When Michael Pavel was 15, his Skokomish Nation elders directed him to get a doctoral degree and become a university professor. They offered help and guidance, but predicted that getting a higher education would be difficult, even demoralizing, for an Indian student.
Pavel, whose tribal name is CHiXapkaid, recalls his response: “I said, ‘I am not afraid.’ Thoughts of our songs, stories and teachings flooded my mind.”
Pavel lived up to the elders’ expectations, and then some. Now an associate professor in Washington State University’s College of Education, he has forged a national reputation in the field of Indian education. His fourth and latest book, written with a WSU colleague, is the “American Indian and Alaska Native Student’s Guide to College Success” (Greenwood Press, 2007). It includes many first-person stories of Native Americans who earned degrees.
Pavel’s co-author and former student Ella Inglebret, is an assistant professor in the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences.
“We bring a Native perspective and non-Native perspective to the book, because that is what it will take to help Native students succeed in higher education,” Pavel said.
They also bring an upbeat attitude. While Native populations lag behind the general population in the percentage of students receiving degrees, the authors don’t focus on failures. In the book’s preface, they write: “We are motivated to address healthy social developments rather than reacting to a problem. It is important to tell the stories of making a difference as powerful reminders of what is possible in our lives.”
Much of the guide book covers the nitty-gritty of college success, including finding the best fit among many college choices, tracking down financial aid, avoiding drugs and alcohol abuse, and overcoming cultural differences.
Graduates quoted in the book often mention the importance of hard work and a willingness to adjust in college. One recalled that he grew up on a homestead without TV, and arrived on campus having never even watched The Simpsons. “I didn’t know what Abercrombie & Fitch was, how to drive on a freeway, or who Britney Spears was. I was forced to do some informal cultural research to discover how to interact with these Midwestern kids I found myself thrown in with.”
One chapter is devoted to developing problem-solving and critical-thinking skills; another to Internet resources for the college-bound Native American. Yet another chapter lists colleges and universities that take the lead in connecting with Native philosophy and culture. An increasing number of post-secondary schools are tribally operated, and those are listed.
WSU is one of four public research universities that are singled out. Among WSU’s attributes, the authors note, are the Plateau Center for American Indian Studies, which is the result of collaboration with nine regional tribes; and the Clearinghouse for Native Teaching and Learning, which Pavel directs.
The guide book is the first of its kind, Pavel said. While much of the advice it contains would benefit any student, the authors stayed focused on Native students. They often mention spirituality.
They write: “It is a sacred responsibility to gain knowledge throughout one’s life on how to care for others, maintain a sense of harmony, enjoy life, nurture new life, carry on the positive cycle of existence, and deal with hardship.” As Pavel and Inglebret make clear, a college degree goes a long way toward meeting that responsibility.
