Gisele Cardoso de Lemos, Texas A&M University

Rafael R. Almanzar, Texas State University

With state lawmakers across the country proposing bills to limit diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs at state-funded institutions, academic advisors have a significant role in promoting social justice in academia (Lawton, 2018; Rendón, 2021; Towle, 2016). Advisors have faced the task of learning how to properly advise a body of students with rapidly changing demographics in the past decades (Ponjuan & Hernández, 2021). Advisors must first learn about their biases to become competent in this multicultural environment in the current climate. However, what if their learning material presents biased perspectives or systematically excludes specific social groups? How can advisors recognize these biases, overcome them, and foster a just academic environment?

The statistics that Julia Lawton (2018) uses in the introductory page of her article "Academic Advising as a Catalyst for Equity" caught our attention because, although they are meant to represent the educational gaps along racial lines in the United States, they excluded a major group: Indigenous students, or American Indian or Native American as these terms are interchangeably used in scholarly literature (Makomenaw, 2012). Lawton (2018) mentions Asian, Black, Hispanic, and White students but fails to provide statistics on Indigenous students. Though one might argue that this information is not relevant to advisors in a Predominantly White Institution (PWI) since the presence of Indigenous students is small compared to students from other racial groups (Brown, 2023; Dell, 2000; Guillory & Wolverton, 2008; Makomenaw, 2012; Rodriguez & Mallinckrodt, 2021), we contend that this type of material (as well as argument) only demonstrates the biases of researchers, which will most likely be transferred to advisors who are seeking to further their cultural competencies and inclusive practices. Moreover, it reinforces colonial practices ingrained in data collection. In the past, Indigenous communities had their populations considerably reduced due to ethnic cleansing by European settlers; in the present, they continue to be consistently excluded from data collection, modern practice of erasure of "the Other" (Buckmiller, 2010; Makomenaw, 2012).

Experiences of Indigenous Students at PWIs

Predominantly White institutions (PWIs), which Lomotey (2010) defines as institutions where 50% of the student population are White, have a longer history of exclusion than inclusion for racially and ethnically marginalized groups such as Indigenous students (McClain & Perry, 2017). Makomenaw (2012) pointed out that Indigenous students experienced various degrees of stereotypes and ignorance at PWIs, which leads to feelings of exclusion and impacts college retention and graduation. Simi and Matusitz (2016) stated that Indigenous students reported cases where they were offended by faculty who used culturally inappropriate comments such as "cowboys and Indians." PWIs regularly do not incorporate courses or content of Indigenous people into their curriculum (Waterman, 2019). Instead, the dominant culture is reflected in the curriculum and embedded in the fabric of PWIs (Buckmiller, 2010). Furthermore, Indigenous students have been characterized as "at risk" and in need of change compared to White students (Simi & Matusitz, 2016; Waterman, 2019). The need "to change" is "placed on the student," which only reinforces colonial practices and ideologies (Tachine, 2017, pp.788-789).

Implications

Advisors at PWIs are uniquely positioned to support Indigenous students and foster a sense of belonging. Strayhorn (2022) defines a sense of belonging as how students perceive support from their institution. When Indigenous students have high levels of engagement and support from faculty and staff, they feel cared for and connected to the institution, and they perform at a higher level academically (Winters, 2012). In other words, advisors play a critical role in the success of Indigenous students.

To start, advisors must challenge the system by filling in the gaps left by their trainings, the material, and theories they were exposed to. For example, a common problem at PWIs during data collection to verify the effectiveness of programs is the disaggregation of data into racial groups and the exclusion of some groups. Not all minoritized and marginalized student groups are the same; categorizing them into one group is not only a disservice but also sends the message that their ethnic and racial identity and unique lived experiences do not matter. The visibility of historically minoritized groups in disaggregated data is a form of diversity, inclusion, and equity.

Advisors must engage with Indigenous students to learn about their experiences and how to best support them. For instance, advisors can attend student organizations' events geared towards Indigenous student groups and even participate in community engagement activities run by Indigenous people. Additionally, very often, student associations will organize events open to the entire academic community. These are great opportunities to not only know them but also to learn from them. The participation of academic advisors in these events could be discussed with their supervisors in terms of professional development opportunities. Alternatively, if advisors are not offered professional development opportunities or do not have time to attend students' events during their working hours, they should at least participate in their listserv. Student associations' emails are indirect forms to know them, their interests, and their mobilization on campus.

Additionally, there are cost-effective training and professional development opportunities for advisors to learn about Indigenous students. Online platforms such as Coursera, LinkedIn Learning, and EDX courses provide opportunities for advisors to educate themselves on Indigenous populations. Advisors can also engage in self-learning by watching documentaries and films produced by Native American film producers such as Chickasaw Nation Productions. Furthermore, academic advisors can access complimentary scholarly articles on Indigenous students through the Tribal College: Journal of American Indian Higher Education, a forum for Tribal College administrations, faculty, and staff, such as advisors, to learn about current discussions on Indigenous students' needs and success. PWIs and advisors can learn from this journal to better understand the needs of Indigenous students and how to support them on their campuses. Additionally, since academic advisors come from different educational and professional experiences (Poe & Almanzar, 2019), self-education is vital to understand better and support Indigenous students.

Advisors must be aware and extra critical of their own biases and cultural competency training they are engaging in. This deep reflection upon one's academic and advising attitudes seeking equitable services and environments for all students to succeed can be considered an equity-mindedness practice. The USC Center for Urban Education defines "equity-mindedness" as follows:

The term "Equity-Mindedness" refers to the perspective or mode of thinking exhibited by practitioners who call attention to patterns of inequity in student outcomes. These practitioners are willing to take personal and institutional responsibility for the success of their students, and critically reassess their own practices. It also requires that practitioners are race-conscious and aware of the social and historical context of exclusionary practices in American Higher Education. (n.d.)

If ignoring the presence and relevance of Indigenous students within the academic setting of an institution of a PWI is a form of institutionalized racism, equity is a means of social justice (McPherson, 2015). According to Pollock, equity is an antiracist project to confront structural and systemic racism embedded in institutional discourses, policies, and practices (Pollock, 2009).

It is important to acknowledge that these implications, although highly important, may be difficult to implement given the current anti-DEI laws implemented by several states, which impact DEI training and student success. However, advisors should keep in mind that DEI is a constant learning process. Apart from that, those who are committed to positively changing the current academic environment will most likely have to face people who might feel comfortable with the current system and might oppose changes.

Conclusion

In summary, advisors must recognize their biases towards groups of historically minoritized students to learn about and from them. As part of this critical process, advisors should seek proper training and exposure to learning experiences that challenge their points of view. Only with a holistic approach will the academic environment have positive structural changes for historically underserved and minoritized students.

References

Brown, D. (2003). Tribal colleges: Playing a key role in the transition from secondary to postsecondary education for American Indian students. Journal of American Indian education 42(1), 36–45. https://jaie.asu.edu/sites/default/files/421_2003_4_brown.pdf

Buckmiller, Tom. (2010). Contradictions and conflicts: understanding the lived experiences of Native American adult learners in a predominantly white American university. Widening participation and lifelong learning 12(3), 6-18. https://doi.org/10.5456/WPLL.12.3.6

Dell, C.A. (2000). The first semester experiences of first semester American Indian transfer students. Doctoral diss., Montana State University, Bozeman, MT. https://scholarworks.montana.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/74a9d647-1eb0-4e66-bead-62344fe9b8b2/content

Guillory, R. M., & Wolverton, M. (2008). It’s about family: Native American student persistence in higher education. Journal of higher education 79, 58–87. https://doi.org/10.1353/jhe.2008.0001

Lawton, J. (2018). Academic advising as a catalyst for equity. New directions for higher education 184, 33-43. https://doi.org/10.1002/he.20301

Lomotey, K. (2010). Encyclopedia of African American education. SAGE Publications.

Makomenaw, Matthew Van Alstine (2012). Welcome to a new world: experiences of American Indian tribal college and university transfer students at predominantly white institutions. International journal of qualitative studies in education 25(7), 855-866. https://doi.org/10.1080/09518398.2012.720732

McClain, Kevin S. & April Perry. (2017). Where did they go: Retention rates for students of color at predominantly white institutions. College Student Affairs Leadership 4(1). https://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/csal/vol4/iss1/3

McPherson, L. K. (2015). Righting historical injustice in higher education. The aims of higher education: Problems of morality and justice. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 113-134.

Poe, K., & Almanzar, R. R. (2019). Supporting and retaining new academic advisors. Academic Advising Today 42(2). https://nacada.ksu.edu/Resources/Academic-Advising-Today/View-Articles/Supporting-and-Retaining-New-Academic-Advisors.aspx

Pollock, M. (2009). Colormute: Race talk dilemmas in an American school. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.

Ponjuan, L., & Hernández, S. (2021). Different year similar: The educational experiences of Latinx male students at Texas PWI, HIS, and HBCU institutions. Journal of Hispanic higher education, 20(4), 453-465.  https://doi.org/10.1177/1538192719896330

Rendón, L. I. (2021). A higher calling: Toward a more spacious role for academic advisors. NACADA Journal 41(1), 5-12. https://doi.org/10.12930/NACADA-21-91

Rodriguez, A. A., & Mallinckrodt, B. (2021). Native American identified students' transition to college: A theoretical model of coping challenges and resources. Journal college of student retention: Research, theory, & practice 23(1), 96-117. https://doi.org/10.1177/1521025118799747

Simi, D., & Matusitz, J. (2016). Native American students in US higher education: A look from attachment theory. Interchange, 47, 91-108. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10780-015-9256-4

Strayhorn, T. L. (2022). Unraveling the relationship among engagement, involvement, and sense of belonging. In E. Bentrim & G. W. Henning (Eds.), The impact of a sense of belonging in college (21-34). Routledge.

Tachine, Amanda R., Nolan L. (2017) Cabrera & Eliza Yellow Bird. Home away from home: Native American students’ sense of belonging during their first year in college. The Journal of Higher Education 88(5), 785-807. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2016.1257322

USC Center for Urban Education. (n.d.). Equity mindedness. https://cue.usc.edu/equity/equity-mindedness/

Waterman, Stephanie J. (2019). New research perspectives on Native American students in higher education. Journal committed to social change on race and ethnicity 5(1), 61-80. https://www.jstor.org/stable/48645352

Winters, N. C. (2012). From the reservation: A theory regarding the development of Native American students. Journal of the student personnel association at Indiana University 40, 27-36. https://scholarworks.iu.edu/journals/index.php/jiuspa/article/view/1347