The Experiences of Previously Incarcerated Indigenous Students

• In Event: Native American Women Scholars: Exploring Lived Experience Through Applied Indigenous Research Methodologies and Traditional Knowledge

Abstract

The experiences of Previously Incarcerated Indigenous Students (PIIS) need to be understood so that educators and administrators can include the experiences, perspectives, and realities of these Indigenous students in Adult Basic Education (ABE) and collegiate programs at Tribal Community Colleges and Universities (TCUs). To date, considering and providing targeted support for this population has not been part of the focus of TCUs even when all tribal colleges work to strengthen the cultural heritage of their respective tribes (Bad Wound, 1990) and some students at TCUs are PIIS. This qualitative study offers a respectful critique of higher education including TCUs and focuses on the marginalization of PIIS in society and in educational settings. This includes the definitions of school-related success that Previously Incarcerated Indigenous Students define for themselves and/or that they are defined by. With this study I focused on how these students’ experiences, make meaning of, and navigate higher education. The findings from this study offers a counternarrative of a marginalized, institutionally and systemically, student population by showing and making meaning of their voices, experiences, and perspectives. This qualitative study employed individual and collective semi-structured interviews. Findings are shared through portraitures (Lawrence-Lightfoot, S., & Davis, J. H., 1997) of PIIS and thematic analysis of student and instructor data. Individual and semi-structured interviews were conducted remotely because of pandemic restrictions with students and faculty at a TCU in New Mexico. Findings may be helpful for a shift in understanding how to assist incoming classroom educators to meet the educational needs of their students.

References
Bad Wound, E. (1990). Leadership and American Indian values; The tribal college dilemma.
Unpublished doctoral dissertation. The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA.
Lawrence-Lightfoot, S., & Davis, J. H. (1997). The art and science of portraiture (1st ed.).
Jossey-Bass.

Author

• Jodi Burshia, University of New Mexico
  Presenting Author