Hierarchies of Knowledge and Decolonizing the Higher Education System

by Faith Wood ‘24.5

I first want to introduce myself. My name is Faith Wood, and I am a student at Middlebury College who benefits from white privilege. I have not had to face the struggles Indigenous people have, and do not wish to speak on behalf of the Abenaki or any other Indigenous communities.

College has long been deemed the unequivocal path to success in the United States: the place where knowledge is expounded upon and bolstered. It is the vessel with which to become both financially and emotionally stable. After all, receiving a college degree is correlated with greater job satisfaction, higher employment rates, and a larger salary (Solman). Thus, the gross underrepresentation of Native American students in colleges is an indicator of deep structural inequity–inequity that can make Indigenous people feel rejected and unsafe within their own schools and perpetuates a vicious cycle of impoverishment. However, in order to get to the heart of the issue, one must look beyond just the barriers between Indigenous people and a college education by deconstructing the governing assumptions that assign different forms of knowledge value in the first place.

In her book Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer recounts when she, as a member of the Potawatomi Nation, spoke to her college advisor for the first time. When asked why she wanted to major in botany, she replied that she wanted “to learn why asters and goldenrod look so beautiful together.” He responded with, “Miss Wall, I must tell you that is not science. That is not at all the sort of thing with which botanists concern themselves. I’ll enroll you in general botany so you can learn what it is” (Kimmerer 54).

At first, this conversation may seem rather unremarkable. A seemingly naive, young girl, unaware of the way science and education work, is guided by her older and wiser counselor on what classes to take. No harm is done. However, Kimmerer goes on to explain that asters and goldenrod look beautiful together because purple and yellow are complementary colors, not only to the human eye, but also to other living creatures. In being close to one another, asters and goldenrod both attract far more pollinators than either would on their own. This is exactly the sort of thing botanists should concern themselves with. This Indigenous perspective vastly alters the dynamics of the conversation. Now, the advisor’s words come off embittered and narrow-minded, ignorant of the wealth of knowledge people who have different ways of learning and observing the natural world have to share.

Due to the colonization of educational spheres, the belittling of Indigenous forms of knowledge and knowledge acquisition is not at all uncommon. Hundreds of years ago, European settlers came to Turtle Island to conquer and decimate, to establish authority over not only the land, but its original inhabitants as well. In doing so, Indigenous ideologies and wisdom were also discredited.

This legacy continues even today. “Western systems of knowledge in agriculture and medicine were designed as the only scientific systems,” says Dr. Vandana Shiva, author of Indigenous Knowledges in Global Contexts: Multiple Readings of Our World. “Indigenous systems were defined as inferior, and in fact as unscientific” (Shiva vii). In response to these alternative perspectives, the educational system is quick to establish a hierarchy of knowledge in which white men in lab coats hold the ultimate authority and Indigenous people who turn the soil with their own hands are simply “uneducated.” Not understanding and not wanting to understand other forms of knowledge acquisition is ingrained in the way the US higher education system was built.

Despite college graduates earning far more on average and being much more satisfied with their jobs, Native Americans have the lowest enrollment, retention, and graduation rates in university of any other ethnic group, with only 14.5% of Native Americans graduating with a bachelor’s degree (US Census Bureau, Liu). This low rate is first and foremost caused by significant barriers to Indigenous enrollment and retention in college. Many of these issues start long before college is even considered. According to Teach for America, 90 percent of Native students attend public elementary, middle, and high schools, where they are grossly underrepresented, making up a mere one percent of the overall enrollment. These students often “report feeling invisible, and don’t see their identities, cultures, and languages reflected in their teachers, textbooks, and school activities” (Zingg). This cultural difference persists into college, where not only “the overall campus climate, but also curriculum, pedagogical practices, and extracurricular opportunities” are dramatically different from their homes (McKinley). Being marginalized and misunderstood alone can be enough to discourage success in school, but there are many other factors keeping students from succeeding in high school and beyond. Oftentimes, Indigenous students lack guidance on standardized tests, college application processes, and admissions in colleges, which is a significant factor in whether or not they will be accepted into college (Zingg).

Financial restraints are also a major obstacle for Indigenous youth going to college. Over 26% of Native Americans live below the poverty line, the highest of any racial demographic (US Census Bureau). The median income of a single race Native American or Alaskan Native household was $39,317 in 2016, as opposed to the national average of $57,617. When the national average cost of tuition for a private college is $35,087 a year, paying for college simply is not a possibility. Even at the lower cost of $9,687, public universities present a particular financial burden for Indigenous communities in the US (Powell). Even though it would be fiscally beneficial to receive a college education in the long term, people from low-income families often cannot afford to think long term. They need to think about today and how they will support themselves and their families. This dilemma perpetuates a vicious cycle where privileged people accumulate more wealth, and those with less are stuck in poverty.

When thinking about these issues, it can be easy to sensationalize the problem, and put it upon white folk to make sure members of the Indigenous community become “educated.” However, “educated” can mean many different things. In “Fighting A Different Battle: Challenges Facing American Indians in Higher Education,” Harrington urges Indigenous communities to take swift action, “[encouraging Indigenous] students to plan for college and participate in preparatory curricula [as early as elementary and secondary school]” (2). While it is imperative that Native American people who want to pursue higher education within the settler’s education system are given the resources to do so, assuming that getting a college education is the only way to be educated, make an impact on the world, or pass on valuable information to future generations is feeding into the systems that have oppressed and marginalized Indigenous communities since European arrival.

In “Promoting Indigenous Sovereignty Through Education,” Zingg points out that the education goals of Indigenous people should be their own, not forced upon them. Educational sovereignty is vital to the sustenance of Native tradition. In Phil Over’s words, “We will not persist if we let other people who aren’t us tell us what the most valuable knowledge is to carry forward to the next generation” (Zingg). Quinton Roman Nose, executive director of the Tribal Education Departments National Assembly, adds to Over’s idea, saying, “Tribes were not waiting on the shores of the Atlantic for Columbus to bring us education. We have always had our own means to provide instruction and education to our tribes” (Zingg). After all, institutions of higher education were not built for Indigenous people, and the barriers keeping them from succeeding in these systems were designed with intention. By expecting Indigenous people to acclimate to our systems of educating, we are no better than Robin Wall Kimmerer’s advisor, degrading and ignoring Indigenous wisdom while placing our own on a pedestal.

In standing up for their knowledge from generation to generation, Indigenous communities practice a project Linda Tuhiwai Smith calls “discovering,” or paying attention to and honoring their ways of scientific thought as valid, even in the midst of the dominant culture’s invalidation (160). As Kimmerer describes it, Indigenous wisdom is “a science deeper than data” (263). To resist the wave of colonial pressure to conform and play within the rigged systems it has set up is a testament to Indigenous strength and assurance. The system is founded in a way that makes it very difficult for Indigenous people to thrive financially and work high-paying jobs without sacrificing much of their own beliefs, or struggling through an education system that excludes and marginalizes them. However, Indigenous people should not have to sacrifice their own livelihood and satisfaction to stay true to their culture.

Thus, we must create space for all Indigenous people to thrive and acquire knowledge, whether or not that be through college. If we are to decolonize our higher education systems, and work to create opportunities for Indigenous people who want to go to university to feel safe there, white people must detach from their colonialist perspective and listen to the voices of Indigenous people. Even if we are trying to be equitable and do what is best for Indigenous communities, it is always better to listen and support, rather than think we know best and act without guidance from Indigenous peoples. As Chief Don Stevens of the Nulhegan Abenaki tribe says, “the actions you make affect the people that you are trying to protect, so talk to those people” (Don Stevens).

We must go beyond just land acknowledgements and theoretical conversation. We must begin to value Indigenous knowledge and support Indigenous projects and endeavors financially. We must begin to recruit indigenous faculty and staff, reform the classes taught at university and how they are taught, and carve out a space that is “steeped in Native culture and tradition” (Zingg). Since the higher education system is so inextricably tied with its colonial past and capitalist present, decolonizing the education system “cannot be a standalone act. Rather, it would likely require dismantling the colonial nation-state and capitalist system, and require that non-Indigenous people reimagine and reconstruct how we have been socialized to think about and engage knowledge, relationships, gender expression, labor, the environment, property rights, governance — in short, nearly everything about our existence on these lands” (Stein). We cannot look at statistical data representing Indigenous communities education levels and think there is some easy fix that will make us look more diverse and inclusive. In order to foster a system where Indigenous people have sovereignty over their own education, we must rethink everything.

Works Cited

“American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month: November 2017.” The United States Census Bureau, 29 Oct. 2018, www.census.gov/newsroom/facts-for-features/2017/aian-month.html.

Chief Don Stevens. Class interview. March 2021.

Harrington, Charles F. and Harrington, Billie G. (2012) “Fighting a Different Battle: Challenges Facing American Indians in Higher Education,” Journal of Indigenous Research: Vol. 1 : Iss. 1 , Article 4. DOI: https://doi.org/10.26077/mdvr-8w97

Kimmerer, Robin Wall. Braiding Sweetgrass. Tantor Media, Inc., 2016.

Liu, X., Thomas, S. & Zhang, L. College Quality, Earnings, and Job Satisfaction: Evidence from Recent College Graduates. J Labor Res 31, 183–201 (2010).

McKinley, Bryan. “Indigenous People’s in Higher Education.” Journal of America Indian Education. Vol. 54, No. 1 (Spring 2015), pp. 154-186 (33 pages) Web.

Shiva, Vandana. “Indigenous Knowledges in Global Contexts.” Google Books, University of Toronoto Press Inc, 2000.

Stein, Sharon. “So You Want to Decolonize Higher Education? Necessary Conversations for Non-Indigenous People.” Medium, Medium, 9 Feb. 2019, medium.com/@educationotherwise/https-medium-com-educationotherwise-so-you-want-to-decolonize-higher-education-4a7370d64955.

Smith, Linda Tuhiwai. Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. Zed Books, 2016.

Solman, Lewis C. “New Findings on the Links between College Education and Work.” Higher Education, vol. 10, no. 6, 1981, pp. 615–648. JSTOR. Accessed 21 May 2021. 10, no. 6, 1981, pp. 615–648. JSTOR/ Accessed 21 May 2021.

Zingg, Laura. “Promoting Indigenous Sovereignty Through Education.” Teach For America, 31 Oct. 2019.