To the University of Wyoming: The members of the Committee approve the Manuscript that Aldora White Eagle presented on 12/13/2018. Cynthia Brock, Chairperson Caskey Russell, External Department Member R. Timothy Rush Jeffrey Means APPROVED: John Kambutu, Department Head, Curriculum and Instruction Department; D. Ray Reutzel, Dean/ Provost White Eagle, A. (2018). Invisible Me: Viewpoints of Northern Arapaho Early School Leavers, Ed.D., Curriculum and Instruction Department, College of Education Program, December, 2018. Abstract The purpose of this study is to explore the factors which led Northern Arapaho youth to leave public school before completion of high school. Interviews and visits were conducted with three Arapaho participants who did not graduate from high school at the traditional age. Based on the findings, recommendations for interventions to improve retention of Northern Arapaho students in school will be presented. ii INVISIBLE ME: VIEWPOINTS OF NORTHERN ARPAHO EARLY SCHOOL LEAVERS by Aldora White Eagle A Manuscript submitted to the Curriculum and Education Department and the University of Wyoming in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION in CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION Laramie, Wyoming December, 2018 3 COPYRIGHT PAGE © 2018 Aldora White Eagle ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 4 DEDICATION PAGE This work is dedicated to my Arapaho youth and all other Indigenous youth who have inspired me over the years being an educator and administrator and to their families, especially Star Chief, Strong Woman, and Woman Who Remembers. Thank you for your unwavering perseverance. Your success stories will not be overshadowed by disheartening statistics and historic struggle. Thanks for the inspiration, laughter, and tears through this journey; tenéí'eihí- nee (you are all strong). 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, this work would not have been possible without guidance from our Creator, Arapaho way of life, and numerous people I hold dear to my heart. To Dr. Cynthia Brock, whom I truly believe Creator allowed our paths to cross to enable me to finish my life long dream of continuing my education and helping to give back to my Arapaho people. Your unrelenting patience, encouragement, nonjudgement, and support will always be appreciated. Hohou! To Dr. R. Timothy Rush, hee3neenii hohou for helping me find my place and voice in this academic world and life at the University of Wyoming. You would not let me give up and ensured you were here for me through my educational journey to the very end. You have my love and respect and will be forever cherished. Words cannot ever express my sincere gratitude for you! To Dr. Caskey Russell, hohou for all the encouragement, support, and resources. I appreciate the guidance you gave me and our visits in the American Indian Office! To Dr. Jeffrey Means, hohou for agreeing to be on my committee, even at the late stage. Your time to support me is appreciated! To nesiho Uncle Crawford, hohou, biixoo3e3en. Without your wisdom, unconditional love, guidance, and prayers, I would not be able to honor you and our White Eagle family! To Alyson, Kelli, and Martin, I love you dearly. This journey has been one of struggle, loss, and pain! But through it all, you showed your unwavering support and love for me! Jayde, Wynter, and Khyro, my loves, I hope and pray that you stay close to our Arapaho way of life, 6 learn all you can in both our Arapaho and white man’s world and always have that love for one another! Biixoo3e3enee! 7 Historically speaking, we went from being Indians to pagans to savages to hostiles to militants to activists to Native Americans. Its five hundred years later and they still can’t see us. We are still invisible. – John Trudell This research was inspired by a typical day driving in the Wind River country in Wyoming, home to the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone Nations. I am a Northern Arapaho woman, I was an assistant superintendent to a public reservation school, and I was driving from the high school to the middle school. As I drove, I noticed the warm and beautiful day. The magnificent snowcapped Wind River Mountains lay to the west of me and to the north lay the Owl Creeks; the splendor of it all had me in awe and took my mind off of daily worry. As I traveled closer to my destination, my appreciation of the scenic view was distracted by a group of young people visiting and laughing while walking toward the lone grocery store in the community. I questioned why they were not in school, as this was a school day. As I drove closer, I recognized them as students I had taught in the past and who recently had left our high school without graduating. I was jolted back to reality. I felt such sorrow for them and began to think about what options they had for their lives. I asked myself whether they knew the obstacles and implications they faced in life without a high school education. At least one of their relatives, who left school early as well, would go on to commit murder and is currently spending 39 years in prison for her actions. Later that day, as I continued my journey, I came upon another group of young adults walking toward the same grocery store. I recognized them immediately. They too were students who had left high school early. I thought to myself, “this is not and should not be the norm and destiny for our community and Arapaho people.” And I thought of the Crow Tribe’s Chief Plenty Coups, who told his people, “Education is your most powerful weapon, with it, you are the white man’s equal. Without it, you become his victim and so shall you remain.” Applying 8 this wisdom from the past stressed that education is essential to opening opportunities for our Arapaho children in the world today. Then and there, watching my former students aimlessly drift along the Blue Sky Highway, I was inspired to ensure that their stories be heard so their public and higher educational needs will be met. This study explores the causes and challenges of three Northern Arapaho people who left high school before they graduated. The following question guides this investigation: “Why did three of my people become early school leavers?” For me, and for other Native educators and scholars, our research is personal and connected to the past, present, and future of our nations. BACKGROUND During the Wyoming School Improvement Conference in the fall of 2011, the keynote speaker, Dr. Harry Wong, a leader in public education, stressed that we “continue to hear about the percentages of dropouts from mainstream society, Latinos, Hispanics and Black students, but never about Native Americans and they are the ones with the highest dropout rate in the nation.” As an enrolled member of the Northern Arapaho tribe, who has lived and was educated on the reservation, I have seen firsthand the devastation and destruction of lives affected by leaving school early. I am also keenly aware of the effects of poverty and lack of a quality higher education on my community as compared to non-Indian students within the United States. According to the National Center of Education Statistics (2017), the high school completion rates for American Indians are the lowest of all groups sitting at 82% compared to all United States students at 93%. 9 Through my own educational and personal experience, I have come to understand that education is the key to the door out of poverty. Understanding Indian peoples’ descriptions of their educational lives and experiences and building on that knowledge allows them to take ownership in their educational process. This can ultimately lead to prosperity for American Indians. According to Snipp (2004), low levels of education continue to limit employment opportunities for American Indians. Due to low levels of education, economic consequences further generate the cycle of poverty (Anthes, 2008). Northern Arapaho early school leavers face and unintentionally bring substantial economic and social challenges to the community (Butler, Holder, & Hopkins, 2012). With unskilled labor and a high population of an uneducated community, the culture and economy are suffering (Bridgeland, Dilulio, & Morrison, 2006). The median income for the Northern Arapaho on the Wind River Indian Reservation sits at $16,000 (Butler, Holder, & Hopkins, 2012). Forty percent of Northern Arapaho people self-reported leaving high school before receiving their high school diploma (Butler, Holder, & Hopkins, 2012). Social issues multiply with an uneducated population. The cycle of poverty, crime, and other social challenges continue (Burrus & Roberts, 2012). The literature suggests that dropping out is not a spontaneous event, but rather the result of a process that evolves over time (Burrus & Roberts, 2012; Cornell, Gregory, Huang, & Fan, 2013). Reasons specific to American Indian students for leaving school early, include poverty, bullying, chronic absenteeism, multiple frequent transfers between schools/districts, lack of parental support, poor attendance, lack of positive student/teacher relationships, and being “pushed out” (Bridgeland, Dilulio, & Morrison, 2006; Cornell, Gregory, Huang, & Fan, 2013; Deyhle, 1992; Faircloth & Tippeconic, 2010; Reyhner, 1992; Swisher & Hoisch, 1992). 10 Poverty is one of the main predictors of leaving school early. Students living in poverty are five times more likely to drop out of school (Taylor, 2017). The issues in general, are educational related deficiencies caused by poverty which affect student’s cognitively and physically (Taylor, 2017). Specifically, 62% of Northern Arapaho students live in poverty (Butler, Holder, & Hopkins, 2012), which means they lack financial resources necessary to meet their needs, which causes them to lag behind their peers academically (Rehyner, 1992). Bullying also is another predictor of students leaving school early. Students who are bullied in school by their peers become less engaged in school and tend to fall behind in their academics (Cornell, Gregory, Huang, & Fan, X., 2013). Bullying appears to be emerging in the lives of American Indian children, which leads to increased absenteeism and lack of quality education (Focus On, 2011). Unfortunately, there is not any research literature specific to Northern Arapaho students and bullying as a reason to leave school early. Chronic absenteeism is another predictor of leaving school early (Faircloth & Tippeconic, 2010; Focus On, 2011). Students who do not attend school on a regular basis are more likely to fall behind in academics; that makes it difficult for them to “catch up” (Milner, 2015). For many American Indian students, attendance is an issue because many American Indian students live on reservations, which tend to be geographically and economically isolated. This tends to cause bussing and transportation difficulties for students (Faircloth & Tippeconic, 2010). Multiple frequent transfers between schools for students is also a factor for leaving school early. Most schools have differing curriculum and coursework, which can be an obstacle for some students, and can lead to confusion and/or falling behind, especially students who transfer from STEM focused to non-STEM focused schools (Judson, 2014). The frequent 11 transferring of American Indian students results in their falling behind and/or veering off track for graduation (Swisher, & Hoisch, 1992). Lack of parental support is also another reason for students leaving school early. Parents who are not actively involved in the lives of students, particularly their education, do a disservice to their students (Hornby & Lafaele, 2011). Specifically, for American Indian students, American Indian parents tend to have a dark history with the educational system due to the atrocities inflicted on their parents/grandparents during the boarding school era, which haunt them today and prevent them from actively participating in the academic/personal lives of their children (Archuleta, Child, & Lomawaima, 2000). I remember my grandpa telling me that when he was six years old, the tribal police came after him and told his parents that it was time for him to go to school. He remembered crying and running away, making the arduous journey back twenty miles home, only to be picked up by the tribal police and returned to the boarding school. Lack of positive student/teacher relationships is also another factor as to why students leave school early. Positive student/teacher relationships lead students to be more engaged in school and have more positive school experiences (Klem, & Connell, 2004). Specifically, for American Indian students, students felt as though they were discriminated against and were misunderstood. They felt the teachers were uncaring, mean, and insensitive to their home lives and cultural backgrounds (Kitchen, Velasquez, Myers, 2000). In my teaching experience, as the lone American Indian teacher in a public school, one student in particular, who seemed to always be in trouble, was shouting down the hall as he was going to the principal’s office, “All you white teachers need to leave, the only one who cares about us is Ms. White Eagle.” A recently identified factor, “push-out” in early school leavers, places more of the responsibility of students leaving school early on the education system. Students’ academic 12 backgrounds determine whether a student is “pushed out” of school through policies of detention, suspension, and expulsion (Lee & Burkan, 2001). Specifically, according to Faircloth and Tippeconic (2010), American Indian students being pushed out was hastened by difficulties both academically and personally. My study addresses the challenges which led to my participant’s leaving school early. In particular, my study contributes to the extant literature in the following ways. First, I conducted my study, and I am an insider in the culture and community who understands the culture and language of my participants because we share the same linguistic and cultural background. Second, there have never been any studies directly done with Northern Arapaho early school leavers; therefore, this information will add to the literature in the field. And third, my study directly addresses the history of a phenomenon that has not ever been examined with the Northern Arapaho. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK: TRIBAL CRITICAL RACE THEORY WITHIN CRITICAL RACE THEORY Tribal Critical Race Theory (TribalCrit) is derived from Critical Race Theory (CRT) which was developed in the 1970s (Delgado & Stefancic, 2001). CRT emerged from legal scholars exploring racism and its relationship with the law. CRT has expanded and morphed into other fields, such as education, and examines the oppression which minorities face in those fields (Delgado & Stefancic, 2001; Ladson-Billings, 2006). The basic tenets of CRT are as follows: (a) Racism is embedded in everyday society; (b) Whiteness seems the norm which helps to maintain white1 superiority; (c) Race is socially constructed; (d) Current racial practices benefit white 1 For the purposes of my work, I’ve opted to use a lower case “w” for white as a political statement for me to emphasize my Northern Arapaho voice and put less emphasis on the traditional capitalization of the dominant culture. 13 Americans; (e) Identity is complex and not uniform; and (f) Interest convergence relates to the interest of minority people are only served when the interest of white Americans are first served (Delgado & Stefancic, 2001). TribalCrit Derived from Critical Race Theory, the Tribal Critical Race Theory (TribalCrit) “is rooted in the multiple, nuanced, and historically- and geographically- located epistemologies and ontologies found in Indigenous communities” (Brayboy, 2005, p.427). The guiding factor of TribalCrit is to better understand the relationship between American Indians and the federal government. For this purpose, TribalCrit will be used as a theoretical framework to frame the specific needs of American Indians in education and to interpret the findings in my study of early school leavers. The following nine tenets are my interpretations of TribalCrit (Brayboy, 2005): 1) Colonization is pervasive to US society; 2) white dominance, and a desire for material gain, are at the root of US government policies toward Indigenous peoples; 3) Indigenous peoples occupy a liminal space that accounts for both the political and racialized natures of our identities; 4) Indigenous peoples have a desire to obtain and forge tribal sovereignty, tribal autonomy, self-determination, and self-identification; 5) The concepts of culture, knowledge, and power take on new meaning when examined through an Indigenous lens; 6) Governmental and educational policies and goals were aimed to assimilate Indigenous peoples; 14 7) Visions for the future of Indigenous peoples must encompass tribal philosophies, beliefs, customs, and traditions; 8) Oral traditions and stories are real and legitimate sources of Native ways of knowing and being; and 9) Scholars working towards social change and justice need to connect theory and practice within Indigenous communities. While all tenets are important, I applied seven tenets of this theory in my research, and I explain how they apply to my Northern Arapaho people, in general, and my study, in particular. The first tenet of TribalCrit argues that colonization is pervasive to US society. The goal of colonization was to “civilize” American Indians to allow Western society’s ideologies, knowledge, and power structures to pervade the consciousness of American Indians (Brayboy, 2005). American Indian identity becomes indistinct due to the debilitating effects of colonization by trying to conform to a foreign way of life. The assault on Indigenous identity and way of life was a way to subdue Indigenous peoples. A foreign system with foreign expectations allowed for oppression to be common place in American Indian society. Specifically, for the Northern Arapaho, the federal government placed us on a reservation, and took our culture, language, and way of life away from us. We, as Northern Arapaho, are now fighting to revitalize our language and culture by incorporating them back into our educational systems on the reservation. This relates to my study by exposing how colonization of my Northern Arapaho participants lost our cultural and language and how it affected their lives. Second, Indigenous peoples occupy a liminal space that accounts for both the political and racialized natures of our identities. American Indian identity is both political and racial (Brayboy, 2005). American Indians battle for the right to be seen as political entities and not 15 solely as a racial group in American society. Indigenous peoples have occupied this land for generations, but some are not federally recognized even though they have been tribal groups long before their status was ever questioned (Brayboy, 2005). For example, the Pamunkey tribe from Virginia recently established its federal recognition and now has the full benefits and rights as all other federally recognized tribes in the US (Heim, 2016). In contemporary Arapaho life, the State of Wyoming recently adopted the “Indian Education for All, 2017) to ensure that Shoshone and Arapaho histories are incorporated into the state’s curriculum and standards and benchmarks for social studies. This second tenet of TribalCrit relates to the purpose of my study by supporting the fact that perpetuation of stereotyping of Indigenous peoples tolerates the invisibility of American Indians because of media, mascots, and other sources (Shotton, 2017). Third, TribalCrit argues that Indigenous peoples have a desire to obtain tribal sovereignty; tribal autonomy, self-determination, and self-identification. Tribes have a right to make crucial decisions regarding such self-interests as sovereignty, land base, and natural resources (Brayboy, 2005). In order to understand the need for self-determination, one must realize that this tenet rejects the guardian/ward relationship as determined by the Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, 1831 decision, and mandates that tribes control their own affairs. This relates to my study in that Northern Arapaho people were restricted in not being fully able to implement their own self-interest. My study illustrates how three Northern Arapaho people took ownership of their own education and educational decisions. Fourth, the “concepts of culture, knowledge, and power take on new meaning when examined through an Indigenous lens” (Brayboy 2005, p. 429). Examining issues such as culture, knowledge, and power through an Indigenous lens deconstructs dominant ideologies and understandings. For example, in Wyoming, there is a place called Vedauwoo. This word has 16 been mistakenly pronounced and actually is an Arapaho word, biito'owu', which means Mother Earth. The incorrect spelling and use of the word Vedauwoo changes the meaning and perspective which we Arapaho hold dear to us. Correct cultural knowledge ensures that the distinct identity of a tribal group will remain intact. Integrating academic and cultural knowledge empowers tribal people to navigate in both worlds and be successful (Rehyner, 1992). Academic and cultural knowledge are mutually empowering ways to attain social justice by tearing down stereotypes and misunderstandings (Dehyle, 1992). This tenet relates to my study in that by my participants learning our Arapaho way of life, they will be able to pass on knowledge, which otherwise is being lost. Fifth, governmental and educational policies and goals were aimed to assimilate Indigenous peoples. TribalCrit stresses the importance of integrating tribal customs and beliefs of distinct tribes into the educational system. Whereas the goal of early Indian Education policies was to assimilate Indian people into mainstream society and eradicate traditional ways of life, TribalCrit emphasizes the importance of tribal ways of knowing (Brayboy, 2005). Capt. Richard H. Pratt, a veteran of Plains Indian wars, regarding the education of American Indians argued for the following “Kill the Indian, and Save the Man” (Lomawaima, & Ostler, 2018). His goal was to destroy American Indian identity, language, and knowledge and to completely immerse Indians into white culture. Contemporary Indian education must include culturally relevant curriculum as well as learning our Arapaho history, so we can maintain our identity. This tenet relates to my study by recognizing the importance of implementing ways of knowing to revitalize our Arapaho way of life, culture, and identity. Sixth, visions for the future of Indigenous peoples must encompass tribal philosophies, beliefs, customs, and traditions. These ideals are central to the lives of American Indian people. 17 Take for instance the tradition of cooperation. This need is paramount in the success of an individual so that it will ultimately benefit that person’s family and tribe. This is in opposition to the colonial mindset of competition where a tribal member “should be more rooted in individualism” (Brayboy, 2005, p. 438) so she/he may further only him/herself for his/her sole benefit. To note, in many schools, individual competition is valued over cooperation. In the Arapaho way of life, cooperation is treasured, so that we, as a people, are unified (White, personal communication, 2018). This tenet relates to my study due to the fact that by utilizing Arapaho customs may lead to ensuring our Arapaho youth gain the confidence to want to stay in school. Seventh, oral traditions and stories are real and legitimate sources of Native ways of knowing and being. Stories have been passed on orally and have provided ways of knowing and transmitting knowledge. TribalCrit recognizes that story telling is a genuine form of communication and should not be discarded in institutions such as academia. Native stories should not be discredited just because they have not been published and/or cited. This tenet of TribalCrit emphasize that mainstream educational research ignores or silences the voices of minority people, including American Indians (Rogers & Jaime, 2010). This clearly indicates why the stories of Arapaho early school leavers need to be heard. Finally, scholars working towards social change and justice need to connect theory and practice within Indigenous communities. This tenet can “expose structural inequalities and assimilatory processes” (Brayboy, 2005, p. 440). It is vital that research within Indian communities be led by Indian participants so that it may improve the lives of the people directly involved to foster American Indian self-determination and tribal sovereignty (Brayboy, 2005). Therefore, American Indian people need to study American Indian issues in order to bring 18 authentication and avoid misconceptions in critical research, which is what I’ve done in this study. Whereas Critical Race Theory focuses on race, TribalCrit addresses the specific and salient rights of American Indian people. According to TribalCrit, the voices of American Indian students need to be heard in order to better understand the reasons they leave school. METHODS The Indigenous worldview strives to identify Indigenous ways of knowing and incorporate them into research in a respectful manner. Indigenous methodology arose due to misinterpretations and misinformation regarding Indigenous people in academia (Kovach, 2009). To combat these misinterpretations, emerging Indigenous educational thought and practices have come to the forefront of an increasing Indigenous presence in education. Indigenous methodology is founded on two central beliefs. First, “tribal epistemologies are the center of Indigenous methodologies, and it is this epistemological framework that makes them distinct from Western qualitative approaches” (Kovach, 2009, p. 25). In the Arapaho way of life, all things are connected, as is true for many Indigenous communities. As First Nations scholar Wilson (2008) explains, “Identity for Indigenous people is grounded in our relationships with the land, with their ancestors who have returned to the land and with future generations who will come into being with the land (p. 80).” Therefore, when conducting research in the Arapaho context, it is important to recognize and describe the land and how people are connected to it. Second, Indigenous research somewhat parallels qualitative research but there are differences. Indigenous thoughts and voices are unique and rendered through Indigenous languages and cultural norms. History is passed down by storytelling. Since time immemorial, stories have been passed down from generation to generation but lose their meaning if translated 19 into English so stories “… resist the culturally imbued constructs of the English language, and from this perspective alone western research and Indigenous inquiry can walk together only so far” (Kovach, 2009, p. 30). Therefore, Indigenous inquiry takes on its own path staying interconnected within Indigenous thought, voice, and culture to preserve our unique identities and values. By applying Indigenous methodologies, Indigenous ways stay intact. Indigenous methodologies also work to mitigate this problem by maintaining accurate history and lessons. Indigenous methodology allows for better understanding of the Northern Arapaho tribal perspective. Take, for instance the stereotypic and romanticized belief that Indigenous peoples all live in tipis. It is true that the Arapaho people use the tipi, but only during certain ceremonies throughout the seasons. This holds true for the ceremonial partaking of puppies. Such acts may seem barbaric or inhumane to an outsider and may cause him/her to be prejudiced against the group. But employing the tenets of Indigenous methodologies, one comes to learn and understand the reason puppies are sacrificed. In the Arapaho belief, the puppy holds healing properties, spiritual and medicinal purposes, and therefore, is honored. My study draws purposefully on basic tenets of Indigenous methodology by honoring the cultural beliefs and practices of the Northern Arapaho participants. Context of the Study This study is set on the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming which the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone Tribes share the Wind River Indian Reservation. In 1878, the Arapaho people were placed on the Shoshone Reservation with the Eastern Shoshone Tribe while awaiting a long forgotten promised reservation of their own (Flynn, 1998). The Arapaho being placed with the Shoshone people caused contention due to the fact that both tribes were traditional enemies. 20 There are two sets of magnificent mountain ranges, the Wind River and Owl Creeks. The reservation consists of 2.2 million acres with long distances between towns and limited access to larger communities. Natural resources are important to both the Shoshone and Arapaho people. Although my study takes place on the Wind River Indian Reservation, shared by both the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone tribes, I focus on the Northern Arapaho tribe. Participants The three participants are listed below using only their given Arapaho name to protect their identities. The decision to use their given Arapaho names also aligns with tribal protocol and recognizes Indigenous ways of knowing. Participants also beam with pride when they refer to themselves by their Arapaho names. Strong Woman is an enrolled member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe. She was raised on the Wind River Indian Reservation and left school at the age of sixteen after becoming a single mother. Strong Woman’s grandparents raised her, due to her mother’s alcoholism. Star Chief is also an enrolled member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe. He left school at the age of sixteen. Star Chief took on the role of provider and caretaker of his ill mother, younger brother and younger sister at the age of 11 looking for odd jobs to feed them. Woman Who Remembers is also an enrolled member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe. Although she did not face the issue of poverty or misplaced family roles, bullying and multiple transference of schools led her to leaving school early at the age of eighteen. Researcher Stance As a Northern Arapaho woman, I share my Northern Arapaho cultural and linguistic knowledge holistically; I speak in first person. This choice aligns not only with my own 21 personal pride in who I am as a Northern Arapaho woman, but also it aligns with cultural expectations because traditionally, it is proper to speak of my own experiences and no one else’s. As with many other groups of young Northern Arapaho people growing up on the Wind River Indian Reservation, I have also experienced many socioeconomic difficulties. I was born to a single Arapaho mother, but my maternal grandmother and grandfather helped raise me. We lived in poverty, but my grandparents instilled in me the value of education. My grandmother finished 6th grade and my grandfather finished 2nd grade. They knew the importance of receiving my education due to the difficult and laborious jobs they endured throughout their own lifetimes. It was at the reservation school I attended, that I began to realize my surroundings and the important works of Indigenous people such as Joy Harjo, Vine Deloria, Jr., and so on. I knew my calling would be to ensure accurate narratives of the lives of Indigenous peoples, our sovereign nations, and the interactions--past, present, and future. Therefore, I persevered to earn a higher education and help instill the importance of education into my Arapaho people. Data Sources and Data Collection Procedures I used a culturally appropriate modified version of the Seidman (2000) three-interview process in my work. Seidman’s (2000) original three-interview series consisted of three separate interviews with each participant. Interview one focused on the life history of the person up to present; the participant was asked to tell about his/her life history, so I, the researcher, could learn about the informant’s experiences growing up. The second interview explained the details of the phenomena under investigation. In my case, I asked informants to describe their experiences in high school and why they felt they were not successful in school. The third 22 interview asked the participant to reflect on the meaning of these experiences back to Northern Arapaho culture and traditions. In order to collect the data, I recorded the interviews while taking notes as the participants spoke. The interviews were then professionally transcribed. After transcription, I reviewed them with the participants to ensure they were transcribed clearly. Three participants are involved in this study. Each participant was interviewed three times. Thus, the study consists of a total of nine interviews. These interviews explored the participants’ stories regarding their educational experiences and views which led to leaving school early. The interviews utilize an unstructured format to allow participants to direct the conversation to share stories and experiences all while honoring Indigenous ways of knowing (Wilson, 2008). The participants told personal accounts of their high school experiences, and they discussed the repercussions that leaving school early had on them. Data Analysis Procedures Data were analyzed by first reading the transcripts and then doing open coding. Since I am Arapaho and have shared some of the experiences with my participants, through open coding, I created codes for each main idea and then did focused coding by aligning the open codes with other Indigenous research practice as described below. In order to center Arapaho knowledge and perspectives in the data analysis section I applied Tribalography and Survivance (Francis, & Munson 2016) to aid in this study. In Tribalography and Survivance within Indigenous research, the analysis is usually highly collaborative and more complex which empowers Indigenous people from colonized backgrounds to become agents of self-determination (Francis, & Munson 2016). This allows for 23 the participants stories and ways of knowing to be honored in a respectful way, and it gives a powerful voice to my participants. The transcribed interviews were revisited with my participants during the third interviews which is culturally appropriate. In this step, they reflected on the meaning of those first interviews and provided context specific to the Arapaho way of life. Their reflections then became the foundation for analysis and interpretation for identifying common themes. Through this approach, larger segments of the interview were kept intact, I then added my own interpretation or experience to link the segments together. RESULTS “Educating our children is their only chance for survival” Chief Black Coal, Arapaho Peace Chief 1840-1893 Before European contact, the Arapaho people were an age-graded (a group of people of the same sex and age who have common duties and privileges transitioning through life) society, which leaned heavily on traditional beliefs and values. The Arapaho way of life was interconnected and reflected survival, traditions, and cultural richness (Anderson, 2001). The Arapaho view of the human life span is described as The Four Ridges of Life. These stages are a construct, which consists of life lessons, cultural norms and mores to help guide young Arapaho people to live a bountiful life to old age. As with all other Indigenous peoples, after European contact and colonization, Arapaho traditions, language, and culture became fractured. The introduction of the various Western European religions, philosophy and ways of knowing caused a systematic dismantling of our Arapaho way of life. European influence weakened the traditions of our Arapaho way of life by 24 leaving the people open to alcoholism, poverty, bullying, misplaced family roles, and lack of culturally responsiveness enabling loss of cultural preservation (Reyhner, 1992). Arapaho tradition speaks of the Four Ridges of Life, stages of life defined loosely as childhood, youth, adulthood, and old age (Anderson, 2001; White, personal communication, 2018). The age range for each of the ridges can be viewed as estimates. Based on Arapaho beliefs, a people move from stage to stage based on their growth, maturity, and decisions rather than based on their specific ages. However, there can be an exception to the rule, as an example is Star Chief. Star Chief has just entered life in the second ridge; however, he has earned the right to conduct Native American Church ceremonies and is held in high regard because of the life he leads: Not only that, too, they said a good man’s a praying man so I base myself on prayer, too. Try to live up to, try to be drug and alcohol free. Try to live my life, a life where I don’t have to have any worries…So along the line, people, they forget that being able to say I’m Arapaho, you’ve also gotta live up to the values we have…So those values, I based myself upon just try to live up to love, faith, hope, and charity, you know. Love one another, cherish one another (Star Chief). While Four Ridges provided the Arapaho with a stable model of living life, the advent of European life disrupted these traditions. Referring back to the TribalCrit tenets and applying Indigenous framework that in unique to the Arapaho, I am enacting several of the TribalCrit tenets and sustaining both cultural knowledges and ways of knowing. Absence of the Four Ridges’ knowledge left my participants without guidance of these Four Ridges and direction leading them to leave school early. 25 Each Ridge orchestrates some of the life lessons and knowledge each participant has gained. The Four Ridges of life make up the framework of this article in hopes to demonstrate the life struggles and successes that each participant experiences at each ridge. Also, to explain why each participant left school early and how their resilience in each ridge allowed them to continue to move forward in life. 1st Ridge: Childhood This first ridge is where children are innocent, free from sin and are in direct communication with Creator. Each child is nurtured until he/she can decide right from wrong and is taken care of directly by his/her caretaker. This stage also allows for honoring and respecting the beginnings of the child’s life. These things did not occur in two of the participants’ life. Strong Woman talked about growing up in an alcoholic environment and being raised by her grandparents. With trauma in her life, she had no sense of control over what was happening around her or her upbringing and mother’s alcoholism: So I always tell them that she just turned into somebody I didn’t know from drinking. I even told her why do you do what you do, and there was days I thought to myself, who are you? Where did you come from cuz you’re not my mom. You’re not who I know anymore. There’s generations of alcoholism in my family. And so it was always there, and I just thought that’s what people did. Normalizing trauma, alcoholism, and neglect can affect how people think about their own potential. 26 Star Chief also discussed his alcoholic home but not to the extent as Strong Woman: “A little bit of drinking, it was mostly drinking” which led to him and his siblings’ needs being neglected in the home. The second issue, poverty, was a common thread between the Star Chief and Strong Woman as well. Strong Woman remembered “there was times when I really thought there might not be anything to eat…I didn’t know I was in poverty.” Education is often the tool that helps people realize they are living in poverty or more broadly, that they are experiencing injustice which can be both a blessing and a curse. She also expressed hurt and anger at the principal for the corporal punishment she suffered for not attending the school Christmas program. Because my mom didn’t have any money to get us anything to wear. And we were like, we had clothes. I guess my mom could’ve got something, dug through our clothes but most kids dressed up and stuff and I remember my mom was feeling bad because she didn’t have the money to go buy us anything nice. Like she had done before. Or like she would’ve wanted to and we were like, we don’t need to go Mom. We’ll just stay home. It’s all right. We don’t have to go. And she was happy too, that we were okay… And then we didn’t go to that program and that next morning, they called all the kids in that didn’t go to the Christmas program and we all got swatted…And yeah, he swatted us because we didn’t go, and we didn’t even wanta say then why didn’t we go. We didn’t say because my mom didn’t have money to buy us nice clothes to wear, so we didn’t wanta go be embarrassed in front of everybody. And I don’t believe we even told…I think I was too embarrassed to go tell my mom that we got spanked for not going because she told us I don’t have money (Strong Woman). 27 As a Northern Arapaho woman, educator, and scholar, my positionality allows me to explain the depths of what Strong Woman is saying. Not having enough money to purchase “nice” clothing might be worse than not telling the truth and accepting getting swatted. This response is unique to the Arapaho context because Arapaho people, as told by my grandmother, are always going to be poor financially and that is ok, because we are wealthy with our family relationships and our ceremonies and traditions. Star Chief also struggled with the realities of poverty and survival. I’d have to, I’d actually go out and find something, something, I could pick up trash just to be able to try to get something to eat. I remember sitting at that school, crying. I don’t have no home. It’s hard cuz my little sister didn’t have a room. We wear old rugged clothes. Her shoes didn’t fit. My little brother was the same way and his clothes just looked, either they were too big or they were too tiny for him. Used to get welts on his waist from his underwear being too tight. Through no fault of their own, Strong Woman and Star Chief, in this first ridge of their life, lived a life of poverty and experienced the effects of alcoholism in the home. However, they continued their journey onto the second ridge. 2nd Ridge, Young adult The second ridge consists of learning responsibility, learning right from wrong, being allowed to and being expected to make mistakes, and learning to defend and provide for family. In this age of doing, the young Arapaho is productive, endures hardships, and is of service to the people (Anderson, 2001; White, personal communication, 2018). During this stage, Strong Woman, Star Chief, and Woman Who Remembers made mistakes, struggled, and endured hardships. On this ridge of life, one hardship which led to all 28 three to leave school, was bullying. Strong Woman speaks directly to that after becoming a teenage mother: I had my son already and he got a little bigger, I went back to school and then girls were picking on me and guys were picking on me because I had a kid. And some days, I just wanted to beat somebody up because I didn’t think they needed to treat me the way they were and I think one day, I got so pissed off, I just went home and I told my grandma and grandpa, I’m not going back. I told them this has been going on to me for a while now and because of this, I don’t wanta go there no more. Even in the bathroom, and it wasn’t just my being a teen mom. It was my mother was an alcoholic so people would be saying shit about my mom to me when they could get a chance. Your mom is just a drunk or we saw your mom doing this or know what I heard about your mom and I would be like just because that’s what my mom’s doing doesn’t mean that’s what I’m gonna do (Strong Woman). Once again, the other students normalizing alcoholic behavior, has perpuated the myth that alcoholism will cycle from generation to generation. Woman Who Remembers encountered bullying as well, “…after basketball, I was bullied by my cousins and that led me to transfer to a different school but I didn’t wanta be in the state so I moved to South Dakota.” Bullying negatively impacted Woman Who Remembers enough to begin her transition to different schools out of state. Star Chief spoke of bullying at a young age by another person “…I don’t know, he was a cowboy, had a white hat, cowboy shirt and boots and, you’re just another brown stain.” The effects of bullying of Star Chief affected his self-esteem and did not want to be in school. The bullying also led to his distrust of non-Indians. 29 Another hardship each participant had to endure was misplaced family roles. In traditional family roles, young Arapaho children were looked after by the adults and the roles were gender specific. However, these roles were disrupted within the lives Strong Woman and Star Chief. Star Chief states how his mother’s health problems interfered with her role as a mother and he stepped in to take care of her and his siblings after his mother had been hospitalized. …so I was taking care of my little sister and I just didn’t want to go to school. I was more worried about my little sister at the time…. I got retained and I was still in 6th grade at the time but I wasn’t going to school. After my mom had gotten back [from being hospitalized], she didn’t seem the same. She was, I don’t know, her health wasn’t what it used to be I guess. So I continued to miss school just to make sure she was all right. By taking on the enormous task of being caretaker to his mother and siblings, Star Chief did not attend school and prioritized his family. In Arapaho culture, this is the appropriate thing to do because family members are valuable to us, whereas, this would not be the norm in Western society. Strong Woman also described her duties as caretaker for her younger sister. Then my mom must’ve decided she needed me to be a babysitter for my little sister so she had me come back home. And I didn’t want to come back home and when I got back home, I was mad because I was basically my mom’s servant or whatever. And I cooked, I cleaned, I took care of my baby sister. I mean, my mom just had to get up and go to work. It was my job to get her diaper bag packed…my mom was busy getting ready for work so part of getting myself off to school was getting my sister ready to go to the babysitter. 30 Role reversal led to undue stress and hardship with Strong Woman and Star Chief. By taking care of their families, school was not a priority. Strong Woman and Star Chief both did not realize the adverse effects such as generational poverty would have on them, by leaving school early to take care of their families. 3rd Ridge, Adulthood The third ridge consists of the ability to distinguish right from wrong, having a home, family, and teachings of the Arapaho way of life. This stage is where one gives back to the people, not just his/her family based on the knowledge he/she has gained throughout their life experiences (Anderson, 2001; White, personal communication, 2018). Star Chief remembers pleading with Creator: I told Creator one time, as long as I can have my mom, I’ll help people. Even still, I’ll help people. Just help my mom. And now, where I’m at with my mom, it’s kind of challenging but, I do things out of love for her….Still gonna help people, nevertheless, maybe somewhere along the line, they’ll see that. So it kind of keys back to what I remember when I was younger. They told me I give back to the people. So I guess now I’m doing it (Star Chief). The importance, as an Arapaho, to give back is essential in the 3rd Ridge of life. The knowledge gained and the lessons learned leading up to the 3rd Ridge give us wisdom. With this valuable wisdom, we are able to pass it onto generations below us. Strong Woman also discussed the importance of giving back based on her lived experience: …so when I work with these people here, I feel that, like I said, I wouldn’t change anything. Wasn’t all that bad but I fee l like what I’ve been through as a strong woman 31 has helped me to help people here to know that, you know, I saw this stuff [traumas] too. And my brother committed suicide in front of me when I was 21 years old. So that is another PTSD on top of it and my son saw that with me so he’s got PTSD from seeing that. So it just does really horrible things to people, to go through trauma in your life. So my life wasn’t always perfect but I can tell people everything that went really bad in my life, alcohol was probably involved and I had to just wake up one day…Used a lot of bad stuff I’d been through to help other people get through things. Suicide intervention, prevention, all that stuff, I like to do that…Want to help people. In the Arapaho way of life, helping one another is one of the most important roles we have. As Arapaho people, we are told to get your education and come help our people. “Helping people” means more than just donating to charity or joining a cause. There is a big difference in “helping people” the way many white people do, and “helping people” who have experienced collective, intergenerational, historical, and ongoing, multiple traumas. Star Chief and Strong Woman sought their education to do just that. 4th Ridge, Old Age Although none of my participants are near the 4th ridge, they all seek the wisdom, peace, and sacred knowledge of this 4th ridge. The 4th ridge of life is the ridge all Arapaho people pray to reach. This ridge is where we return to innocence, have learned from our mistakes and are quickly forgiven and at the end of our life, we return immediately to Creator because we endured the sufferings of the previous 3 ridges (Anderson, 2001; White, personal communication, 2018). Because of the lack of culturally responsive teachings in the school and home setting, each participant spoke of the desire to live the Arapaho way. Each participant continues 32 searching for their Arapaho identity. Woman Who Remembers speaks of the loss of a foundation by not being taught the Arapaho way of life: So like a part of everything I went through in life, I feel I would’ve been more connected to myself and my soul and my spirit and my mind and my family and everything more if I was taught the Arapaho way…Auntie Sheri when she taught me stuff and Arapaho words and all that, like I loved it. Like I really enjoyed it. I would after school, I’d go there and I’d learn Arapaho and I liked it and I loved it. It made me feel good about myself (Woman Who Remembers). Strong Woman also felt the loss of Arapaho knowledge and lack of contact with the Arapaho language and culture: Somebody posted something on Facebook. I’ve learned stuff off of there, too, but it said when you speak your language, your ancestors hear you and that just really sat with me. So I’m like, I’m getting older now, you know. And I feel like when we get older, we start to look at things that were passed down to us. So I use my Arapaho app [Computer application created by Arapaho elders to teach Arapaho language] (Strong Woman). Star Chief, on the other hand, was fortunate to be raised deep-rooted in Arapaho beliefs and traditions and speaks of the importance of practicing our way of life. Arapaho people are always reminded that we live a slow, tough life, but with Creator, everything will work out. Star Chief spoke of how his grandpa reminded him that with that belief when confronted with a health scare and fear of taking strong medication, and said “They don’t know what they hell they’re [Western Medicine] doing. ‘We’re Indian. We’re Arapaho.’ So I didn’t, I never took them.” Discussion 33 “As Arapaho people, when we try to do good, there will always be that no good that wants to get in the way, keep praying and hold on even tighter to your prayer” – Crawford White In this qualitative study, I sought to learn why the Arapaho participants in my study left school early. Key findings in my study parallel the findings of Reyhner (1992) and Faircloth & Tippeconic (2010). In my study, reasons for leaving school early included the effects of alcoholism, poverty, bullying, parental abdication of responsibility for school success, and lack of culturally responsiveness on the part of schools. This study adds to the literature by dismantling the stereotypes of all Indigenous people and clarifying reasons that specific people leave school early. By crossing the physical, cultural, and political borders in their lives, this study shares the participants’ unique stories. These themes manifested in the lives of my participants; ultimately, however, all three of my participants persevered to overcome obstacles to earn an education. By holding onto our traditional upbringing, each of my participants was able to move forward with his or her education despite leaving school early and turn his or her life around to give back to our Arapaho people and community. Strong Woman obtained her general equivalency degree at the age of 16, she enrolled in college and pursued classes which she thought would help her prepare for a career in working with Indigenous peoples. She eventually went on to obtain a Ph.D. and work on the Wind River Indian Reservation in the setting of addictions counseling. Growing up into intergenerational poverty, Star Chief decided to sacrifice by moving away from home when he was 18 years old to join Job Corps. He earned his general equivalency degree and learned trade skills to enhance not only life, but his family’s life as well. Star Chief 34 credits his active role in the Native American Church and Arapaho way of life to help him obtain his goals. He is now working in a public school on the reservation helping to provide food for needy children. Woman Who Remembers earned her general equivalency degree at the age of eighteen at job corps. She is currently volunteering in a service program on the Wind River Indian Reservation to provide preventative health services to the people and community. She hopes to eventually attend college and earn a college degree and continue to give back to our Arapaho people. Implications and Recommendations Cultural grounding was central to the identities of my participants in order to aid them to become successful in the educational system. One way that Arapaho individuals can get grounded in our culture is to turn back to our Arapaho way of life. Parents, children, and families can attend classes which are offered on the reservation to learn our Arapaho language. Another way our people can achieve cultural grounding is to visit elders and listen to their words of wisdom and Arapaho stories which include lessons and mores vital to our Arapaho life. Arapaho people can also attend our ceremonies and learn the right way to live according to the gifts Creator gave us. TribalCrit tenet 1, colonization is endemic to society (Brayboy, 2005) states that by conforming to a foreign way of life, colonization fractured our Arapaho way of life. Anderson (2001) details the ways by which the Arapaho culture has been lost to colonization but believes that revitalizing culture and self-determination will reunify our people. Each of my participants echoed the desire to expand their knowledge of our Arapaho culture because they feel they have an inherent right to live as the Creator intended. Normalization of trauma, which was a tactic of 35 colonization, and which all participants mentioned, has been confronted through connection to our traditional knowledge. TribalCrit Tenet 4 states that Indigenous peoples have a desire to obtain and forge tribal sovereignty, tribal autonomy, self-determination, and self-identifications (Brayboy, 2005). For example, Strong Woman’s story of being swatted for missing the Christmas program, directly conflicts with the Arapaho cultural and economic context. We, as Arapaho, are taught to never physically harm our children. By doing so, Creator can take our children back if they are not treated properly. TribalCrit 7, states that trtribal beliefs and customs are vital to understanding the lived realities of Indigenous people (Brayboy, 2005). Lomawaima & McCarty (2006) suggest that by inserting Indigenous voices and experiences into education will make a difference in the success of Indigenous students. The implementation and use of the Arapaho language app, as described by Strong Woman, and the ceremonial connections experienced by Star Chief are aspects of culture that can be incorporated into the curriculum. By the execution of customs and traditions, there will no longer be a cultural disconnect which occur in schools today. Therefore, our community and tribal leaders need to continue to provide opportunities for social change according to TribalCrit tenet 9, “Theory and practice are connected in deep and explicit ways such that scholars must work towards social change” (Brayboy, p. 430, 2005). By looking into the lives of my participants, the research into the Northern Arapaho lived experiences has shed light onto changing views which have not been previously researched. Also, the Northern Arapaho tribe has exerted its tribal sovereignty, self-determination, and self- identity by establishing an educational code to support and sustain our Arapaho way of life. This education code promotes “resources to preserve, protect, and perpetuate the Northern Arapaho 36 Tribe” (Northern Arapaho Education Code, 2006). Unfortunately, at this time, the education code is not enforced throughout the schools in and around the reservation; however, by adhering to the policy, social change will emerge. The ways in which the Northern Arapaho Tribe might encourage tribal members to adopt this code in schools in and around the reservation, is one way to demonstrate how to take back sovereignty. Future Steps Next steps include encouraging teachers and administrators to work with community members, elders, and cultural mentors to learn about reasons why students might miss school events such as Christmas programs and other extracurricular activities. Another step includes teachers and administrators learning the culture and value systems of the Arapaho people to understand why a student is missing school to take care of a parent/sibling. Our Arapaho people need to go back to our Arapaho way of life to build our foundations. Every Tuesday, I go back to meet with my Uncle Crawford and he teaches a small group of us our Arapaho language. This has brought pride and purpose into my life, just as Woman Who Remembers eagerly visited her aunt to learn our language. 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