That’s what experts said during a plenary panel discussion Friday at the 13th annual conference of the National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education.
The skepticism many Native Americans and other indigenous peoples have had toward predominantly White educational institutions is a response to how they historically have been disrespected and miseducated by those systems, contended Carrie L. Billy, president and chief executive officer of the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC).
Boarding schools, in particular, propagated assimilation and indoctrination of Natives that has contributed to the widespread preference among American Indians for tribal colleges, Billy explained during the session, titled “Other Perspectives on Diversity in the Academy.”
“That shaped our experience with education and goes a long way toward explaining the types of statistics we see now” and “aversion to education” in general, said Billy, a Navajo. “We are caricatures in this country.”
Large-scale and systematic loss of homelands, languages and tribal sovereignty fueled transgenerational trauma that still affects Native students, while racist sports mascots perpetuate the trauma, she said.
To provide access and equity predominantly White institutions (PWIs) and other colleges and universities must be deliberate about acknowledging the past and the scars that Native students bring with them, added Billy.
