American Indian Studies and the Politics of Educational Colonialism

• In Event: Roundtable Session 3
  In Roundtable Session: Decolonizing Education in Settler Colonial Nation-States

Abstract

The politics of higher education at universities pose challenges for Native and Indigenous students that impact equity and equality. The most recent challenge: Ethnic and Native Studies Departments are viewed as no longer necessary. This paper calls into question the right to education and future success and achievement in scholarship that increases knowledge for all peoples in the future. However, higher education institutions are still “working on deconstructing colonialism” with less attention to the enduring marginalization of disempowered peoples as campuses continue struggle with issues of inclusion and the minimizing of scholarship. TIncluded is an examination of the status of five (5) “critical points” identified by Robert Powless (2002) as important for the future of American Indian Studies.

Author

• Kathleen J. Martin, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo