From Self-Determination to Indigenization by Dr. Salena Beaumont Hill and Dr. Corey Still

from American Indian Graduate Center Magazine Spring Issue 2021

Translating Science by Alastair Lee Bitsói

F R O M SELF-DETERMINATION

T O

INDIGENIZATION

BY: DR. SALENA BEAUMONT HILL, AMERICAN INDIAN GRADUATE CENTER ALUMNA & DR. COREY M. STILL, AMERICAN INDIAN GRADUATE CENTER SCHOLARS ALUMNUS

“Every society needs educated people, but the primary responsibility of educated people is to bring wisdom back into the community and make it available to others so that the lives they are leading make sense.”

- Vine Deloria Jr.

Education plays a vital role in the continuation and persistence of any people. However more than most, Native people carry a tumultuous past when it comes to engaging with western education systems in the United States.

American Indian and Alaska Native self-determination has evolved over the last 50 years. Native communities have established schools and universities that are designed and modeled in traditional and cultural ways of knowing and teaching styles. These education systems empower their students to learn western education standards through the lens of traditional knowledge.

“People need to know and understand the history of Indigenous peoples in this country and around the world,” said Dr. Lloyd Lee (Navajo Nation), American Indian Graduate Center Alumnus.

An Associate Professor of Native Studies at the University of New Mexico, Lee’s research focuses on American Indian Identity and Native Community Building, among other topics. His role at the University of New Mexico also extends to the university’s Diversity Council, where he dedicates his time to reviewing historical documents addressing diversity at the university and studying campus climate policies and best practices addressing diversity and excellence at institutions of higher education.

Lee emphasized the necessity of understanding Native history and how it impacts our world today: “Native American Studies teaches students and the university about the history, challenges and solutions to what Native peoples have faced and continue to do so in the 21st century.”

“They are building partnerships, alliances and creating the initiatives to ensure Native sovereignty and Indigeneity is sustained.”

Vine Deloria Jr. (Standing Rock Sioux Tribe), who was known to many as the leading Native intellectual of the 20th century, also spoke to the responsibility of the educated to return to their communities to utilize and implement what they learned for the betterment of their families. One of the largest setbacks to this, however, is that for nearly 300 years Native people did not have the ability to determine their own education systems or teaching models.

In 1972, the United States Congress passed the Indian Education Act which sought to meet the unique educational and cultural academic needs of American Indian and Alaska Native students, which were not met by the Bureau of Indian Affairs at the time. To this day, this is the only comprehensive piece of legislation that focuses on American Indian and Alaska Native education from elementary to graduate school.

Furthermore, in 1975 Public Law 93-638, more commonly known as the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, was passed to strengthen and reinforce the Federal Trust responsibility to Tribal nations. The act gave power to Tribes to determine their own course of action in creating their own educational systems, amongst other things.

We know that Indigenous and western models of learning often do not mix. However, thanks to self-determination many Tribal communities now have the ability to define educational standards in their own terms. Unfortunately, these concepts have not been widely accepted in mainstream colleges and uni-

versities. Building off these laws, many Tribal nations have flourished by providing spaces for their students to engage with education from a Native perspective. Unfortunately, mainstream institutions of higher learning have been slow to learn those same lessons. Taking the next step in self-determination requires us to think about ways to Indigenize colleges and universities.

“It’s about recognizing and understanding the continued harm inflicted on Indigenous communities through systems of education and providing spaces for institutions to truly show commitment to improving Tribal relations and creating spaces that’s geared to support Indigenous students by Indigenous peoples,” said Dr. Tiffany Smith (Cherokee Nation).

As Director of Student Engagement at Oklahoma City University, Smith works directly with Native scholars on a daily basis. Her career has been dedicated to empowering students through career development, student engagement and diversity and inclusion efforts at the University of Oklahoma.

Lee and Smith bring up excellent points in urging institutions to consider the importance of Indigenized spaces. However, the question then shifts to how institutions begin the process of Indigenizing institutional policies, protocols and curriculums. Higher education institutions should consider how to effectively include Native ways of knowing as legitimate components of higher education.

“Indigenizing higher education is a comprehensive and transformative approach to ensuring universities and colleges commit to, accept and promote an Indigenous worldview to education and life,” Lee added.

The work to Indigenize higher education begins with non-Native university administrators and community members appreciating Indigenous knowledge and recognizing them as valid. They must be inclusive and allow Indigenous voices on campuses to speak and be heard. It is essential that space be created that encourages learning from Indigenous faculty, staff and students. For this to be successful, there must be a willingness to listen to the needs of Indigenous communities and make intentional efforts to work with them and understand their needs.

Following the guidance of Deloria, Jr. and utilizing the laws outlining Indian Education, advocating to Indigenize higher education is the next logical step in Tribal self-determination to advance and increase Native representation and knowledge in higher education. Indigenizing spaces in colleges and universities is not going to happen overnight. It’s not going to happen without the joint effort of both Native and non-Native communities.

Native community members, scholars, students and leaders should consider calling upon their non-Native counterparts to ensure that spaces that reflect them are visible in universities. This is the time to act, to remind higher education how resilient Native people are and to be unapologetically Indigenous.

Dr. Tiffany Smith - Cherokee Nation