Supporting American Indian and Alaska Native Students’
College and Career Goals during the Transition to High
School: A Resource for Tribal Leaders
Objective
We have prepared this literature summary to offer American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) tribal
leaders an overview of research and sample practices to support student transitions from middle school
to high school, with an eye toward achieving their career and/or college goals. Developed as a resource,
this summary provides examples of how others have built on students’ and communities’ strengths to
achieve student success and tribal sovereignty.
Audience
We respectfully offer these resources for the consideration by tribal leaders in Alaska and the Pacific
Northwest, including Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington, who come with a knowledge and
understanding of what might promote paths to success for AI/AN students. With respect to you and
out of respect for your ongoing work, we have chosen to address the tribal leaders and elders in first
person. We share these resources for your consideration only, not as a set of recommendations or
conclusions for you or about you.
Guiding Questions
We used the following questions to guide our search for resources:
1) What supports might help AI/AN students successfully transition from middle school to high
school?
2) What are some ways AI/AN youth have been or can be nurtured to consider how they might
give back to their communities as they explore college and career goals?
Introduction
This resource intends to support tribal leadership by sharing a collection of articles, studies, programs,
and other materials about AI/AN students’ career and/or college goals.1 We offer this review to:
1
For the purposes of this resource summary the term career goal refers to a career and all of the vocational, postsecondary, higher, and lifelong education required to meet that goal.
AI/AN Literature Summary 1
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Support your ongoing work: This resource is not a typical summary with recommendations and
conclusions, but a collection of resources that you can use in your continued engagement in the
educational system and as you make decisions about programs aimed at the success of AI/AN
youth.
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Recognize the distinct tribal identities and differing needs of tribes, villages, communities, and
individuals: This resource does not offer solutions for any one tribe, village, or collective of
tribes or villages, but offers a variety of resources tribal leaders and elders may find useful
information for designing a program or advocating for support.
We begin this resource summary by offering common definitions and frames of reference for college
and career readiness. We then provide resources related to five key areas where action can support
AI/AN students in the middle grades to reach their own and their communities’ career and college goals:
Supporting Students Transitions from Middle to High School; Supporting Career Goals; Supporting
College Goals; Supporting Positive School Climate and Community Involvement; Supporting School
Improvement and Organization.
AI/AN Literature Summary 2
RESOURCE SUMMARY
What is meant by “college and career ready”
A major starting point for constructive deliberation is ensuring that there is a common understanding of
the terminology we use in our dialogue. For the purposes of this resource, we offer definitions for
several of the key terms that we use throughout the document.
College and Career Ready: A student’s ability to demonstrate the academic and psychosocial
skills necessary to succeed in the work place and/or a college classroom, a student’s
understanding of the requirements for a specific career or college course, and a student’s
capacity to set career and/or education goals based on her own aspirations, needs, and desired
outcomes with the potential to focus on a course aimed at lifelong learning and community or
tribal growth.
Many communities, tribes, and villages have distinct views of the ultimate goal of college
education or careers. We offer the U.S. Department of Education’s definition of college and
career readiness below in the resources section and several examples from other sources to
clarify that we do not see one agreed-upon definition for this term. Instead, we hope to
focus on the desired outcomes for students of all tribes, villages, and communities, whether
the outcomes are based on the individual’s goal, a type of career, a certain salary, or
returning to one’s community, tribe, or village to support and grow it.
Intervention: A program, support, or action implemented to promote students’ success in
school and on the path to a successful college experience and/or career.
Supports: The availability of services, programs, and educational opportunities that promote
students’ ability to meet self-defined goals and college and career aspirations.
Several resources define terms and provide conceptual frameworks for deliberating college and career
readiness from differing perspectives.
Resources
1. National High School Center. (2012). College and career development organizer. Retrieved
from http://betterhighschools.org/documents/NHSC_CCROrganizerMar2012.pdf.
 Defines college and career readiness by breaking down the definition into strands, threads,
and components, and offering examples. Strands and threads include:
 Core content: Common Core State Standards and other state standards
 Pathways content: awareness of college and work trajectories, understanding of the college
and work environments, and understanding of the eligibility requirements
 Student aspirations: student must be able to identify own career and/or college goals
AI/AN Literature Summary 3
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Lifelong learning skills: social and emotional, higher-order thinking (problem-solving,
reasoning), skills for academic success, and employability
Civic awareness
Retention through to graduation or completion
2. Career Readiness Partner Council. (2012). Building blocks for change: What it means to be
career ready. Retrieved from http://careerreadynow.org/docs/CRPC_4pagerB.pdf.
 Report
 Defines a “career-ready person” as possessing “adaptability and a commitment to lifelong
learning, along with mastery of key knowledge, skills and dispositions that vary from one
career to another and change over time as a person progresses along a developmental
continuum” (p. 2)
 Offers two aspects to the definition: 1) academic and technical knowledge and skills and 2)
employability knowledge, skills, and dispositions
3. Juntunen, C. L., & Cline, K. (2010). Culture and self in career development: Working with
American Indians. Journal of Career Development, 37(1), 391-410.
 Article
 Argues that the “dominant culture rewards of career achievement (such as prestige and
income), even the very definitions of success, may be sufficiently different for American
Indians that a new conceptualization of career problems or career achievement is
warranted” (p. 398)
 Promotes the use of tribal norms in career counseling or guidance towards career choices or
college preparation
 Argues that “career decisions were influenced by the perception of need in tribal
communities, and the role of work or career as an expression of self as a member of the
family and community” (p. 399)
 Includes a case study of a Lakota woman exploring her career and college choices
4. CHiXapkaid, Inglebret, E., & Kebrill-Prather, R. L. (2011). Views and perspectives of Native
educational success: A national survey of American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians
and others associated with Indian education. Retrieved from
http://www.niea.org/data/files/native%20student%20success%20final%20report.pdf.
 Report
 Research project based on questionnaires and interviews
 Promotes the idea that career and college ready is defined differently for many AI/AN
students
 Argues that for many AI/AN students education is the “process that builds the capacity of
Native students to contribute to community” (p. 8)
 Posits that for many students the goal may be tied to returning to the reservation
 Discusses the fact that many students feel they are navigating two worlds when leaving
home to go to college or pursue a career
AI/AN Literature Summary 4
5. Huffman, T. E. (2011). Plans to live on a reservation following college among American Indian
students: An examination of transculturation theory. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 26,
1-13.
 Article
 Posits that many American Indian college students plan to live on a reservation after
graduation
 Argues that a strong cultural identity is key to success for many AI/AN students
Supporting Students’ Transitions from Middle to High School
Students often struggle when moving from middle to high
school, as they face larger schools, teachers more focused
on academic achievement than social growth, and changing
peer contexts (Kennelly & Monrad, 2007). These struggles
can result in disengagement from school, drop outs,
depression and withdrawal from peers, lower grades, and
reduced motivation (Seidman et al., 1994). According to a
study from Barber & Olsen (2004), students report that this
transition results in “less liking of school, higher perceived
need of school organization, lower support from teachers,
lower support from principals and assistant principals, less
monitoring from teachers, lower classroom autonomy, less
involvement in school activities, lower self-esteem, and higher depression” (p. 18). Studies suggest
these issues are faced in greater numbers by lower income students (Roybal, 2011). They also suggest
that AI/AN students in public schools face these issues in addition to a sense of alienation from their
tribe or community and sometimes struggle with the focus on individual achievement, grading, and
competiveness within the system (Waller et al., 2002).
Resources
1. Fox, K., Becker Green, J., Gault, J., & Simmons, D. (2007). Native American youth in transition:
The path from adolescence in two Native American communities. National Indian Child Welfare
Association. Retrieved from
http://www.hewlett.org/uploads/files/NativeAmericanYouthinTransition.pdf.
 Report
 Looks at the general themes impacting AI youth ages 16-24
 Suggests interventions to better support American Indian students and discusses the Hoop
of Learning program to support successful middle to high school transitions and beyond
through cultural belonging programs
2. Waller, M. A., Okamoto, S. K., Hankerson, A. A., & Hibbeler, T. (2002). Hoop of learning: A
holistic multisystemic model for facilitating educational resilience among indigenous students.
Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, 29(1), 97-116.
AI/AN Literature Summary 5
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Article
Discusses the Hoop of Learning project that supports successful transitions from middle to
high school and into college and careers for AI students
Explores the Hoop of Learning program’s focus on greater peer support and an increased
focus on promoting cultural self-awareness and cultural belonging programs
Discusses the Hoop of Learning’s focus on family and community engagement for students
from 7th grade through to career (p. 106-107 and throughout)
Suggests that AI/AN students face additional issues during the time of transition, including
greater alienation from peers and a sense of becoming alienated from community and tribe
Posits that during high school learning often becomes ever more disassociated from the
natural world leading to some AI/AN students’ greater disengagement
Argues that the increased focus on individual achievement, competitive testing, and grading
systems also demotivates many AI/AN students
3. Roybal, V. M. (2011). A summative program evaluation of a comprehensive 9th grade transition
program. Ann Arbor, MI: Proquest UMI Dissertation Publishing.
 Dissertation
 Research study encompassing interviews with students and school personnel and analysis of
student achievement, behavior, attendance, credits, GPA, and other factors
 Posits that high school transition often offers more barriers to low-income and minority
students
 Bases evaluation on Stufflebaum’s CIPP Program Evaluation model:
o Context for the program’s objectives
o Input or what other alternatives were explored and what criteria were used to choose
o Progression of events
o Product or actual outcomes
 Suggests that higher levels of student belongingness or connectedness to peers, schools,
parents, and school personnel results in greater motivation, less social exclusion, and is a
strong predictor of a student’s likelihood to graduate (p. 57-8 and throughout)
 Offers a discussion of some interventions including small learning communities, advisory
classes with peer monitoring, and a focus on academic skills classes for 9th graders (p. 58)
4. Seidman, E., Allen, L., Aber, J. L., Mitchell, C., & Feinman, J. (1994). The impact of school
transitions in early adolescence on the self-esteem and perceived social context of poor urban
youth. Child Development, 65(2), 507-22.
 Article
 Studies poor urban youth in three schools to assess the impact of high school transition on
self-esteem and social contexts
 Suggests that students’ perceptions of changes in the school environment and in peer
groups leads to declines in self-esteem, class preparation, and lower GPA
 Argues that a result of students’ feeling a lack of social support accompanies less
participation in extracurricular activities and a perceived feeling of greater “hassles” at
school
5. Kennelly, L., & Monrad, M. (Eds.) (2007). Easing the transition to high school: Research and best
practices designed to support high school learning. Washington, DC: National High School
Center at the American Institutes for Research.
AI/AN Literature Summary 6
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Brief
Suggests that unsuccessful transitions often stem from disengagement and declining
student motivation and lead to dropouts and low achievement
Posits that gaining credits in English and algebra are key to the transition
Argues that the shift of focus for school personnel in 9th grade moves from “nurturing the
whole child” to a more narrow focus on academic achievement (p. 2)
Offers interventions aimed at successful transitions, including communication with families,
success academies, small learning communities, block scheduling, and Twilight academies
with more flexible hours and offered in different locations
Provides a snapshot of a school’s transition support program
6. Barber, B. K., & Olsen, J. A. (2004). Assessing the transitions to middle and high school. Journal
of Adolescent Research, 19(3), 3-30.
 Article
 Offers research to suggest that students’ feel the biggest change in their relationship to
teachers and in the school environment
 Argues that students’ report feeling that teachers in larger schools and high schools are “less
personal, more controlling, and require lower levels of cognitive skills” (p. 4)
 Suggests that the transition from middle school to high school can lead to serious problems,
such as “decreased attendance, declines in achievement, delinquency, substance abuse, and
suicidal tendencies” (p. 9-10) (also offers a series of other resources on these topics)
 Promotes the impact of non-parental positive role models during this transition
 Reveals research from students showing a positive change of feeling less aggression during
this transition, but negative changes of “less liking of school, higher perceived need of
school organization, lower support from teachers, lower support from principals and
assistant principals, less monitoring from teachers, lower classroom autonomy, less
involvement in school activities, lower self-esteem, and higher depression” (p. 18)
Supporting Career Goals
Students often face disengagement and a loss of motivation as
they move into high school. Many AI/AN students report
feeling a growing disconnect in relationships with school
personnel, peers, and their own families and communities
(Waller et al., 2002). Supports aimed at promoting students’
career and/or college goals, expectations, and aspirations—as
defined by students, their families, and their communities—
can reconnect AI/AN youth. This section offers resources
about setting realistic goals and understanding how to
navigate paths to reach those goals. Not all of these resources
are focused narrowly on the transition from middle to high
school or the 9th grade year, but all shed light on the needs of AI/AN students’ setting career and/or
college goals.
AI/AN Literature Summary 7
We found particularly compelling the resources that recognize that students will not be motivated to
reach others’ goals nearly as much as they will to reach their own—based on their own needs, cultures,
and ambitions—and that their motivations toward choosing a career and/or college path lie in their
projected lifetime ability to give back to their communities (Pizzuto, 2009; Turner, 2006).
In addition, many definitions of college and career readiness do not adequately address student
transitions from high school directly into workforce entry. For tribes and villages in rural communities
relying on subsistence economies, more resources are needed to support efforts to build upon
subsistence economies for future generations. Therefore, we identify resources here that emphasize
students’ own identification of their aspirations and describe opportunities provided for students to
explore options, including but not exclusive to internships, entrepreneurial building skills, job training
and skill development, and worker entry programs.
Resources
1. Berman, J., & Coffee-Borden, B. (2011). Innovative programs and promising practices: Indian
and Native American summer youth employment initiatives and the 2009 Recovery Act.
Mathematica Policy Research for the U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved from
http://wdr.doleta.gov/research/FullText_Documents/ETAOP_2012_04.pdf.
 Report
 Discusses Indian and Native American Youth Services’ series of summer employment
programs aimed at addressing the needs and skill-development of tribal youth
 Suggests that these programs support the college and/or career pipeline for AI/AN youth
2. Turner, S. L., Trotter, M. J., Lapan, R. T., Czajka, K. A., Yang, P., & Brissett, A. E. A. (2006).
Vocational skills and outcomes among Native American adolescents: A test of the integrative
contextual model of career development. Career Development Quarterly, 54(3), 216-226.
 Article
 Uses six interrelated career development skills to discuss AI/AN students’ career goals:
career exploration, person to environment fit, goal setting, social skills, self-regulation, and
the ability to use social supports
 Posits six vocational outcomes: academic, meeting own expectations, positive selfattributions, vocational goals, proactivity, and vocational identity
 Argues that all of these skills play significant roles in securing the outcomes and promotes
the use of a model that develops each of them
3. Brown, C., & Lavish, L. A. (2006). Career assessment with Native Americans: Role salience and
career decision-making self-efficacy. Journal of Career Assessment, 14(1), 116-29.
 Article
 Reports on a survey of 137 Native students attending a tribal college
 Offers that home and family participation and commitment play a more significant role in
career planning than work commitment
 Argues that the motivation for many AI students to attend college is to secure a career to
help their family or community
AI/AN Literature Summary 8
4. Keller, B. K., & Whiston, S. C. (2008). The role of parental Influences on young adolescents’
career development. Journal of Career Assessment, 16(2), 198-217.
 Article
 Suggests that parental psychosocial behaviors matter more than parental career-focused
behaviors
 Argues that parental behavior has a great impact on career choices and ideas of self-worth
and the ability to achieve
 Posits that parental behaviors are related to the career development of middle school
students and that the parental behaviors most impact students’ decision-making skills
concerning career choice
5. Roberts, J. (2007). The work values of American Indian college students. Retrieved from
http://dc.library.okstate.edu/utils/getfile/collection/theses/id/4341/filename/4342.pdf
 Master’s Thesis
 Discusses the lack of AI/AN representation in many career fields
 Suggests that this lack of representation creates “psychological invisibility” and students
have difficulty picturing themselves in careers where they do not see people similar to
themselves
 Offers that most current career development tools do not measure what many AI/AN
students value
6. Pizzuto, D. (2009). Vocational Interests in Indian country: An examination of rural public
education and culture. Retrieved from http://humboldtdspace.calstate.edu/bitstream/handle/2148/611/thesis42310%2520ca%2520clean.pdf?sequenc
e=1.
 Master’s thesis
 Discusses the ways interest in careers differs greatly for American Indian students and their
teachers
 Looks at how interests impact attainment and success, suggesting that especially in rural
areas AI students’ lack of interest in “traditional” careers or goals leads to lowered success
7. Turner, S. L., & Lapan, R. T. (2003). Native American adolescent career development. Journal of
Career Development, 30(2).
 Article
 Discusses AI career goals in terms of the Social Cognitive Career framework, which focuses
on three keys to career exploration: 1) self-efficacy, 2) outcome expectations, and 3)
personal goals
 Posits that most AI students are interested in “Realistic and Conventional” occupations
 Argues that AI students have a greater interest in degrees that require a high school
diploma, trade school certificate, or 2 years of post-secondary education
 Suggests that AI students have as great an interest in careers that require 4 or more years
post-secondary education as Caucasian students and are just as interested in careers that
are “Investigative, Artistic, Social, or Enterprising”
AI/AN Literature Summary 9
8. Juntunen, C. L., Barraclough, D. J., Broneck, C. L., Seibel, G. A., Winrow, S. A., & Morin, P. M.
(2001). American Indian perspectives on the career journey. Journal of Counseling Psychology,
48(3), 274-85.
 Article
 Explores the concept of lifelong learning and the impact on career development through
interviews with 18 Northern Plains Indians
 Argues that the focus of career choices and planning for many AI students is often based
around the well-being of the community
 Posits that the idea of relocation away from community is often a major deterrent for
students to even consider college
9. National Congress of American Indians. (2011). 2011 White House Tribal Nations Conference:
Tribal Leaders Briefing Papers. Retrieved from
http://www.ncai.org/attachments/PolicyPaper_FNHtvFoHLOTqlAYAsZhYyPCCzwiRTRRfopfKUmf
KKMTlQuPTlec_2011_FULL_NCAI_White_House_Tribal_Nations_Conference_Tribal_Leader_Brie
fing_Book.pdf
 Briefing Papers
 Emphasizes improving workforce development, which here involves providing “technology
specific curricula and training” specifically in careers such as health, IT, and “smart grid”
technical training, and provide specific recommendations to increase development in these
areas (p. 12)
 Calls for further investment in workforce development including job training and skill
development resources, entrepreneurship training, resume building, internship programs,
referral services, and worker entry programs for juvenile and adult offenders and argues
that through more investment and partnering with tribal nations and other entities such as
tribal colleges, these efforts will better harness the potential of Native children, teenagers,
and adults (page 80 – 84)
Supporting College Goals
This section includes resources focused on college and
career pipelines and the central role higher education can
play in helping middle school and high school students
understand what goals are available to them and what they
need to do to reach those goals. Many of the issues
students face as they make college plans mirror those we
highlighted in the section about careers. For example,
Jackson, Smith, & Hill (2003) discuss the trepidation many
students feel in thinking about leaving home and travelling
to attend college. They posit that family support, relationships with peers, and other psychosocial
factors play as large a part in college planning as do exposure to college and access to career planning.
We focus on programs and interventions that show promise and could offer ideas for leaders interested
in promoting college attendance and completion.
AI/AN Literature Summary 10
We have chosen resources that offer examples of successful programs from higher education targeting
students transitioning from middle to high school, resources that can highlight community voice in
advocating for student success on the path to college, and resources that emphasize partnerships
between higher education, PK-12, federal projects, and grants.
Resources
1. Akweeks, K., Bill, N., Seppanen, L., & Smith, B. L. (2009). Pathways for Native American students:
A report on college and university in Washington state. Partnership for Native American College
Access and Success Project. Retrieved from
http://nativecases.evergreen.edu/docs/TESC_pathways_final%2010909.pdf
 Report
 Discusses the importance of early awareness of college readiness (p. xi)
 Posits that many AI/AN students attend college with the desire to give back to their
communities (p. 13)
 Details some of the programs aimed at getting students into the college pipeline including
federally-funded Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs
(GEAR-UP), summer programs like the Spokane Community College 5 week summer
academy for students in 8th-10th grade, campus visit programs, partnerships with colleges
and schools through service learning initiatives (p. 13, 27-28)
2. Jackson, A. P., Smith, S. A.,& Hill, C. L. (2003). Academic persistence among Native American
college students. Journal of College Student Development, 44. 548-65.
 Article
 Relates the findings from interviews with 15 college-successful students who grew up on
reservations
 Suggests mentoring is a key to college persistence
 Identifies several major themes to AI student success from middle school throughout college
including family support, social/peer support, relationships with school personnel, exposure
to college and vocations, the opportunity to develop independence, access to spiritual
resources, skills to deal with racism, the chance to explore nonlinear paths, and the skills to
deal with paradoxical cultural pressure
3. University of Michigan American Indian Science and Engineering Society. Retrieved from
http://www.umich.edu/~aium/aises/.
 Website
 Offers supports to assist AI students interested in engineering science or other technology
disciplines
 Offers financial, academic, and cultural support for students from middle school to graduate
school
 Engages in partnerships with tribes, schools, non-profits, corporations, foundations, and
government agencies
 Offers culturally appropriate curricula and publications
AI/AN Literature Summary 11
4. Sloan, T. A. (2006) Recruitment and retention of Native American flight technology students.
College Aviation Review, 24(1), 159-65.
 Article
 Suggests recruitment at the middle school level into flight technology programs
 Discusses the use of summer bridge programs, involving families and tribal members, and
the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Program (GEAR UP)
 Discusses mentorship through Native American Student Associations
5. Foley, H. (2012). Summary of tribal partner and Indian education leadership input to improve
Native American college student success and enhance post-secondary educational opportunities
for at-risk, low-income, and underserved Native American populations to support NASNTI Grant
Application via U.S. Department of Education. Unpublished manuscript.
 Federal Grant Application Materials
 Relates details from interviews with several Oklahoma tribes about what tribal members
need and want to succeed in school and college
 Reveals themes of greater focus on cultural diversity, financial supports, mentorship, and
greater tribal involvement with institutes of higher education and PK-12, including middle
and high schools
6. Fann, A. (2004). Forgotten students: American Indian high school students' narratives on college
going. Retrieved from
http://www2.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs/oieresearch/conference/fann_200504.pdf.
 Study
 Suggests 6 major factors in a students’ decision to attend college and graduate: 1) leaving
the reservation, 2) family influences, 3) school influences, 4) college preparation and
negotiation, 5) tribal support, and 6) outreach programs
7. Hollow, W. B., Patterson, D. G., Olson, P. M., & Baldwin, L. (2004). American Indians and Alaska
Natives: How do they find their path to medical school? Working Paper #86. Seattle, WA:
WWAMI Rural Health Research Center, University of Washington.
 Report
 Discusses the lack of AI/AN physicians and supports to increase those numbers
 Suggests several key supports including mentoring, providing access to role models, working
with student groups like the University of Michigan American Indian Science and
Engineering Society, and others (p. 6)
 Reviews the barriers students often cite in deciding not to pursue a career in the health field
including financial barriers, their own experiences with medicine, and a fear of stress
resulting from feeling torn between two worlds (p. 7)
8. Katz, J. R., Oneal, G., & Paul, R. (2011). “I don’t know if I can make it”: Native American students
considering college and career. Online Journal of Cultural Competence in Nursing and
Healthcare, 1(4), 11-26.
 Article
 Discusses the lack of AI/AN students entering the nursing profession
AI/AN Literature Summary 12
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Reveals that students feel they need emotional and financial support, are uncertain about
nursing, and concerned about racism and family obligations
Suggests the need for role models, recruitment strategies starting during early adolescence,
and ongoing cultural support
Supporting Positive School Climate and Community Involvement
The consistent involvement of community and tribal
leadership in school governance decisions is a key to
supporting AI/AN students. Students often discuss the lack
of community involvement in their schools environment as a
hindrance to their education. Spier, Garibaldi, & Osher
(2012) share student interviews that suggest that adult to
student relationships and environments that promote strong
peer relationships help students to succeed academically.
They also reveal that Alaska Native students are more likely
to cite a lack of resources in their school as leading to a
negative school environment.
This section offers resources that highlight the importance of strong relationships between schools and
community members and tribal leadership and the importance of safe, nurturing and responsive school
environments. The National Indian Education Association promotes many ways to strengthen these
relationships and argues for culturally responsive policies to ensure that communities’ needs are not
ignored in educational policy. Quinones & Yazzie (2011) suggest that partnerships must include schools,
tribal and civic leaders, and cultural centers and be open to hearing the voice of all community
members. Adding to the discussion, Villegas & Prieto posit that schools must “reflect community
values” (p. 5). For Reed (2007) and others, getting Native teachers into the schools in leadership roles is
one way to increase community involvement in school governance. All of these resources point to the
role of culturally-sensitive school programs and school governments that involve tribal voices and offer
change from within the community, as Boyer (2006) suggests, not change from the outside.
Resources
1. Spier, E., Garibaldi, M., & Osher, D. (2012). Alaskan schools: What matters to students? San
Mateo, CA: American Institutes for Research.
 Report sharing results from focus groups and interviews
 Discusses the findings of research into the relationship between school climates and student
academic engagement for Alaska students, including Alaska Native students and others and
explores the relevance of the School Climate and Connectedness Survey (SCCS) as a data
collection tool
 Shares that Alaska Native students show the highest positive school climate rankings, but
have the lowest graduation rates (p. 1)
AI/AN Literature Summary 13
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Posits that in schools where 50% or greater of the population are students of color students’
reported perceptions of the school climate do not correlate to achievement (p. 2)
Focuses on several key areas of the school environment: a) supportive adult-student
relationships, b) strong relationships among students, c) academics and pedagogy, d) overall
school environment, and e) resources and activities
Reports that high school students are more focused than middle school students on strong
and mutually-respectful adult-student relationships (p. 9) and that engaged students are
more focused on the positive capability of relationships with peers than disengaged
students (p. 11)
Posits that high school students are more focused on the big picture than middle school
students whose concerns were often directed more at peer relationships (p. 46)
Shares that Alaska Native students perceived positive school climate attributes including a
diverse student population, a school that could be a safe haven, opportunities to develop
positive attitudes, and to learn about themselves and negative school climate attributes
including a lack of student and parent voice in decisions, unfair policies, the acceptance of
stereotypes, and the presence of drugs or alcohol (p. 20)
Reports that Alaska Native students are more likely to mention lack of resources as a
concern about school climate, including school security, physical comfort, transportation,
textbooks, access to water fountains, extracurricular activities, and building repairs (p. 24)
Offers that Alaska Native students put a greater focus on peer climate (p. 30)
Offers that “[L]ooking to their futures, students believed that school was a place where they
would want to be if they were given opportunities to develop goals, to learn about different
vocations, and to learn how to live a healthy life” (p. 12-13)
2. Quinones, A., & Yazzie-Mintz, T. (2011). Counting experience among the least counted: The role
of cultural and community engagement on educational outcomes for American Indian, Alaska
Native, and Native Hawaiian Students. American Indian Culture and Research Journal, 35(3),
119-150.
 Article
 Discusses the relationship between families, cultural experiences, and academic success
 Suggests that strengthening ties between communities, cultural centers and leaders, and
schools could positively impact educational attainment for AI/AN students
3. Villegas, M., & Prieto, R. (2006). Alaska Native student vitality: Community perspectives on
supporting student success. Anchorage, AK: University of Alaska Institute for Social and
Economic Research and Alaska Native Policy Center at First Alaskans Institute.
 Report
 Relates the findings from interviews with 45 Alaska Native leaders, legislators, state officials,
school district staff, and community members
 Offers the definition that “a successful Alaska Native student is one who can set and achieve
goals because he knows his own worth and value, understands his responsibility to his
community, and is prepared to pursue whatever life path he chooses” (p. 4)
 Argues that schools must work with communities to set meaningful goals
 Discusses the interdependence of individual and community success for many Alaska Native
students (p. 4)
AI/AN Literature Summary 14



Suggests that it should be the work of schools to “reflect community values, to support
individual student learning needs, and to work in partnership with communities” (p. 5)
Posits that effective schools are staffed by local, Native teachers with access to culturallyrelevant supports, create positive learning environments, and utilize culturally-relevant
curriculum (p. 26-34)
Argues that Alaska Native communities and students must play a key role in defining
measures of success (p. 35)
4. Boyer, P. (2006). Building Community: Reforming Math and Science Education in Rural Schools.
Fairbanks, AK: University of Alaska Fairbanks. Retrieved from
http://www.ankn.uaf.edu/publications/building_community.pdf
 Book/Report
 Reports on the results of the National Science Foundation’s Rural Systemic Initiative (RSI) to
promote greater math and science achievement in rural areas
 Recognizes that past educational reform efforts had not acknowledged the pride and strong
sense of belonging often found in rural communities and bases its philosophy on promoting
change from within communities rather than imposing change on communities from the
outside (p. 1-6)
 Details the Alaska RSI which established culturally-grounded curriculum and pedagogy
where math and science education reflects the “knowledge, values, and wisdom of
traditional Alaska Native culture” (p. 10)
 Offers that the RSI established a systemic approach for change by bringing together tribal
leaders, school boards, the University of Alaska and the State of Alaska entities to create
cultural standards used in teacher preparation and classroom teaching, as well as to support
the creation and funding of other programs including cultural camps for middle and high
school students, and K-5 language and cultural immersion classes; the main emphasis of
these being that Western concepts and Native knowledge can assist in creating more
understanding in medicine, resource management, meteorology, biology, human behavior
and educational practice and these have resulted in documented increases in math
performance among Alaska Native 8th graders (p. 13 – 21)
 Details the Tribal College RSI which uses a regional approach by giving each of the
participating tribes control over their own efforts while capitalizing on one institution, the
Turtle Mountain College of North Dakota, as an administrator for the initiative and describes
the goal of this RSI as fostering academic excellence (as measured by retention and test
scores) through culture; posits that though distrust remains between non-Natives and
Natives, with the tribal college as a leading agent of change and through various small
projects, this RSI helped to foster communication between tribal schools and established
tribes’ rights to participate in the educational efforts of tribal students (p. 79 – 92)
 Profiles additional projects in Indian Country on p. 93 – 96 and offers specific lessons
learned from the four main RSI projects on p. 101 – 118 in order to advocate for three
strategies: 1) developing teacher leadership; 2) engaging the community; and 3) making a
place-based foundation for the curriculum
5. Reed, K. (2007). Mentoring American Indian middle school students to consider teaching as a
career. Middle School Journal, 38(3), 25-33.
 Article
AI/AN Literature Summary 15

Discusses a program aimed at AI middle school students to promote the exploration of
teaching as a career
6. National Indian Education Association (2011). Restoring the trust in Native education. Retrieved
from http://www.niea.org/data/files/policy/2011lsbriefingpapers.pdf
 Brief
 Calls for the use of culturally responsive policies and practices in order to build capacity and
support for Native children and families that build on their heritage, language, culture, and
Native ways of knowing (page 2)
Supporting School Improvement and Organization
Many AI/AN students attend public schools, many of which
are in need of improvement and reorganization in curriculum,
pedagogy, and additional support and training for teachers.
With this in mind, we have gathered a collection of resources
that speak to these issues and demonstrate the need for
systemic school reform.
This section describes programs that vary in form from a large
online tool that provides access to curricula, teacher
resources, documents aimed at educating the greater
community about Alaska Natives, and many other resources,
to specific programs aimed at identifying and supporting
gifted AI/AN students (Gentry & Fugute, 2012). We offer resources studying the use of blended
education to engage students and promote career goal awareness (Locatis, Gaines, Wei-Li, & Gill, 2009)
and a study of the Succeeding in Schools online tool to help students understand and reflect on
academic achievement (Zyrmoski, Bryant, Deese, & Gerler (2008). In addition, we have included
resources discussing the role of mentoring and the potential for rigorous Native language studies to
promote student growth.
Resources
1. University of Alaska, Fairbanks. Alaska Native Knowledge Network. Retrieved from
http://ankn.uaf.edu/index.html
 Website from the Alaska Rural Systemic Initiative
 Offers a vast array of resources including curriculum resources, Native education
associations, cultural atlases and talking maps, cultural resources, and publications
 Presents Alaska Native ways of knowing and knowledge systems in an integrated system of
learning. It is established to assist Native people, government agencies, educators and the
general public in gaining access to the knowledge base that Alaska Natives have acquired
through cumulative experience over millennia.
AI/AN Literature Summary 16
2. Gentry, M., & Fugate, M. (2012). Gifted Native American students: Underperforming,
underidentified, and overlooked. Psychology in the Schools, 49(7), 631-46.
 Article
 Explains that the term American Indian student can signify students from many distinct
cultures
 Discusses the case study of a program on a Dine (Navajo) Nation community aimed at gifted
students within a reservation
 Argues for culturally specific programs to identify and support gifted students, especially
during the transition to high school
 Discusses peer groups, motivations, student teacher relationships, and student school
relationships
3. Locatis, C., Gaines, C., Wei-Li, L, & Gill, M. (2009). Extending a blended education programme to
Native American high school students in Alaska. Journal of Visual Communication in Medicine,
32(1), 8-13.
 Article
 Discusses the U.S. National Library of Medicine’s blended education program directed at
interaction with high school students
 Describes how the program uses two way interactive videos to allow AN students access to
classes, lectures, and projects
4. Zyromski, B., Bryant, Jr., A., Deese, B., & Gerler, Jr. E. (2008). Succeeding in school: A qualitative
study of primarily American Indian students’ use of an online intervention. Professional School
Counseling, 12(2), 119-22.
 Article
 Discusses the Succeeding in School (SIS) program where students identify and reflect on
academic and career success using online interactive tools
5. Smith, B. L., Stumpf, L. M., & Cole, R. (2012). Engaging students from underrepresented
populations: The Enduring Legacies Native Case Initiative. Journal of College Science Teaching,
41(4), 61-8.
 Article
 Explores the use of case studies in engaging students
 Suggests that case studies can “open up avenues for connecting our colleges and our
curriculum to the larger community” (p. 68)
 Encourages bilingual Education
6. McCarty, T., and Wiley Snell, A. (2011). The role of Native languages and cultures in American
Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian student achievement. Policy brief for the Promising
Practices and Partnerships in Indian Education (P3IE) Program Evaluation Group. Retrieved from
http://center-for-indian-education.asu.edu/sites/center-for-indianeducation.asu.edu/files/McCarty,%20Role%20of%20Native%20Lgs%20&%20Cults%20in%20AIAN-NH%20Student%20Achievement%20%5B2%5D%20%28071511%29.pdf.
 Policy Brief
AI/AN Literature Summary 17

Argues that rigorous and ongoing study of a students’ Native language(s) leads to increased
academic achievement on multiple measures and enhanced motivation, self-esteem, and
ethnic pride (p. 14-5)
7. Hall, M. (2007). Mentoring the natural way: Native American approaches to education.
Reclaiming Children and Youth, 16(1), 14-16.
 Article
 Discusses lifelong mentoring employing the teacher in a facilitator role and its positive
impact on educational attainment
Next Steps
As we offer these resources for your consideration, we encourage you to consider what ideas have
come to you regarding direct actions you can take in your local schools, with AI/AN students within your
community or tribe, and within your tribal community? Many of the resources here advocate for
working across systems and using resources including people, programs, and knowledge-bases. Which
resources seem most useful? How might you use these resources to support the education of your
youth?
AI/AN Literature Summary 18
[NOTE TO READERS: The following quotations will be inserted throughout the document in pull-out
boxes.]
Considerations
We would like to leave you with these visions of student success as discussed by tribal leaders within the
resources we have offered:
For a Native community, educational success would mean that the sons and daughters
of the community would be qualified to fulfill the full range of administrative and
professional functions the community needs – administrators, accountants, teachers,
doctors, nurses, dentists, lawyers, judges, engineers, entrepreneurs, scientists,
researchers … whatever the people need … while retaining their cultural awareness and
identity (CHiXapkaid et al., 2011, p. 8).
Native students must learn, at an early age, to navigate between two systems: school
and tribal community. Our native students have long had to be much more adaptable
than others, and have often been exposed to 2 different value systems that are not
always compatible. In my experience, many native students are motivated by helping
their community, friends and families – this is important. (CHiXapkaid et al., 2011, p.
14).
…for me if I look out at the Alaska Native community…the ones that I see as the most
successful are those who are holding onto that culture and tradition, but more than
that, that are actually practicing our way of life. By that I mean carrying that traditional
wisdom and traditional understandings and actually living them, not just being able to
talk about them, but actually being the ones who give the most; being the ones who
help out the Elders and are telling the stories and are learning the songs …if a hundred
years from now all of our people have $100K a year jobs and their own vehicles, but
they don’t know our language anymore, they don’t know our songs, they can’t eat our
foods because they’re too polluted, and the land has been too devastated and they
don’t know who they are—their clans, their tribes—and where they’re coming from, I
said, I will have considered myself as a leader a failure for my people. So to me, success
has everything to me, really for me on a deeper level, coming to an understanding of
what it means to be a human being. What it means to walk on this earth, as part of
creation and how to walk with respect for all of our relations; not only other human
beings, but also the land, the spirits and all those things, and if we can walk in that way,
then that is a successful human being (Villegas & Prieto, 2006, p. 15-16).
We also offer student backgrounds and experiences as they apply their educational experiences to their
tribal communities through the support of various American Indian College Fund Scholarships:
AI/AN Literature Summary 19
Jeff
Lummi
Jeff worked as a summer intern with the Lummi tribe’s natural resources department
after he completed an associate’s degree at Northwest Indian College’s main campus.
He is now seeking a bachelor’s degree in environmental science. Jeff hopes to use his
knowledge and degree to pursue graduate work in law or marine biology. (American
Indian College Fund, “Success Stories” retrieved from
http://www.collegefund.org/success_stories/detail/56/10)
Randy
Tulalip
A member of the Tulalip nation, Randy is fascinated by legal and business issues, and
plans to study law to become a tribal lawyer specializing in fishing rights.
Randy is no stranger to the legal realm. His family owns a tract of land that many would
like to develop. But in keeping with the Indian way, Randy does not want to sell to
develop “just anything. It's not about money. It's about making the right decision for the
future.” He and his family are considering developing the land for educational or health
care purposes. (American Indian College Fund, “Success Stories” retrieved from
http://www.collegefund.org/success_stories/detail/34/30).
Beau
Chippewa Cree
Beau grew up on the Rocky Boy Reservation in Montana. There he entered Stone Child
College in 1996 and graduated in 1998 with an associate's degree in science.
…He says that his life story might have been quite different without a college degree.
“Looking back, that was a vital time in my life that helped shape me into the person I am
today. I also received the science student of the year award from my tribal college,
sponsored by the American Indian Higher Education Consortium and the American
Indian College Fund. This recognition helped fuel my motivation to pursue a STEM
(science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) career.”
After earning his degree, Beau returned to the tribal college world to share his
knowledge. In 2009 he joined the College of Menominee Nation’s Sustainable
Development Institute in Wisconsin where he works as the sustainability coordinator.
Prior to joining the College of Menominee Nation, Beau had a variety of experience in
environmental resources. He worked in the water resources department with his tribe
at Rocky Boy; for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, for his tribe in conjunction
with the Department of Homeland Security for disaster preparedness; and with the
Federal Emergency Management Agency after Hurricane Katrina to provide planning for
the Gulf communities in need.
After gaining experience in his field, Beau continued his education at the University of
Wisconsin in Green Bay, where he earned a bachelor’s degree. Subsequently he put his
interest in environmental issues to work in the biofuels industry…“The Sustainability
AI/AN Literature Summary 20
Institute was hiring," Beau says. “It seemed like a perfect fit for me with my background
in environmental protection, hazardous waste mitigation, building sustainable
communities, and energy development…I also love teaching and working with students,
giving them hands-on learning opportunities, and helping them forge contacts.”
The institute was founded alongside the College of Menominee Nation 18 years ago, to
provide research and innovative activities to the Menominee Nation surrounding
sustainable forestry practices, health and wellness, and Native ways of knowing. A wide
variety of students from the tribal college complete internships there with Beau’s
guidance. “They come from varied backgrounds, including the skilled trades, nursing,
and business” (American Indian College Fund, “Success Stories” retrieved from
http://www.collegefund.org/success_stories/detail/50).
AI/AN Literature Summary 21
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AI/AN Literature Summary 22
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AI/AN Literature Summary 24
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AI/AN Literature Summary 25