"A Desire to Learn": Native-American Experiences in Lutheran Colleges, 1945–1955

Abstract

Abstract: Between 1945 and 1955, nine Native-American students of the Oneida, Ho-Chunk, and Ojibwe tribes attended Lutheran colleges with the support of Reverend Ernest Sihler, Superintendent of the Bethany Evangelical Lutheran Indian Mission. Four of the students graduated with bachelor's degrees and two went on to attain PhDs. Regardless of their graduation status, all the students demonstrated educational resilience during their time as undergraduates. Based on the examination of correspondence between the Native American students attending Lutheran colleges and Sihler in the 1940s and 1950s, as well as Sihler and college administrators, and Sihler and donors, this article enriches our understanding of Native American experiences in higher education in the immediate postwar period. These sources reveal students' personal motivations and experiences, as well as their institutional practices and priorities. For the students, success at college required navigating competing interests and goals. They had to balance the need to placate and support the interests and norms of the dominant, fundamentally racist, white college cultures with their desire to remain true to their tribal communities and identities. For Sihler and Lutheran college administrators, they had carefully selected these Native-American students and attempted to help them succeed within the umbrella of Lutheran higher education in accordance with its attendant norms and expectations. These efforts proved moderately successful. The article also details the obstacles these students encountered as well as the strategies they employed to overcome these challenges and meet their college goals. The students took advantage of existing support systems available to them, as well as created new support systems, that enabled them to navigate adverse educational environments. Like Native American college students today, their success was due to several factors, including their pre-college preparations, family support, and access to financial assistance. Their motivation to succeed in order to give back to their tribal communities also gave them a larger purpose to cling to when challenges arose.