Some Native American college students, like many college students, engage in a complex process of identity formation that involves discovering their culture. This ongoing identity formation process impacts various aspects of their lives including academic achievement and sense of belonging. This study examined the process of one cohort of Native American college students, Myaamia Tribe (Miami Nation), as they matriculated through a predominantly White institution that shares their tribal name. Results suggest that identity is influenced through a series of courses designed to provide deeper learning about tribal culture and language. The relational bonds to other tribal students and the cultural knowledge that emerged from the series of culture courses not only influenced identity development but also contributed to academic retention and success.
Baxter-MagoldaM. B.KingP. M. (2004) Learning partnerships: Theory and models of practice to educate for self-authorship, Sterling, VA: Stylus.
2.
BoyerP. (2009) First survey of tribal college students reveals attitudes. Tribal College Journal9(2): 36–41.
3.
CibikM. A.ChambersS. L. (1991) Similarities and difference among Native American, Hispanics, Blacks and Anglos. NASPA Journal28(2): 129–139.
4.
CreswellJ. W. (2013) Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches, Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publishers, Inc.
5.
DixonR. A.ChungK. (2008) Revisiting first year college students’ mattering: Social support, academic stress, and the mattering experience. Journal of College Student Retention, Theory & Practice9(1): 21–37.
6.
GarrodA.LarimoreC. (1997) First person, first peoples: Native American college graduates tell their life stories, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.
7.
GiorgiA. (1975) An application of phenomenological method in psychology. In: GiorgiA.FischerC. T.MurrayE. L. (eds) Duquesne studies in phenomenological psychology: Vol. 2, Pittsburgh, PA: Duquesne University Press, pp. 82–103.
8.
GiorgiA. (1986) On the learning experience. In: von EckartsbergR. (eds) Life—world experience: Existential–phenomenological research approaches in psychology, Washington, DC: Center for Advance Research in Phenomenology and University Press of America, pp. 55–80.
9.
GiorgiA. P.GiorgiB. M. (2003) Chapter 13: The descriptive phenomenological psychological method. In: CarmicP. M.RhodesJ. E.YardleyL. (eds) Qualitative research in psychology: Expanding perspectives in methodology and design, Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, pp. 243–273.
10.
GoneJ. P. (2009) A community-based treatment for Native American historical trauma: Prospects for evidence-based practice. Journal of Counseling & Clinical Psychology77(4): 751–762.
11.
GonzalezJ.BennettR. (2011) American Indian and Alaska Native mental health research. The Journal of the National Center17(2): 22–42.
12.
GuilloryR. M. (2009) Retention struggles for American Indian/Alaska Native college students. Journal of Developmental Education33(2): 12–21.
13.
GuilloryR. M.WolvertonM. (2008) It’s about family: Native American student persistence in higher education. The Journal of Higher Education79(10): 59–87.
14.
HeavyrunnerI.DeCellesR. (2002) Family education model: meeting the student retention challenge. Journal of American Indian Education41(2): 29–37.
15.
HintonL. (2013) Bringing our languages home: Language revitalization for families, Berkeley, CA: Heydey Books.
16.
HuffmanT. E. (1991) The experiences, perceptions and consequences of campus racism among northern plains Indians. Journal of American Indian Education30(2): 25–34.
17.
HuffmanT. E. (2001) Resistance theory and the transculturation hypothesis as explanations of college attrition and persistence among culturally traditional American Indian students. Journal of American Indian Education40(3): 1–23.
18.
Huffman, T. (2008). Factors associated with the personal assessment of college among American Indian students at a rural university. The Rural Educator, Spring, 18–29.
19.
KenyonD. B.CarterJ. (2011) Ethnic identity, sense of community, and psychological well-being among northern plains American Indian Youth. Journal of community Psychology39(1): 1–9.
20.
KraussM. (1992) The world’s languages in crisis. Language68(1): 4–10.
21.
Krauss, M. (2000). Native American languages act amendments act of 2000: Hearing on S.2688 (July 20, 2000).
22.
KuhG.LoveP. (2004) A cultural perspective on student departure. In: BraxtonJ. M. (eds) Reworking the student departure puzzle, Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press, pp. 196–212.
23.
LarimoreJ. A.McClellanG. S. (2005) Native American student retention in U.S. postsecondary education. In: Tippeconnic-FoxM. J.McClellanG. S.LoweS. C. (eds) New directions for student services: Serving Native American studentsVol. 109San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, pp. 17–32.
24.
LuceroN. (2010) Making meaning of urban American Indian identity: A multistage integrative process. Social Work55(4): 327–336.
25.
Miami University. (2013). Myaamia Center enrollment data (Unpublished raw data). Internal Report. Miami University, Oxford, OH.
26.
National Clearinghouse for English Language Acquisition and Language Instruction Educational Programs [NCELA]. (2011). Post secondary success for Native American Students: A brief summary of research, programs, and practices (Report #0094-2011-2). Retrieved from http://www.ncela.us/files/uploads/7/post_secondary_success_NAm.pdf.
27.
NesL. S.EvansD. R.SegerstromS. C. (2009) Optimism and college retention: Mediation by motivation, performance, and adjustment. Journal of Applied Psychology39(8): 1887–1912.
28.
Office of Institutional Research (2012) Enrollment report. Internal report, Oxford, OH. Personal Communication October 21, 2013 by Denise Krallman.
29.
OgbuJ. (1995) Cultural problems in minority education: Their interpretations and consequences: Part one: Theoretical background. The Urban Review27(3): 189–205.
30.
OrsuwanM.ColeD. (2007) The moderating effects of race/ethnicity on the experience of Asian American and Pacific Islander community college students. Asian American Policy Review16: 61–85.
31.
PascarellaE. T.TerenziniP. T. (2005) How college affects students: A third decade of research, San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
32.
PhinneyJ. S. (1993) The three-stage model of ethnic identity development in adolescence. In: BernalM. E.KnightG. P. (eds) Ethnic identity: Formation and transmission among Hispanic and other minorities, Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, pp. 61–80.
33.
PhinneyJ. S. (2003) Ethnic identity and acculturation. In: ChunK.BallP.MarinG. (eds) Acculturation: Advances in theory, measurement, and applied research, Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, pp. 63–81.
34.
PhinneyJ. S.ChaviraV. (1995) Parental ethnic socialization and adolescent outcomes in ethnic minority families. Journal of Research on Adolescents5: 13–53.
35.
SchweigmanK.SotoC.WrightS.UngerJ. (2011) The relevance of cultural activities in ethnic identity among California Native Americans youth. Journal of psychoactive drugs43(4): 343–348.
36.
SellersR. M.SheltonJ. N. (2000) Situational stability and variability in African American racial identity. Journal of Black Psychology26(1): 27–50.
37.
SellersR. M.SmithM. A.SheltonJ. N.RowleyS.ChavonsT. M. (1998) Multidimensional model of racial identity: A reconceptualization of African American identity. Personality and Social Psychology Review2(1): 18–39.
38.
StrausA. T.ValentinoD. (2003) Gender and community organization leadership in the Chicago Indian community. American Indian Quarterly27(3–4): 523–532.
39.
SueD.CapodilupoC.TorinoG.BucceriJ.HolderA.NadalK.EsquilinM. (2007) Racial microaggressions in everyday life. American Psychologist62(4): 271–286.
40.
TintoV. (1993) Leaving college: Rethinking the causes and cures of student attrition, Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
41.
TintoV. (2004) Linking learning and leaving. In: BraxtonJ. M. (eds) Rethinking the student departure puzzle, Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press, pp. 81–94.
42.
TrimbleJ. E. (2010) The virtues of cultural resonance, competence, and relations collaboration with Native American Indian communities: A synthesis of the counseling and psychotherapy literature. Counseling Psychologist38(2): 243–256.
43.
UmbhauK. (2010) Native views: Tribal college scholars value culture, language. Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education21(4): 16–20.
U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce. (2012). Profile America Facts for Features. American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month: November 2012 (CB12-FF.22). Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/pdf/cb12ff-22_aian.pdf.
U.S. Department of Education Institute for Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics. (2010). American community survey for the American Indian and Alaska Native alone or in combination with one or more races population. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2010/2010015/indicaor4
49.
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences. (2012). Postsecondary Institutions and Cost of Attendance in 2012-2013; Degrees and other Awards conferred, 2011-2012; and 12-month Enrollment 2011--2012 (NCES 2013-289rev). Authors: Laura G. Knapp, Janice E. Kelly-Reid, Scott A. Ginder. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED537749.pdf.
50.
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Educational Statistics. (2012b). Digest of education statistics; Percentage of first time full-time bachelor’s degree seeking students at 4-year institutions who completed a bachelor degree by race/ethnicity, time to completion, sex, and control of institution. 1996 through 2005. Table 376. Retrieved from http://www.nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d12/tables/dt12_376.asp
51.
WatsonJ. C. (2009) Native American racial identity development and college adjustment at two-year institutions. Journal of College Counseling12: 125–136.
52.
WhiteF. H. (2008) Rethinking Native American language revitalization. The American Indian Quarterly20(1 & 2): 91–109.
53.
WrightB. (1990) American Indian studies programs: Surviving the 80s thriving in the 90s. Journal of American Indian Education30(1): 17–24.
54.
WrightB. (1991) The untamable savage spirit: American Indians in colonial colleges. Review of Higher Education14(4): 429–452.
55.
YasuiM.DorhamC. L.DishionT. (2004) Ethnic identity and psychological adjustment: A validity analysis for European American and African American adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Research19(6): 807–825.
