A Dissertation Journey
Beneath Our Sacred Minds, Hands and Hearts By Shawn Secatero, Ph.D.
T
oday, very few statistics and demographics are available on persistence and success rates for American Indian graduate and professional students. Only a few identifiable quantitative data studies exist. As for qualitative data, “No study, to date, has been published on the experiences of American Indian and Alaskan Native graduate and professional students (Buckley, 1997, pg.49). In the current study, an indigenous corn model, based on well-being factors and personal narratives, was employed to examine and identify graduate and professional school success and persistence factors. This study’s methods involved an in-depth qualitative analysis of persistence and success factors with 23 American Indian graduate students who recently attained their respective degrees. An electronic survey and short questionnaire were completed by participants representing 18 different tribal groups and 19 institutions. Participants had varying levels of graduate degree completion and different majors. Electronic surveys were completed from March 2008 through October 2008 and were designed to obtain participant demographic information, graduate school preparation, financial aid, academics, tribal ways of knowledge and shared words of wisdom. In addition, four participants submitted stories to provide an analysis of success and persistence factors. Participants identified the following salient issues: (a) Spiritual well-being as the most important success factor that focused on family, belief system and giving back to the community; (b) Mental well-being that included critical thinking, personal and career development, academic rigor and leadership; (c) Social well-being, viewed as networking, mentorship, communication skills and advanced literacy; and (d) Physical well-being incorporating hard work, endurance and a healthy lifestyle. Recommendations from this study included the development of a national American Indian mentorship program, institutional follow-up with graduate students, graduate school preparation institutes, the establishment
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The American Indian Graduate
Shawn Secatero
of a graduate school guidebook for American Indian students and the dissemination of personal histories as models for life. This pioneering study serves as a foundation in the development of an indigenous perspective as more research is needed to address the persistence and success factors of American Indian graduate and professional students.
Dissertation Experience As part of my Navajo identity, I was taught by my elders to wake up before the early morning sunrise. I would face east toward the majestic Sandia Mountains to pray with my precious corn pollen. I often performed this ritual every morning in hopes that the pieces of my dissertation study would eventually weave together like the beautiful rugs made by my grandmother. I often look backed at my college career as a way of remembering the importance of my Navajo way of life, as I was learning about success and persistence factors of American Indian graduate students. As part of this process, I would like to share my own experiences and words of wisdom, as I continue my vision of becoming a well respected indigenous researcher. The setting of all my thinking comes from my home on the Tohajiilee Navajo Reservation. I live in a small modest house with no internet access, but the recently added luxury of cable television. I concentrate most of my work at the kitchen table with a slow burning wood stove beside me. During the cold early morning hours, I would motivate myself at three o’clock in the morning and begin making a fire. I would chop wood outside and