ANS 420

My instructor for AK Native Ways of Knowing posed some questions for us to discuss this week and this is what I came up with. I thought it fitting since all of us can relate in some way or another...
Unfortunately I feel like the expectations set for Native American or Alaska Native students within university environments are not as lofty as those set for non-natives with the reasoning behind these low expectations being that we are seen as not as capable. Deloria mentions that for Indians, Higher Education was only “higher” for Indians because it was “thought to be higher than the knowledge and experiences that Indians brought from their homes and communities” (133). Noel spoke of Native students being made to fit a mold and I think that is a major problem for them. I have witnessed native classmates who seem to be overlooked in class because, when they do speak, it is not quite what the instructor expected or wanted. The struggle begins with the underlying assumption that, although we are all free to interpret and use our education in any way we see fit, there is still the notion that there is a definite idea that we will all arrive at when we reach the conclusions of our educational careers. Our goals and expectations are pushed aside in favor of more socially and widely accepted standards; the goals of the larger population of non-natives are imposed upon us and we are taught that it is strange that we are not desperate to achieve these same objectives.

I would assume that for Native and non-Natives students, the costs of pursuing degrees in higher education are alike in many ways. Our bank accounts, social lives, sleep patterns, are all altered in some way or another, some more than others. The only difference that I see, however, is not unique to Native students. Yes, there is often a sense of not belonging upon return to their hometown/village/reservation, but many small, town non-natives have probably felt the same way. Sacrifices are made in our lifestyles, both traditional and/or modern. We’re sad because we cannot participate in the spring or fall hunts, but that is only temporary because, assuming we return to these places following graduation, we will be able to resume those activities. I never have led a subsistence lifestyle, but I can tell you that I did sacrifice a steady, nicely-rounded paycheck in favor of my education. That paycheck fed me just as subsistence lifestyles feed others. Like I said before, I hope that I can return to that lifestyle after college, but it is up to me. We all experience costs and I think it is difficult to spread those costs out on the table without attaching some sort of emotional weight to it. When that happens we start to measure our costs against the costs incurred by others and that never turns out well.