Educate, Justify, Defend: Native Women's Stories of Strength in Higher Education

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 14
  In Roundtable Session: Indigenous Educational Experiences in Academia: Critical Insights on Collaboration, Classroom Ecologies, and Cultural Identities

Abstract

This paper explores how Native women made meaning of their experiences in educational spaces. My research centers on the intersection of Native women’s identities within higher education, and describes how this intersection informs their perspectives on higher education, as well as their positionality within academia. Through storytelling-based qualitative inquiry, I identify the following points of intersection: 1) Being in the academy is an act of reinforcement, 2) Within the academy they are unapologetically Native, 3) Participating in the academy is the ultimate trust exercise, and 4) The academic environment is one where Native women educate, justify, and defend their positions.

Author

• Stephanie Masta, Purdue University