). The first extensive federal funding of Indian education
started in 1876, and led to the establishment of off reservation
industrial boarding schools administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs
(BIA). In 1879, Carlisle Indian School, founded in Pennsylvania, became
the first off reservation boarding school (Coleman, 1993; Szaz, 1999).
The assumption behind off reservation boarding schools was that the best
way to solve the "Indian Problem" was to move Indian youth as far away
as possible from the "savage" influences of their parents and
communities (Almeida, 1997; Coleman, 1993; Deyhle and Swisher, 1997;
Grande, 2004; Grinde, 2004; Szaz, 1999, Wilson, 1992).

Tens of thousands of American Indian children from tribes across the
country were forcibly sent to boarding schools without parental consent
(Kelly, 1999). Szaz (1999) writes: "Incidents of enforced seizure of
children to fill quotas of off-reservation schools during this period
have been reported too frequently to be considered a mere exaggeration,"
(p. 11). According to Almeida (1997), it was not unusual for children to
be sent to school by the age of six or seven and not see their families
again until the age of seventeen or eighteen. Corporal punishment was
the disciplinary norm, children were punished for speaking their tribal
languages, boys had their long hair cropped, and the clothes students
wore to the institutions were burned upon arrival as students were
forced to don Western apparel (Grinde, 2004; White Shield, 2004).

A secondary purpose of Indian boarding schools, aside from detribalizing
and Americanizing Indian youth (Coleman, 1930; Grinde, 2004), was to
train students to for jobs in White society. Half of the students' day
was devoted to learning English and rudimentary academic skills, the
other half was devoted to learning vocational skills (Adams, 1988;
Coleman, 1993). Boys typically learned skills such as farming,
carpentry, or blacksmithing while girls typically learned skills such as
cooking, cleaning and sewing (Adams, 1988; Coleman, 1993). Several
boarding schools also supplied what amounted to exploitable labor, by
placing Indian youth to work for up to a few months a year in a White
family or firm so that Indian students would gain vocational experience,
and by being separated from their Indian peers, "gain total immersion in
White life" (Coleman, 1993, p. 43).

By 1900, nearly 85 percent of Indian children enrolled in school were
attending one of the 531 off-reservation schools (Adams, 1988; Kelley,
1996). Several decades of Indian boarding schools meant that traditional
child rearing and community socialization practices were disrupted for
more than two generations (Almeida, 1997). According to Wilson (1999):

> It does not take great psychological insight to realize that, for all
> but an exceptional few, this drastic experiment in social engineering
> must have been crippling. Its subjects were systematically taught to
> despise everything they loved - parents, relations and culture, as
> 'primitive' and 'dirty,' and to believe that their only hope lay in
> being made over into replica***s*** of the conquerors who tormented
> them. Not surprisingly, may of them ended up hating both the 'savage'
> and the 'civilized' and hating, above all, themselves, the battlefield
> where the two sides struggled endlessly for supremacy. Caught in
> limbo, feeling that they were full members neither of the 'tribal'
> world nor of the developing Anglo-American society around them,
> thousands of them sank into apathy, alcoholism and despair, helping to
> create the cycle of abuse, dependency and self-destructive behavior
> that still haunts Native American communities today. ( P. 321)

Off-reservation boarding schools operated along these lines until 1928
when the U.S. government released the Meriam Report, which condemned the
poor quality of BIA boarding schools (Almeida, 1997). [^3] The Meriam
Report also led to reform movements that resulted in the
Johnson-O'Malley Act (JOM) of 1934, which allowed the federal government
to contract with the states to provide public education for Indian
students (Almeida, 1997; Goldberg and Champagne, 1996).

Despite the deep rupture that boarding schools caused in Native
communities,

assimilation was complete for very few Indians, and "Indian youth,
separated from their White peers, developed a strong Ethnic identity
with their peers from other tribes, facilitating the development of a
pan-Indian identity. For the most part, Indian youth endured the
schooling experience, retained a strong ethnic identity, and returned to
live with their families on the reservation" (Deyhle and Swisher, 1997,
114). After the Meriam report was issued, it was believed that a more
humane and less expensive way to assimilate Indian students would be to
have them attend public schools close to home with non-Indian students
(Deyhle and Swisher, 1997; Goldberg and Champagne, 1996, Szaz, 1999). By
1930, More Indian students were in public schools than BIA schools.
Today the majority of Indian students, 85% to 90%, attend public
schools, while 10% to 15% of Indian students attend BIA or tribally
controlled schools (Deyhle and Swisher, 1997; Pavel, 1999; Tippeconnic,
1999).

# American Indians in Modern Public Schools 

There is a broad body of research in Indian education focusing primarily
on students' experiences in public K-12 schools. In a review of this
literature, there are myriad school-based practices that I argue, have a
negative affect on college going for Native American students. One of
these school-based practices is second-generation discrimination, which
entails the inappropriate tracking of Indian students into special
education and non-college preparation tracks, inadequate funding for
school facilities and programs serving Native students, unfair
disciplinary practices and low teacher expectations, each contributing
to the low academic achievement of Indian students (Cleary & Peacock,
1997; Deyhle & Swisher, 1997; Wright, Hirlinger, & England, 1998).

Cultural discontinuity between Native communities and public schools has
also been studied in efforts to understand Indian students' alienation
from formal education (Claery & Peacock, 1997; Demmert, 2001; Deyhle,
1995, 1999; Deyhle & Swisher, 1997; Peshkin, 1997; Pavel, 1999, Reyhner,
Lee and Gabbard, 1993; Yapp, 2003). Teacher attitudes, textbooks and
curriculum in public schools encourage values of competitiveness and
individualism which are in stark contrast to the values of cooperation
and the importance of positive interpersonal relationships that are
reinforced in Native families (Fixico, 2000). Cultural discontinuity is
also noted as a culprit in the high dropout rates, low academic
achievement and poor self-esteem of Native students (Deyhle & Swisher,
1997; Peshkin, 1997; Pavel, 1999). Conversely, Indian students who have
opportunities to learn about and maintain indigenous values, maintain or
learn their tribal language, and possess a positive identity as a Native
person are predicted to have higher grades in school, lower drop out
rates and higher self-esteem (Coggins, Williams, & Radin, 1997; Demmert,
2001; Dehyle, 1995, 1997, 1999; Ledlow, 1992).

Additionally, the notion of higher education as a route to social and
economic mobility, as it is often perceived in mainstream society, may
not be viewed similarly in many Native cultures. For recent immigrants,
education is often seen as the most effective way to overcome immigrant
status. Portes & Rumbaut (1996), and Siu (1996) write that, \"education
represents the only avenue that can offset the disadvantage in a new
country, and the only hope for the second generation.\" (p. 32).
However, the Western value of economic and social mobility may not
parallel values for success within the political and cultural heritage
of many indigenous tribes (Brayboy, 2002; Smith, 2000). Wilkins (2002)
writes:

> For much of this nations' history, the general thrust of most racial
> and ethnic groups and their members has been to seek inclusion (to
> become constitutionally incorporated) into the American social
> contract; by contrast, the general thrust of most indigenous nations
> and their citizens (notwithstanding their American citizenship) has
> been to retain political and cultural exclusion from absorption or
> incorporation in the American polity. (pg. 201)

Collective struggles for sovereignty, self-determination and tribal
development may be more culturally relevant reasons for promoting
academic achievement and college going within Indigenous communities
than promoting higher education as a vehicle for social and economic
mobility within mainstream society.

Other factors that prevent or make it more difficult for Native students
to go to college are alienation, inadequate academic preparation, the
absence of role models, and the lack of information and funds (Tijerina
& Beimer, 1988; Wright, 1992; Tierney, 1991, 1992, 1993; Chavers, 2001).
Data collected by the National Center for Education Statistics (Pavel
et. al, 1998) shows that most Native American college-bound high school
graduates failed to meet the criteria used to assess student eligibility
for college admission. Only 2 % of college-bound American Indian and
Alaska Native high school graduates have a combined SAT score of 1,100
or better compared with 22 % of all college-bound high school graduates.
In a 2004 report published by the Western Interstate Commission for
Higher Education, access to accelerated curriculum, such as Advanced
Placement (AP) courses are minimally available to Indian students. As a
result, American Indian students' participation in AP courses, a
requirement of any selective four-year institution, is lower than that
of any other ethnic minority group in the US (Benally, 2004). These
figures are discouraging if we consider the average eligibility
requirements for four-year colleges and universities.

Given the historical mission of U.S. education to eradicate First
Nations\' sovereignty and culture, the historical trauma suffered by
Native people in the name of education, and the incongruity between
mainstream and indigenous value systems, the decision to go to college
will continue to be fraught with paradox for tribal students.

# Theoretical Framework

Cultural integrity is described by Donna Dehyle (1992, 1995) in her
research with Navajo and Ute students. In her study, the world of the
family and the tribe was equally important as the world of school for
Navajo parents who wanted to secure a "Navajo" identity for their
children because without this, their children would not be able to
succeed in either the tribe or White society. Education and schooling
was important, but after finishing school, the students would always be
Navajo (Deyhle, 1992), just as the students who participated in this
study will always be Serrano, Cahuilla, Pauite, Quechan, Luiseño, Hupa,
Karuk or Yurok. Cultural integrity considers the larger ecological
context in which Indian students make decisions about and prepare for
college: extended family, tribal community and school, emphasizing the
richness of familial and community relationships and their importance
for survival.

Tierney (1999, 2001) has used Deyhle's work on cultural integrity in the
context of college access as a theoretical approach to preparing
historically underrepresented students for college. Tierney (1999, 2001)
argues that most college preparation programs operate at the cultural
capital level, by trying to provide poor and first-generation college
students with information and experiences that are likely to lead to
college going. The assumption is often that historically
underrepresented students lack cultural capital and must change or
assimilate, adopting mainstream culture over their own culture in order
to successfully enter college. Tierney (1999, 2001) advocates outreach
programs that operate under the premise of cultural integrity, affirming
students\' racial and ethnic backgrounds while at the same time guiding
students in the development of strategies and learning activities that
promote college going (Tierney, 2001).

For this study, cultural integrity is the overarching philosophical
framework for college access recognizing that students\' status as
citizens of Native nations, and the variety of cultural practices they
may engage in play a distinct role in the resources that students bring
with them to school, and their experiences in making decisions about
postsecondary attendance and managing the college preparation process.
Using cultural integrity as a lens is a way to privilege students'
knowledge and bring their perceptions to the forefront in order to
generate a better understanding of college going and preparation for
Native students from reservation communities.

# Study Context and School Site Selection

California has the largest population of American Indians/Alaska Natives
(AIAN) in the United States, 564,269 (UCLA RGLCRPS Policy Report, 2004).
By comparison, Oklahoma has the second largest AIAN population with
390,830 Native people, and Arizona has the third largest AIAN population
with 87,543 Native people (UCLA RGLCRPS Policy Report, 2004). AIAN
people make up 1.7% of the overall California population, but 11.3% and
5.6 % of the Oklahoma and Arizona populations respectively (UCLA RGLCRPS
Policy Report, 2004).

There are more than 152 Indigenous Californian tribes, including 109
federally recognized California tribes and more than 43 additional
Indigenous California tribes or bands that remain unrecognized by the
federal government. There are 40,000 American Indians (Census, 2000) who
are citizens of one of the 109 federally recognized California Native
nations, and an estimated 75,000 California Indians who are from one of
the 43 unrecognized tribes (Kelley, 1999). Federally recognized tribes
have reservation, rancheria or trust land. These are located primarily
in rural areas.[^4]

The data for this study comes primarily from California Indian
students[^5] at 7 public high schools in Southern, Central and Northern
California. High school sites were selected based on the large
percentage of Indian students enrolled in each school site. All high
school sites are located in rural areas. Table 1 shows the number and
percentage of American Indian students at each school site. Table 2
shows the percentages of University of California (UC) and California
State University (CSU) eligibility rates, and enrollment rates of
American Indian students in UC/CSU campuses at each school site.

Table 1: Number and % of American Indian Students at Each School Site

  -------------------------------------------------------------------------
  High School       County             Number of American \% of AI Students
                                       Indian Students    Within Total
                                                          School Population
  ----------------- ------------------ ------------------ -----------------
  Inland Empire     Riverside          60                 5

  North Valley      San Diego          140                12

  East Sierra       Inyo               90                 12

  Two Rivers        Humboldt           207                65

  San Mateo         Imperial           99                 45

  Siskiyou          Siskiyou           64                 8

  Up River          Siskiyou           33                 31
  -------------------------------------------------------------------------

*Source: EdData, Educational Data Partnership, California Department of
Education, 2000.*

Note: School names of have been replaced with pseudonyms

Table 2: Percentage of AI Student UC/CSU Eligibility and Enrollment in
1999 Compared to School Wide Eligibility Percentages and Enrollment

+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| High School | \% of AI    | \% of Total | \% of AI    | \% of Total |
|             | Graduates   | School      |             | School      |
|             | Eligible    | Graduates   | Graduates   | Graduate    |
|             | for UC/CSU  | Eligible    | Enrollment  | Enrollment  |
|             |             | for UC/CSU  | at UC/CSU   | in UC/CSU   |
+=============+=============+=============+=============+=============+
| Inland      | 33 (n=1/3)  | 57          | 0           | 10          |
| Empire      |             | (n=111/213) |             | (n=11/111)  |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| North       | \*          | \*          | 0           | \*          |
| Valley      |             |             |             |             |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| East Sierra | 3 (n=1/27)  | 45          | 0           | 21          |
|             |             | (n=71/157)  |             | (n=15/71)   |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| Two Rivers  | 8 (n=3/35)  | 17          | 33 (n=1/3)  | 30(n=10/33) |
|             |             | (n=10/58)   |             |             |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| San Mateo   | 0           | 6 (n=2/31)  | 0           | \*          |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| Siskiyou    | \*          | \*          | 0           | \*          |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| Up River    | 2 (n=1/5)   | 40          | \*0         | \*17        |
|             |             | (n=14/35)   |             | (n=6/35)    |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+

Source: UC/CSU Eligibility: EdData, Educational Data Partnership,
California Department of Education, 2002 UC/CSU Enrollment: California
Postsecondary Education Commission.

Note: School names of have been replaced with pseudonyms \* No data
available

# Methodology

In her book [Decolonizing Methodologies]{.underline}, Smith (1999) draws
on Harding's distinction between method and methodology: \"A research
methodology is a theory and analysis of how research should
proceed...and a research method is a technique for gathering evidence\"
(p. 143). Methodology is important because it frames the questions being
asked, and determines the research process or methods. The qualitative
nature of this study is based on the assumption that the naturalistic
technique, listening to stories of people's experiences, (Lincoln &
Guba, 1985) is more compatible with "traditional Indian ways of
knowing," (Crazy Bull, 1997, p. 18). To that end, one-on-one interviews
were conducted using a semi-structured protocol designed to elicit
in-depth information from participants about how family and school
influence college aspirations, how students are navigating college
preparation, and students' suggestions for improved outreach. Interviews
were tape-recorded and transcribed.

## Sample

Fifty-three students participated in interviews. Higher education
information workshops offered to all Native students at each school site
provided the context for recruiting students for the study. The total
number of interview participants at each site reflects the number of
students at each school volunteering to participate in interviews.

A sample breakdown by school, gender, and grade is noted in Table 3.
Interview selection criteria included students in the 11^th^ or 12^th^
grade, with college aspirations, and a grade point average of 2.3 or
higher. Students in the 11^th^ and 12^th^ grades were selected because
these students are more likely to have experienced stages or benchmarks
associated with preparing for college, such as having developed a
predisposition for college, searching for colleges, and making final
choices about which institution to attend (Hossler, Schmit and Vesper,
1999).

Since the focus of the study is to understand what influences student
college-going and college preparation experiences, only students with
college aspirations were chosen for interviews. College aspirations
included plans for attending either a two-year or a four-year
institution. Students with a GPA of 2.3 or higher are eligible for
entering the California State University system and community
colleges[^6]. One-on-one interviews were then conducted in order to
allow students' to share their perceptions and experiences navigating
college pathways.

Table 3: Student Sample by Gender and Grade Level - Total Number of
Students 53

  --------------------------------------------------------------------------
  High School       No. of American    Gender              Grade    
                    Indian Students                        Level    
                    Interviewed                                     
  ----------------- ------------------ --------- --------- -------- --------
                                       Male      Female    11^th^   12th

  Inland Empire     8                  4 4                 3 5      

  North Valley      4                  1 3                 3 1      

  East Sierra       10                 5 5                 4 6      

  Two Rivers        11                 5 6                 3 8      

  San Mateo         8                  4 4                 3 5      

  Siskiyou          6                  3 3                 3 3      

  Up River          6                  3 3                 2 4      
  --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Note: School names of been replaced with pseudonyms.

# Data Analysis

Each tape-recorded transcript was analyzed and coded. From coded
transcripts, emerging data patterns were the basis for interpreting
students\' experiences.

A peer review process is a component of this study that includes Native
faculty and Native educators. The peer review process is an essential
part of the study for two reasons. Methodologically speaking, a peer
review can be used as a \"lens for establishing credibility from persons
external to the study,\" (Creswell and Miller, 2000, p. 129). A peer
review can also corroborate the validity of data interpretations by
someone familiar with the research, data and/or the phenomenon explored
(Cresswell, 1998; Cresswell and Miller, 2000; Isaac & Martin, 1995;
Lincoln and Guba, 1985).

As a non-Native researcher, I continually grapple with my own
subjectivity, assumptions, experiences and position of privilege in
choosing to work with Indian students. Furthermore, I was unable to do
member checks with individual student participants. Three American
Indian university scholars and two Native educators reviewed my writing
and reporting of the data at different points as the study progressed
and offered feedback on thematic categories and writing.

# Findings

Six main themes emerged: 1) leaving the reservation 2) family influences
on college going 3) school influences on college going, 4) college
negotiation and preparation, 5) tribal support for college going, and 6)
students' suggestions for improved outreach.

## 1) Leaving the reservation

The majority of students in this study (40 out of 53) live on a
reservation and described tightly knit kinship systems that include
large, extended families, causing many students to feel conflicted about
choosing to go away to college. For example, when asking a student what
her biggest obstacle would be in going to college, she commented,
"Leaving the rez ...because I've lived there all my life and I never
want to leave." A Paiute student from East Sierra said, "I think I will
get a little homesick \[going away to college\] because I have a lot of
close family, my grandma and all my cousins are right next door." A
female Yurok student from Two Rivers shared:

I live in rural area, and to be away from my family is a big thing. I
have tons of relatives, at least 80 first cousins alone, and I'm around
them constantly. They live within 20 miles of me, and that's going to be
hard to get used to, not having my family around because they support
me.

Several students also talked about how leaving the reservation to go
away to college might result in potentially traumatic breaks from
religious traditions, culture and language. A senior class Yurok female
student from Two Rivers stated:

> Tradition and culture are a huge part of your life here, to leave them
> and go some place different and do something different - it's like
> another world...My grandma has been my language mentor for almost four
> years now and when I leave- that will be it. She\'s getting old and
> she\'s one of a handful of fluent speakers.

A Yurok student in her junior year, who plans to attend \"one of the
UCs\" and major in chemical engineering, is concerned about having to
leave the campus in the middle of October in what would be her first
year of college to help her family host the clan Jump Dance. The Jump
Dance is a sacred, week-long religious ceremony. This echoed a similar
concern voiced by a Paiute student, now a freshman at a private
university. When interviewed during her senior year the spring before
college, she said she was "already worried" about needing to take time
off in the middle of her second semester at college to come home to
participate in her tribe\'s Cry Dance.

## 2) Family Support and Encouragement

Most of the students will be the first in their family to go to college
or the first hope for completing a college degree. Students lived with
parents, grandparents, or an aunt, and reported that family members
encouraged their aspirations for higher education. However, the majority
of parents/guardians had either no college experience, or a limited
amount of college experience, and absent these opportunities, they did
not have the college knowledge to help their children prepare for
college. One student's comment echoed that of many other interviewees,
"I know my parents have a lot of questions because of me being the first
to go to college, and they don't really know how to go about it. It's
confusing to all of us."

Parents supported college aspirations in a variety of ways. A Yurok
student, the senior class President at Two Rivers High School, said that
her family supports her aspirations to go to college by figuring out
creative carpooling so that she can get to and from sports practice and
myriad extracurricular activities that make riding the school bus
unfeasible. This is no small task when considering that it takes an
average of 50 minutes, on a mostly one-lane road, to get back and forth
from school. On her particular reservation there is no electricity, so
families must use generators, which can be costly to run and should not
be run unattended.

> My mom will stay up, or sleep on the sofa till I'm done \[with
> homework\] and then she'll turn off the generator. Last night I was up
> until 2:00 am because I got back late from a volleyball game.

Many students also mentioned that their parents encouraged or even
"pushed" them to go to college because they hoped that their children
would be more financially successful then themselves. One senior student
told me, "My mom took some community college, \[and she is always
telling me\] I want you to do better, I want you to go to college."
Another student shared, "My dad doesn't have a high school diploma, and
it's hard for him to help us with our homework and he's like 'I don't
want you to be like this'.\"

One young woman articulated the sense of both hope and loss felt in
sending a child to college by sharing \"\[My parents\] are happy for me,
they\'re sad for me.\" While her family supported her desire to go away
to college, they were deeply saddened by the thought of her having to
leave the reservation and how this might affect her and her family.

## 3) School influences on college going

When students were asked about sources of college information within the
school, most students indicated that talk about college was not
prevalent in their classrooms, and that school counselors were "too
busy" to meet with students. One male student expressed frustration with
attempts to get information from the college counselor, "...So far, she
\[college counselor\] keeps shipping me to military people, but I don\'t
think I'm going that route." Several students mentioned that they had
friends who were going into the military and military recruiters were
more common then college recruiters at each high school campus. The same
male student who was counseled to talk to military recruiters in
response to his questions about college pointed out that at his school,
military recruiters are quite friendly, and walk around the school
approaching students during the lunch period, but no one approached
students to tell them \"Hey, you\'re smart, you should be going to
college.\"

Students involved in school sports tended to have much more information
about different types of colleges, course requirements and entrance
exams such as the SAT. Coaches and team members offered students both
support and encouragement for college going. A senior from Inland Empire
High school (Serrano/Tongva-Gabrieliño) reported , "I mostly talk about
\[college\] with my basketball team because all of us are actually
planning on going college." A male athlete from the same school who
participated in basketball and track shared, "\[college\] is really
reinforced. If you're an athlete, \[coaches\] want you to go on to the
next level."

## 4) College Negotiation and Preparation

Many students felt that they were "on their own" getting information
about college. One student expressed frustration over lack of support,
"It's not shown to students, you have to go get it yourself." Many
students expressed anxiety about college admissions expectations, and
scholarship eligibility. More than half of the students (35 out of 53)
said that they expected to start at a community college by default,
since they felt that their GPA would keep them out of four-year
colleges. As one student confided, "I never really think about
\[four-year universities\] because their expectations are so high,
\[and\] I don't think I can meet up there." In actuality, all of these
students had grade point averages that would make them eligible for the
Cal State University System. However, they were not familiar with
eligibility requirements and had not taken required courses nor had they
taken the SAT.

Students tended to be more familiar with community colleges. This is
partly due to the fact that students knew of family members who had
attended a community college, and partly due to the fact that there were
no four-year universities close to any of the reservations where these
students lived. At East Sierra, the closest postsecondary institution, a
two-year college, was 200 miles away, although this college provided
limited offerings of some courses in the town. All of the students
reported knowing family and friends who went to a community college, but
only a couple of students reported that they knew of a family member who
graduated from a community college, transferred to a university or
graduated from a four-year institution.

## 5) Tribal Support for College Going

When I asked students about how their tribe encouraged or supported
college going, students discussed financial support. In California, some
tribes are able to provide full financial support to college bound youth
while other tribes lack the resources to help students pay for college,
or can only provide students with limited amounts. Most students
reported that their tribe would provide some assistance, but most
students were unclear about the steps they needed to take to request
college money from their tribe, and were unsure about how much
scholarship money they might receive. Part of this may be due to the
fact that most students had not started planning for college until the
11^th^ or 12^th^ grade, and most of the seniors interviewed during a
period from February through May had not yet applied to a college.

Most students were not approached by a tribal representative about
college funding, nor had they received any kind of letter while in high
school that described potential funding. Students needed to initiate the
process and it was clear from several students that information about
financial resources affected beliefs about the possibility of college.
As one young woman shared, "Money is the big fear, it hinders you from
going \[to college\] and it encourages you to stay \[in town\] because
you can find work here and once you get a taste of money, and you don't
have to depend on anyone else, it's tempting to just stay here."

Students felt that in general their tribe supported the *idea* of higher
education, but that there is not direct talk or action taken to further
students along college pathways. One student expressed the following,
"We get grants or scholarships form the tribe, but they don't really
talk to us or encourage us \[to go to college\]." Although one tribe had
hired tutors to work with high school students. Often the tutors
provided both academic support and information about college. When
talking with one student from this tribe with a tutor about how his
tutor had influenced his college plans, he responded, "...When I told
her that I wanted to be a tribal chairman, she took me seriously...she
then went on the internet \[to look up programs\] I might like and
brought papers back to me...She's the one that got me papers on
Davis...and said she'd help me get in there."

### Indian Gaming

Several students who were citizens of gaming tribes stated that they
felt that "per-caps" from Indian gaming lowered college aspirations for
many students. Per caps (per capita) are casino revenues paid to
enrolled tribal members from federally recognized tribes with Indian
gaming. While each tribe individually decides how it will share casino
revenue within the community, generally, tribal members receive their
"per cap" when they turn 18, or when they graduate from high school.
This amount can be anywhere from less than \$200 a year to well over
\$40,000 a year. For example, one senior class student shared, "I think
some students don't think \[about college\] because they're going to get
their money and that's all they're going to do. I know I have to do
something after high school because what if the money stops? Then what
am I going to do?"

At Two Rivers, students from local tribes who qualify[^7] get \"18
money,\" a one-time dividend up to \$30,000, which may be a disincentive
for starting college immediately after high school. As described by a
Yurok student:

> You get a huge sum of money. You're getting between \$10,000 and
> \$30,000, and most people work a year to make that much money and when
> you turn 18 you get it all in one lump sum. You just made a living in
> a day on your birthday. I think that kind of sidetracks \[students
> from going to college\] because they know they have money to support
> themselves and they choose to stay here.

## 6) "In Your Face!": Students' Suggestions for College Outreach 

Students had clever ideas for improving college outreach. The best
slogan, suggested by a senior, was that College needs to be \"in your
face.\" When asked to elaborate, he said that effective outreach means
that:

> \[College needs to be\] in your face!...The more we hear about
> college, the more reality sinks in our brain, and if I had someone in
> my face about college, I'd be alright now, but college hasn't been in
> my face so I never really thought about it...I'm not going to lie,
> coming out once a year like this is like giving a teenager a fish but
> not teaching him how to fish so he can keep on eating. You give this
> information but you're not really here making sure he's on the right
> step -- you need to check on him.

A senior Juañeno student from North Valley High School, who participates
in AVID,[^8] a college outreach program that operates in her high
school, compared what she knows about the hidden curriculum of college
preparation compared to other students who are not in AVID shared:

> \[The school\] needs to start from scratch when telling students about
> college. For example, they think they are providing information by
> making announcements about SAT deadlines, but this is meaningless to
> students who do not know why they should take the SAT and where they
> should go to get more information about it.

Students wanted more one-on-one contact from anyone- college counselors,
college recruiters, tutors, or outreach personnel. When asked if the
ethnicity of college admission representatives made a difference in
recruitment, several students indicated that the college message would
be more powerful if delivered by another Native person who would know
what it is like to live on a reservation and share similar values with
students.

### American Indian Role Models and Native Recruiters

Students need someone familiar with their life experiences to can help
them to negotiate pathways to the very different world of higher
education. The closer the messenger is to the student\'s family/tribal
community the more influential and credible the message may be to
students unsure about college. A Paiute student shared that hearing, \"I
know you\'re scared, but you really need to go \[to college\]....meant
more,\" coming from a relative on her father\'s side of the family who
lived on the reservation, than the more frequent encouragement from
relatives on her mother\'s side of family who are White and do not live
on the reservation. She felt that these relatives could not relate to
her apprehension of having to leave the reservation to go away to
college, nor could they understand what she felt that she would have to
give up in regards to family ties, culture, and Tribal religious
practice.

Postsecondary outreach and recruitment efforts play an important role in
providing students with information about college. At three of the
school sites, Native American recruiters from local postsecondary
institutions had visited their school and held a workshop especially for
Indian students. When asked if the ethnicity of college representatives
made a difference in the recruitment process, students noted that having
another Native American person talk to them about college made a
difference for several reasons. A Paiute student from East Sierra
commented:

> It's not as much a racial thing as understanding what's it's like
> coming off the reservation because all reservations are a tight knit
> family, and this makes it harder to leave." "...Having someone who is
> one my side, and who understands what is really important to me as a
> Native person \[is what is important\].

Another Paiute student shared that talking with Native recruiters was
especially helpful, \"because they knew what kind of benefits we could
get because they had gotten them, or who we could talk to, or where we
needed to go to get our own benefits and scholarships."

Students also indicated that Native recruiters were also more likely to
talk about college going in a culturally relevant context, encouraging
Native youth to attend college as a means to better serve one's
community and contribute to their tribe's sovereignty and self
determination.

# Discussion

Most of the students felt that they had to make tough decisions about
leaving home to go away to college. Wilkins (2002) writes that "Tribal
peoples, unlike any other groups in the United States, are sovereign
nations not minority groups. A sovereign nation is a distinct political
entity, which exercises a measure of jurisdictional power over a
specific territory" (pg. 47). Going away to college for Native students
can be compared to international exchange. Leaving the reservation to go
to college represents entering another world, separating from extended
family, culture, and to varying degrees, language, in order to enter a
postsecondary institution where students expect that there will be very
few other students like themselves.

The majority of students in this study lacked critical information about
how to get to college and most students felt that they were "on their
own" in regards to getting college information. Families supported
college aspirations but in most cases did not have college knowledge to
help their children prepare for higher education. First generation
college students are at a disadvantage because they must get all of
their information about college from their school. Some students
received support from school agents for college going while other did
not. Students indicated that they need someone who will sit down with
them "one-on-one" and explain college options, financial aid, and what
they need to do to become eligible for college. Furthermore, schools
need to \"start from scratch\" by providing students with college
information in a holistic and comprehensive manner.

While a handful of college bound students received a great deal of
encouragement and support from a teacher or counselor, the majority of
students in this study were not getting the message that they are
college material at school. In this case, yearly visits from a Native
university recruiter and college fairs had a positive influence in terms
of getting students to think about higher education. However, without
structured, reinforced encouragement and support, students are no closer
to getting into college.

Students participating in pre-college outreach programs were the most
informed and savvy about college preparation. Without having the ability
to change the school culture, such that all students are viewed as
college material, and taught and advised accordingly, outreach programs
provide an important safety net to students. By offering information,
academic support and college advising to make up the gap in school
support for college going, on-site outreach programs can provide a
critical link to college. This link is strengthened by the participation
of the school's Title VII Indian education liaison and/or other tribal
community members. Tribal and/or other Native involvement in established
outreach programs at local school sites is a way to include Native
cultural integrity in these programs, and ensure that Native students
have opportunities to discuss college going in a culturally relevant
context.

Tribes supported students\' college going by providing monetary support,
the amount of which varied greatly by tribe. Two tribes hired tutors to
work with high school students. If increasing the number of college
graduates is a community priority, tribes can make students and their
families aware of financial support for college going, and what students
need to do in order to access tribal monies long before the student\'s
senior year of high school. This would include information about college
preparation; such as the types of courses students need to take in order
to be eligible for college. This is important since several students in
this study expressed that hearing the message about going to college was
more powerful when delivered by relatives and other tribal citizens.

Tribal communities can also help students get to college by providing
encouragement and support for college going at community meetings and
gatherings, setting the bar for education higher than high school
graduation. For many understandable reasons, there is a schism between
formal Western university education and tribal education, wisdom and
training. A university degree does not necessarily grant one status in a
tribe as it does in majority culture. Reconciling tribal education and
spiritual values with formal education may support college going and
completion by demonstrating to students that they do not have to choose
between a being successful in college and being a full-fledged member of
their community.

Students indicated that it was important for them to learn about college
from someone who could understand the conflicts they would experience in
leaving the reservation. It was also important to get college
information from someone who was familiar with what they as Native
students needed to do to access financial support from their own tribes
and from other organizations that provide financial aid specifically for
American Indian students.

Native college students are especially important role models to other
Native high school students because they have the cultural credibility
to deliver messages about the importance and possibility of higher
education. High school students can believe through the examples of
American Indian College students that it is possible for them to
successfully go to college. American Indian recruiters generally are
also in a better position to address the potentially traumatic cultural
difference students will encounter when they leave tight knit
reservation communities. American Indians have the highest attrition
rate in higher education (Pavel, Skinner, Farris, Calahan, &
Tippeconnic, 1998), suggesting that students need more then academic
preparation in order to make the transition from home communities to the
university and back.

For a variety of reasons, most students indicated that they were much
more likely to begin at a community college. This is consistent with
statistics that show that most American Indian students start at
community college (Pavel, Skinner, Farris, Calahan, & Tippeconnic,
1998). Indeed, only a handful of the fifty-three students (12 out of 53)
reported that they were eligible to begin at a four-year institution.
Unlike tribal colleges, community college transfer and degree attainment
rates reveal that Native students are often not persisting and are less
likely to transfer to four-year intuitions then other student groups. By
providing transfer support to Native community college students, there
are opportunities to significantly increase in the number of American
Indian students in four-year institutions.

Targeted counseling and outreach programs operating at the community
college level may be one solution. Forming partnerships between
community college EOP/TRIO programs and Title VII liaisons, tribal
education personnel, or other Native involvement may be one way to
augment existing college services by providing additional, culturally
relevant support. Tribal colleges provide many models for increasing
Native college student persistence and transfer.

# Implications 

If Native American students are to be viable candidates for college
admission, understanding their experiences in navigating college
pathways is a necessary first step to designing recruitment and outreach
responses that are relevant to students\' lives.

Cultural integrity places students' experiences as members of Tribal
communities at the forefront of research and outreach. Low college
participation rates are in part reflective of the mismatch between
cultures. Western values of economic and social mobility are at odds
with the political and cultural heritage of many indigenous tribes
(Brayboy, 2002; Smith, 2000). Tierney (1991) observed that for many
Indian students, family obligations are paramount and college graduates
often feel a strong sense of obligation to their home communities.
Tribal students seeking an education grounded in their cultural
perspective rarely find this in a typical university setting and may
conclude that higher education is irrelevant to their lives.

Increasing access to higher education for Native students coming from a
reservation must include: 1) academic preparation and college counseling
that begins before high school to make students aware of postsecondary
options and eligibility requirements, and at the same time supports
their efforts to become prepared for college, 2) postsecondary outreach
efforts that are responsive to students\' experiences growing up in
tribal nations and 3) students need to know there will be support once
they get to college to help them transition back and forth from Tribal
communities to higher education communities.

^i^ The terms \"American Indian,\" \"Indian,\" \"Native American,\"
\"Indigenous,\" \"Native,\" and are used interchangeably.

^ii^ This figure -- 17% of Native high school graduates attend some form
of postsecondary education is compounded by the fact that American
Indian students have about a 50-50 chance of graduating from high school
(Swanson, 2004). While the drop out rate for Native students varies by
state, the reported high school drop out rate does not capture the large
number of Native students who drop out of school at or before the eighth
grade. Therefore, among the precious number of Native students who
graduate from high school, only 17% are entering some form of
postsecondary education. Note, most Native students enroll in two-year
institutions.

^iii^ Ogbu uses the term \"voluntary\" minorities to refer to immigrant
populations, in particular Asian Pacific Islanders and Latinos. The term
\"Involuntary\" minority is used to describe the minority status of
American Indians and African Americans who were brought over as slaves.
Ogbu contends that \"voluntary\" minorities tend to perceive U.S.
educational opportunities as a vehicle for economic and social mobility
to a greater extent than \"involuntary\" minorities.

^iv^ There are about 110 federally recognized tribes in California and
approximately 60 Native communities that are not federally recognized.

^v^ There are 4 students with tribal affiliation other than that of
California Native that were interviewed.

^vi^ I am very grateful to Jason Lewis, Director of American Indian
Recruitment at UCLA for accompanying me on several school site visits.
Mr. Lewis initiated contacts for several site visits, helped present
higher education workshops to students, and interviewed some of the
students.

^vii^ Special thanks to the Title VII Indian Education liaisons, tribal
education coordinators, and school site personnel for facilitating
opportunities to recruit Native students for the study and for helping
to arrange the higher education workshops for students, and in some
cases families, that were delivered as a component of this study.

^viii^ California State University admits students on a sliding scale
based on GPA and SAT scores.

^ix^ The qualification process for \"18 money\" varies for each tribe.
Some tribes have requirements for length of residence on the
reservation, or require that a student have applied for 18 money by a
certain age.

^x^ AVID- Advancing Via Individual Determination, a state funded, school
based outreach program that provides college information classes for
students, and counseling and tutoring so students are successful in
challenging academic courses needed for entry into 4- year institutions.

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[^1]: The terms \"American Indian,\" \"Indian,\" \"Native American,\"
    \"Indigenous,\" \"Native,\" \"First Nation,\" and "First people" are
    used somewhat interchangeably. Native American generally refers to a
    wider group including Alaska Natives and Hawaiian Natives, while
    American Indian refers to one of the 500 or more Native tribes on
    the continental United States.

[^2]: Using data from the 1998 NAEP High School Transcript Study, Greene
    and Forster (2003) distinguish "college ready transcripts" as those
    that show that the student received a high school diploma, and the
    completion of coursework typically required of four-year
    institutions: four years of English, three years of math, and two
    years each of natural, social science and foreign language.

[^3]: Off reservation boarding schools did not go away completely, and a
    few still continue to operate, although under contemporary
    guidelines.

[^4]: Los Angeles County, as an incorporated area, has the largest urban
    AIAN population in the country (115,311 or 1.2%), and the city of
    Los Angeles has the second largest city population of urban Indians
    in the United States (41,866 or 1.1%) (UCLA RGLCRPS Policy Report,
    2004). Native people living in urban areas are more likely to have
    an affiliation with a tribe in another state. Collectively, the
    564,269 American Indians living in California have tribal
    affiliations with more than 270 different tribes across the country,
    and live in all parts of the state, making the population extremely
    challenging to accurately describe, and even more difficult to
    provide effective recruitment and outreach services that reach a
    population that is not only culturally diverse but geographically
    diffuse.

[^5]: There are 4 students with tribal affiliation other than that of
    California Native that were interviewed.

[^6]: California State University admits students on a sliding scale
    based on GPA and SAT scores.

[^7]: The qualification process for \"18 money\" varies for each tribe.
    Some tribes have requirements for length of residence on the
    reservation, or require that a student have applied for 18 money by
    a certain age.

[^8]: AVID- Advancing Via Individual Determination, a state funded,
    school based outreach program that provides college information
    classes for students, and counseling and tutoring so students are
    successful in challenging academic courses needed for entry into 4-
    year institutions.