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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 [First Page] [191], (1) Lines: 0 to 22 ——— 1.0755pt PgV ——— Normal Page PgEnds: TEX [191], (1) 11. graduating indigenous students by confronting the academic environment Joshua K. Mihesuah “I should have stayed in school. I really messed up . . . I don’t know why I didn’t ask more questions when I was younger. Those old ones could have told me a lot of things.”—My father, Henry Mihesuah, eighty years old and full-blood Comanche, in Devon Abbott Mihesuah, ed., ‘First to Fight’: The Story of Henry Mihesuah I composed this essay aloud as I drove my family through Oklahoma to visit relatives. As we entered the Quanah Parker Trailway west of Lawton, I recalled my father’s words, which reflect both his continued concern about his lack of formal education and his deep desire to learn more about Comanche history,culture,and language.At age eighty,he remains emotionally torn between cultures, just like many Native students today. As we neared my parents’Duncan home, my wife and I discussed reasons why Native students, many of whom we know, fail to graduate from universities. The reasons are complex and not easily solved, and as usual we concluded that without institutional assistance, retention rates will decrease. Although many of the reasons Natives drop out have been examined in numerous essays, the vast majority of those studies have been conducted by non-Natives far removed from the realities of Native life that have great bearing on students’ success and failure rates. For example, instead of assuming that poor preparation is the only culprit, we should focus on the reality that many Natives return home or transfer to other schools because of unwelcoming university environments. Many dropouts and “stopouts” (those who leave for a while but return) choose not to conform to the values of the dominant society, and many remain frustrated because the academy does not meet their needs. I agree with the comment made by Sioux educator and president of 192 joshua k. mihesuah 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 [192], (2) Lines: 22 ——— 0.0pt PgV ——— Normal P PgEnds: T [192], (2) Haskell Indian Nations University, Karen Swisher: “How can an outsider really understand life on reservations, the struggle for recognition, sovereignty, economic development, preservation of language and culture ?”1 As a Comanche who failed my first year at a university, who then returned to graduate with a master’s degree, and who now has much administrative experience behind me, I have a unique perspective as to why Natives do not graduate in larger numbers. I don’t have all the answers, but every day I work with Native students, collaborate with them, listen to their concerns, and assist them with their problems. Of course, Native students are not the only ones with academic difficulties, but they do have the highest dropout rates in comparison to other ethnic groups in the United States. Because of the unique cultural backgrounds that vary from tribe to tribe, physical location (often isolated from mainstream society), and positions as colonized peoples, they need specialized attention within the university. This is not, however, the same thing as“special education.” Interestingly, most of the same reasons that Native students who were forced to attend federal boarding schools suffered through their experiences are similar to the reasons modern Natives also dislike their experiences at university. Some aspects of Native students’ educational experiences have not changed much since the 1880s. My grandfather, Joshua Mihesuah,was one of hundreds taken to Fort Sill Boarding School against his family’s will. He told me stories of having his braids cut off and being disallowed to speak Comanche. Parents attempted to“kidnap” their children and take them back home, but because the school was guarded by the military, many Comanche children turned out like my grandfather: colonized, Christianized, and confused, stripped of their Comanche culture, but fortunately not of their nu mu nuu (Comanche ) identity. While most Native students don’t face this type of physical oppression they still face ideological oppression as they become...

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