Native American students: blood quantum, identity, and educational success

Abstract

Native American ancestors were fighting a war to maintain their relevance; today Natives are fighting another war, a war of self-existence. Studies of Native American identity and education are plentiful but studies of blood quantum and educational success are very scarce. This study explored whether Native American students fit in (if at all) the higher education system. In all 67 self-identified Native Americans from a U.S. university participated in the study. The analysis generated differences and correlations between blood quantum, student-identity, acculturation and place of residence and Grade Point Average (GPA) as the measure of their effects on college success. The findings suggest academic success supports Native American students who are acculturated, who do not strongly self-identify with their respective culture and were raised off the reservation. Those students who grew up on the reservation, who practice their culture and are not fully acculturated, do these students have to make a choice to maintain or put aside their identity in order to be successful in obtaining a higher education?