Creating a Decolonized Alliance: American Indian and Alaska Native Doctoral Leadership Program

Abstract

Historically, a major contributor in the fracture between mainstream individuals and subgroups has been the educational system. For American Indian and Alaska Natives (AI/AN), this is substantiated by low graduation rates. AI/AN leaders are in a unique situation due to the distinctive conditions in which they operate that include community challenges as well as federal and tribal legislation. This, combined with limited research regarding AI/AN leadership best practices, provides doctoral programs an inimitable opportunity to partner with AI/AN and tribal communities. Therefore, due to the need to more effectively serve AI/AN peoples, the intent of this chapter is to propose methods to successfully create an AI/AN leadership emphasis within its existing doctoral program. This essay will include a description of the following: (a) the societal call for these types of programs; (b) AI/AN self-identified needs regarding graduate education, including the cultural aspects needed for success; (c) program design, philosophy, and curriculum specific to AI/ANs; and (d) further recommendations. By implementing an AI/AN emphasis, graduate programs can better address the needs of this underserved portion of the population, as well as provide a less ethnocentric perspective in the classroom.

Citation

Gambrell, K.M. and Topuzova, L.N. (2016), "Creating a Decolonized Alliance: American Indian and Alaska Native Doctoral Leadership Program", Emerging Directions in Doctoral Education (Innovations in Higher Education Teaching and Learning, Vol. 6), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 129-147. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2055-364120160000006014