Centering indigenous college student voices and perspectives through photovoice and photo-elicitation

Abstract

Using arts-based inquiry and drawing on photovoice, photo-elicitation and visual narrative, in this study we explore how Native American college students experience space and place at the University of New Mexico, a large, research-extensive university in the Southwestern United States. The objective of this study is to more clearly understand how Native American students view their educational environment. Student perspectives will be framed through an artistic inquiry coming directly from the students and their interpretations of space, place, and community. This study is designed to ultimately inform the institution, local tribal communities, and the existing body of research on how participants viewed their college-going experience in relation to space and place, and how we might more adequately serve Native American college students. Initial findings indicate the critical importance of cultural centers, houses, and designated cultural spaces for Native American students, as indicated in the literature. Though Native students may experience struggles and successes similar to other student groups within the context of higher education, it is critical that student affairs professionals, administrators, faculty, and other educational leaders acknowledge how discourses of colonialism and genocide inform higher educational spaces, as well as the experience of Native American college students.