American Indians make up about 10 percent of New Mexico's total population, with about half of them in their mid-20s or younger. But at the state's public universities, American Indians usually make up only a pinch of the student body. At the University of New Mexico, American Indians represented 4.9 percent of the main campus student body for the fall of 1998. At Arizona State University, Indians make up about 2.1 percent of the student body. In the University of California system and at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, they make up less than 1 percent of students.
Retention rates Getting American Indian students to stay in school is another task, experts say.
Paul Boyer, who has researched tribal colleges and American Indian education issues for the Carnegie Institute in Washington, says it's difficult to quantify the problems that the students face. In the past 30 years, there has been a growing interest in getting more Indian students into higher education. Shawna Martinez, a Navajo from Farmington studying pre-med, says it can be tough to keep American Indian students on campus. They say the freshman year either makes or breaks you. On-campus help While most American Indian students have support from their families, it's more difficult to find cultural and academic support on campus, Ms. Martinez said.