Native Students in College: Identity Development at a Culturally Grounded Precollege Access Program

• In Event: 25.068 - Roundtable Session 8
  In Roundtable Session: 25.068-2 - Indigenous College Students' Experiences: Identity, Mentorship, and Promising Practices

Abstract

How can a pre-college access program assist with Native identity development to increase outcomes for student success? This paper explores a specific curricular aspect of a pre-college access program for American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian students called College Horizons. The session, entitled simply “Native Students in College” asks students to divide into groups based on their level of engagement with their Native identity, and these breakout sessions allow for deep conversations about belonging, identity, colonialism, and more. Utilizing frameworks of Tribal Critical Race Theory and Community Cultural Wealth, analysis of student voices demonstrates the importance of having honest, and difficult conversations about Native identity for student preparedness for the college process.

Author

• Adrienne Keene, Brown University