“I’ll Be Right Behind You”: Native American Families, Land Debt, and College Affordability

Abstract

Family connections are critical for Native student persistence, yet families’ voices are absent in research. Using an Indigenous-specific version of educational debt, land debt, we center familial perspectives by exploring the financial struggles among Native families as their students transition to a Predominately White Institution. Findings indicate that Indigenous families experienced fear and frustration surrounding college affordability and the financial aid process. Regardless, these Native families made extreme sacrifices in paying for college. These findings were contextualized within the economic conditions created by land theft from Indigenous peoples. Returning to land debt, we argue that institutions need to begin from a perspective of what is owed to Native peoples in their policy decisions. That is, such decisions should take account of the benefits historically accrued by institutions residing on forcibly taken Indigenous land, and then examine how that debt can be repaid by supporting Native students, families, and communities.

Unsettling mission statements: An Indigenous critique of espoused institutional responsibilities.

“…Finally, these findings nuance the discussion on institutional mission statements to argue for a unique institutional responsibility to Indigenous Peoples that are entangled with decades of complicity in genocide, violent removal, physical dispossession, illegal and unethical land theft, and treaty obligations. Building on Tachine and Cabrera’s (2021) theorization of land debt , which describes “the economic conditions of contemporary native peoples, with the understanding that the immense levels of wealth the United States currently benefits from were built on the theft of Indigenous lands and the enslavement of Blacks” (p. 4). Here, Tachine and Cabrera (2021) argued that settlers benefit from land dispossession that has subjected Indigenous Peoples to severe financial consequences and inhibited the ability of this populace to finance postsecondary education comfortably.…”

“…Building on Tachine and Cabrera's (2021) theorization of land debt, which describes "the economic conditions of contemporary native peoples, with the understanding that the immense levels of wealth the United States currently benefits from were built on the theft of Indigenous lands and the enslavement of Blacks" (p. 4). Here, Tachine and Cabrera (2021) argued that settlers benefit from land dispossession that has subjected Indigenous Peoples to severe financial consequences and inhibited the ability of this populace to finance postsecondary education comfortably. Essentially, they argue that higher education This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.…”

“…This reality is demonstrated in many ways, including but not limited to continued low student enrollment, retention, and graduation (U.S. Department of Education, 2018), underfunded or nonexistent institutional student support programs (Nelson et al, 2021; Tachine & Cabrera, 2021), hostile campus climates (Bickel & Jensen, 2012; B. M. J. Brayboy, 2004; Minthorn & Nelson, 2018), or lack of institutional acknowledgment or relationships with local native nations (Stewart-Ambo, 2021b).…”

“…However, such multicultural and inclusive approaches often silo and marginalize Indigenous Peoples on campuses and release universities of their responsibility to students and communities, tasking staff and faculty with the responsibility of interfacing with these issues (Stewart-Ambo, 2021b). This reality is demonstrated in many ways, including but not limited to continued low student enrollment, retention, and graduation (U.S. Department of Education, 2018), underfunded or nonexistent institutional student support programs (Nelson et al, 2021;Tachine & Cabrera, 2021), hostile campus climates (Bickel & Jensen, 2012; B. M. J. Brayboy, 2004;Minthorn & Nelson, 2018), or lack of institutional acknowledgment or relationships with local native nations (Stewart-Ambo, 2021b).…”

Guest editorial: The role of English teaching and teachers in supporting youths’ university futures and literacies

“…Our conversations included the firm advocacy we each have, situated within a larger commitment for supporting students’ university-going futures, especially students of color (Carey, 2019; Turner, 2019; Gibbs Grey, 2022; Marciano et al , 2020; Marciano and Watson, 2021; Tachine and Cabrera, 2021). We also discussed our frustrations with persistent barriers many marginalized students find difficult to surmount throughout the university-going and university completion process (Huerta et al , 2018; Marciano, 2021).…”