Ensuring College Access and Success for American Indian/Alaska Native Students

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When the U.S. Supreme Court announced their decision last June to curtail the use of race in college and universities admissions, the Campaign responded by launching a national initiative, Affirming Equity, Ensuring Inclusion, and Empowering Action, to ensure that America does not return to an era of exclusion in higher education. Since then, we have published 11 briefs and profiled three experts to spotlight proven and innovative practices that advance equity. This brief elevates practices that support the college preparation, admission, affordability, and success of the American Indian and Alaska Native population.

“Understanding the history of tribal self-determination and the unique obligation of the U.S. toward Indians offers an opportunity for — and a basis for investing in — the strengthening of college and university recruitment, admissions, and retention programming for AIAN students.”

Despite enduring centuries of trauma affecting their engagement with education, including the forced abandonment of their languages and cultural practices, assimilation, and boarding school systems that tore children from their families, American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) peoples have remained resilient and advocated tirelessly to achieve equal opportunity in higher education, building a movement to restore Native culture and community life with the creation of tribally controlled colleges and universities (TCUs).

However, the participation of AIAN people in higher education remains soberingly low: only 16% of AIAN people ages 25-64 have been supported to earn a bachelor’s degree compared to 32% of the rest of the U.S. population. The number of Native youth in higher education is significantly less than that of the rest of the U.S. population, having decreased substantially over the last 10-15 years.

To ensure a strong multiracial democracy in America, all colleges and universities should strive for ensuring equal opportunity, inclusion, and creating a strong sense of belonging on their campuses, learning from TCUs to build the types of campuses that honor Native identity and empower these students to succeed. Ensuring College Access and Success for American Indian/Alaska Native Students—authored by Cheryl Crazybull, President and CEO of the American Indian College Fund—explores how leaders at the federal, state, and institutional level can help remedy access to higher education for AIAN students and ensure that they achieve their college dreams in ways that affirm their culture and the unique political status of American Indian and Alaska Natives as sovereign.