Beyond the Asterisk

While the number of Native Americans attending post-secondary institutions continues to rise, Native Americans remain one of the least represented and least understood populations in our colleges and universities. The lack of knowledge about, and understanding of this particular population may be attributed to its invisibility within the academy, and generally in research on higher education. Native Americans are often excluded from data reporting and research on college students, relegated to an asterisk denoting the population as statistically insignificant. This book provides the higher education community with a solid foundation for responding to the needs not only of these students, but also renders visible all Native Americans on campus, including faculty, and staff. This book moves beyond the asterisk to provide important insights from Native American higher education leaders and non-Native practitioners who have made Native students a priority in their work. While predominantly addressed to the student affairs profession providing an understanding of the needs of the Native students it serves, describing the multi-faceted and unique issues, characteristics and experiences of this population, and sharing proven approaches to developing appropriate services it also covers issues of broader administrative concern, such as collaboration with tribal colleges; as well academic issues, such as graduate and professional education. The book covers new material, as well as expanding on topics previously addressed in the literature, including Native American Greek organizations, incorporating Native culture into student programming, and the role of Native American Special Advisors. The contributors are themselves products of colleges and universities where Native students are too often invisible, and who succeeded despite the odds. Their insights and the examples they provide add richness to this book. It aims to provide a catalyst for new higher education practices that lead to direct, and increased support for, Native Americans and others who are working to remove the Native American asterisk from research and practice.