Native American Studies
Permanent URI for this communityhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/51
The Department of Native American Studies was established to provide and advance quality education for and about American Indians of Montana, the region, and the nation. In fulfilling this mission, the Department is committed to meet the changing needs of Montana's Indian tribes and all Montana citizens through excellence in teaching, research, and service. In its academic program, the department provides concentrated study through an undergraduate minor, the first online graduate certificate in Native American Studies offered, and a Master of Arts degree in Native American Studies. Students in any major can also gain a multicultural perspective through NAS offerings in the University's core curriculum. The Department, through its research and other creative efforts, actively pursues interdisciplinary scholarship in the field of Native American Studies.
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Item A study of Crow reservation-oriented college students who attended baccalaureate degree offering colleges from 1965 to 1990(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2002) Enemy Hunter, LukeItem The first semester experiences of American Indian transfer students(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2000) Dell, Cindy AnnItem A Chippewa Cree student's college experience : factors affecting persistence(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2009) Drummer, Kadene Sue; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Marilyn Lockhart; Betsy Palmer (co-chair)Educators working with Chippewa Cree students need to understand how the students' precollege experiences, college experiences, and cultural backgrounds influence their success in higher education in order to design learning environments, procedures, and policies that will increase the graduation rate of this population. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to explore factors that help or hinder successful completion of a bachelor's degree by students from the Chippewa Cree Tribe. Data was collected in face-to-face interviews using a peer-reviewed interview protocol consisting of open-ended questions for graduates and student services personnel determined by the concepts identified after examination of related literature. Thirty graduates from the Chippewa Cree Tribe and 5 student services personnel from two state colleges in Montana were interviewed. Factors that the graduates found most relevant to their success were family, personal goal, friends, institutional support, and academic preparation. The greatest obstacles they reported were finances, loneliness, commuting, life responsibilities, discouragement, unpreparedness for college work, lack of study skills, and lack of time-management skills. Suggestions to improve the graduation rate for new students included persistence, responsibility, preparation for the transition from high school to college, time management, willingness to leave their comfort zone and develop their social skills, study skills, class attendance, willingness to ask for help, lack of discouragement, academic preparedness, and completion of school work. Recommendations include designing recruiting and retention strategies to meet the specific needs of the Native American student, collaborating with K-12 schools and the community to develop programs that encourage early preparation for college, establishing and advertising Native American centers on campuses, organizing professional development seminars on diversity issues designed to give faculty and staff a safe environment to explore different cultures, encouraging increased faculty-student interactions, creating an advisory committee charged with increasing Native American student retention, recognizing and giving appreciation for success, developing a comprehensive college finance and budgeting workshop that includes the student's whole family, and developing and maintaining an up-to-date data base within the Chippewa Cree Tribe to collect data on educational and cultural issues.Item American Indian women in higher education : is Tinto's model applicable?(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Letters & Science, 2005) Taylor, Franci Lynne; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Walter FlemingHigher education degree completion for American Indians has remained virtually unchanged for the past three decades. American Indians, both female and male, continue to have the lowest percentage of terminal degrees completion of any ethnic population in the United States. Numerous studies have been completed to examine the barriers that prohibit American Indian success at the postsecondary level. However, there remains a lack of critical information concerning the personal experiences of those American Indian females who have persevered and have completed first, an undergraduate degree and then matriculated through the systems to attain a terminal degree. The purpose of this study is to survey a sample of American Indian women who have acquired a terminal degree and elicit their personal perceptions of the process and reasons why they were successful. This study is descriptive in nature and utilizes an analysis of both survey and interview data. A total of 71 women were contacted with 31 survey/interviews being completed for a completion rate of 44%. The battery of questions was divided into two categories. The first category addressed demographic information and academic background, including area of study and dissertation title. The second category assessed personal reflection and their response to various barriers as documented in the Tinto Model, such as investment in traditional American Indian culture, academic, emotional, institutional, economics, committee and other influential people. Conclusions were drawn as to the degree to which these respondents caused a failure to prove the effectiveness of the Tinto Model in predicting success or failure for American Indian women entering the post-secondary system with the desire to attain a terminal degree. The testimony of these successful holders of the terminal degree clearly reveals that many of the barriers identified by Tinto were to their perception strengths that assisted their success.Item A study of the effects of the implementation of small peer led collaborative group learning on students in developmental mathematics courses at a tribal community college(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2010) Hooker, Dianna Dawn Tiahrt; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Elisabeth SwansonCollege students needing remediation in mathematics are a problem at nearly all colleges and universities but are immense at community colleges where large numbers of students enroll in developmental mathematics courses. This issue for Native American students at Tribal Community Colleges has an enormous effect on future opportunities in education, employment, politics and society. The overarching research question was: How does the implementation of small peer-led collaborative learning groups affect students in developmental mathematics courses at the Tribal Community College? To answer this question five sub-questions were addressed. What impact will the treatment have on: 1) completion, 2) perseverance, 3) demonstrated procedures of mathematics, 3) personal skills for success, and 4) the leaders' perceptions of the benefits associated with acting as small peer led collaborative group leader? This research study took place at a small Tribal Community College. The quasi-experimental, mixed methods study involved collection and analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data. The treatment class consisted of having the students work together on a workshop activity designed to be engaging, challenging and relevant for one class period each week in small peer-led collaborative learning groups. Peer leaders were chosen according to predetermined criteria. The peer leaders were trained to help guide the group in the direction of a solution and to help the group learn how to collaborate to achieve the best results. The control class was given the same workshop activity to work on, but not encouraged to work together nor assisted by a peer leader. Results of this research study show increased completion and perseverance rates. Students participating in the small peer-led collaborative groups were more likely to attempt mathematics. The attitude toward mathematics was the most drastic change; students now look forward to attending their mathematics class and spend more time out of class doing mathematics. Group leaders gained personal, academic and leadership skills. Detailed descriptions of the results are given. In conclusion, implications of the findings and how they may be used are provided for mathematics instructors, administrators and student support personnel are offered. Recommendations for further research are also suggested.Item Exploring the educational histories, perceptions, and experiences of successful educators of Native American students : a multiple case study(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2011) Silva, Dawn Elizabeth; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Betsy PalmerNative American education has gone through many phases from the assimilation practices of removing Native children from their homes, family, and culture all the way up to Native Language Immersion schools where the curriculum is taught in both English and the Native tongue. Throughout all the educational changes one thing remains; Native American students are dropping out of school at an alarming rate. In order to improve education for Native students there must be a change in pre-service teacher preparation. The problem addressed in this study is that instructors of pre-service teachers need to understand the educational histories and experiences of successful educators of Native American students in the K-8 environment in order to learn how to better prepare undergraduate education majors. This qualitative multiple case study focused upon effective educators of Native American students. The following questions guided the inquiry: What is the formal educational (academic) history of successful educators of Native American students? What is the informal educational (non-academic) history of successful educators of Native American students? What experiences in their own classrooms have teachers identified as contributing to their success with educating Native American students? This research included a questionnaire and interviews with 32 teachers working in elementary schools located on reservations in Montana. A combination of whole staff focus group and individual in-depth interviews took place. The results of the transcribed and coded interviews were grouped under the main themes which emerged out of the three research questions and a few unique questions asked of the individual interviewees. Out of the four main themes; Effective and Successful Educators of Native American Students, Formal Education, Informal Education, and Classroom experiences, 17 subthemes emerged. The findings resulted in the following recommendations for new teachers of Native Americans: mentors; real life applications and cultural integration; community involvement; relationships; high expectations; self reflection. Also recommendations for Higher Education were presented: new class creation/offering; tribal college collaboration; utilize Native Americans as a resource; include information on teaching in low socioeconomic areas; student teaching/internships on a reservation. My hope is that these recommendations will improve education for Native American students.Item Constructing a model of success for first-year Native American college writers(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2011) Komlos, Barbara Zsuzsanna; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Betsy PalmerThe purpose of this grounded theory study was to explore Native American students' experiences with writing in the first year of college at a public research university and two tribal colleges, exploring in particular what helped them succeed as writers. Individual interviews with students served as the main sources of data and included self-portraits of the students as writers, re-creations of their writing process through a flow-chart activity, and reflections on graded writing assignments. Interviews with faculty and academic support staff provided further insights. Findings are organized around 10 themes that shed light on students' writing experiences and the factors contributing to their success: (1) Definition of Success, (2) Preparation for College Writing, (3) Self-Concept and Identity, (4) Academic Writing Literacy, (5) Feedback and Self-Concept, (6) Effectiveness of Feedback, (7) Facilitating Revision, (8)Writing Resources, (9) Native Communities, (10) Native Culture. A theoretical model is proposed to explain the factors influencing Native American students' academic writing success in their first year of college. Recommendations for practice and future research are also provided.Item The university experience : perspectives of Native American Nurses(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Nursing, 2006) Trenfield-Joyner, Marilyn Gail; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Patricia HolkupNative Americans are subject to unique influences, contributing to health problems that are difficult to treat without culturally appropriate care. The most effective way to improve such care may be to recruit and retain more Native American Nurses. Many authors have written about the complex reasons that Native Americans are not adequately recruited or retained in baccalaureate programs, but few qualitative studies have focused on Native Americans in baccalaureate nursing programs, and few studies have focused on the strengths these students bring to their experience. In this phenomenological study, three indepth interviews were conducted with Native American nurses who had graduated within the past one to three years from a baccalaureate nursing program. Interviews were transcribed and submitted to phenomenological analysis, following the method of A. Giorgi. Results indicated that the nurses belonged to extensive networks of family and tribal members. They were strongly invested in maintaining their emotional bonds and meeting their obligations within these groups, particularly if they had children. Their primary difficulties in nursing school were related to being away from these nurturing groups, and meeting their obligations to them, while also meeting the obligations of school. They relied on cultural and personal strengths that enabled them to achieve their goal. Universities may be able to make relatively simple and inexpensive alterations in their nursing programs in order to ease the struggles of these students, and to enable more Native Americans to complete baccalaureate nursing degrees. Further phenomenological research regarding Native Americans who did not complete their baccalaureate degrees, mainstream nurses who attended school with children, and Native American nurses who attended school without children could add to understanding of the needs of these students, and how best to meet them.Item An analysis of tribal college student's backgrounds, motivations, and attitudes : the relationship to classroom retention(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Education, Health & Human Development, 2006) Thornton, Samuel David; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Betsy PalmerThe purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship exists between students' backgrounds, motivations, and attitudes and their academic successes or failures while enrolled in a single core level general education class at the Blackfeet Community College. The study examined indicators as identified in the literature and as identified through a pilot survey given to students at the Blackfeet Community College. A literature review yielded little research on student classroom retention in tribal colleges. The population for this study was n=113 students enrolled in core level academic courses. These students responded to a survey developed specifically for this study and were subsequently tracked through the semester to determine academic success or failure. The survey responses were then analyzed to determine which student indicators or groups of indicators were indicative of student academic success or failure. The significant findings of this study revealed that students who were academically unsuccessful were less likely to re-enroll in the next year. Specific indicators were identified to suggest that students who had not completed high school or their GED were at-risk. Male students without school-age children are more likely to be academically unsuccessful than female students without school-age children and female students with school-age children are more likely to be academically unsuccessful than male students with school-age children. Also identified as at-risk were students who did not drive themselves to campus.