Native Faculty, Higher Education, Racism, and Survival

Abstract

My first ten years at a state university in the Midwest were horrible years! In this time I experienced much hostility and racism in a "college culture," which to me was "distinctly alien and unfriendly." The message, as stated by Jon Reyhner, was "subtle but clear, you are not welcome here."1 It had reached the point, after a number of years, where I was consulting attorneys for a possible racial discrimination lawsuit against the university. Then, a new president took over and reinstated my program, American Indian Studies and Dakota Studies (aisds) and my position as associate professor. What I propose to do in this article is recite and comment on some of the horrible racist acts that happened to me over the past ten years; mention the sources of support for my program, positions, and for me personally; and discuss what it is like now in the year 2003. Another purpose of this account is to serve as encouragement for younger Native faculty and to convey the message that it is possible for Indigenous faculty to survive in a hostile and racist environment such as higher education institutions are. Litany of Lamentations In my first ten years at the university I have undergone the following experiences: two grievance processes; two close votes, one involving program status by the faculty assembly, and the second involving tenure by the Social Science Department; [End Page 349] two cuttings of my program; two cuttings of my position; one denial of tenure; and, numerous instances of racism, intimidation, and harassment by two different university administrations and by faculty First Grievance Complaint—Fall 1992 In my first quarter (fall 1992) at the university, I was the focus of a grievance complaint filed by the local faculty union against the then university president. Apparently, the president had violated several provisions of the contract between the faculty union and the state's university system in bringing me to the campus. Hence, the grievance complaint was filed. Thus, I was embroiled in controversy right from the beginning of my employment at the university It was not an auspicious beginning! I think that the president acted courageously in bringing me, a Native faculty member, a faculty person of color, to campus. In my opinion, most higher education institutions, including this university, have carefully insulated themselves against "those people" and the "problems" they cause. In spite of the lofty rhetoric espoused by faculty and administration in general regarding rational thought, objectivity, and the intellectual process, and in spite of the lip-service paid to diversity and multiculturalism, there would be no change or opportunities for faculty persons of color at this university or at other institutions unless direct action, in-your-face action, was and is taken, as the president did. So, I owe a debt of gratitude to him. In addition, I think that the university owes a debt of gratitude to the president. I say this because the university is surrounded by four Dakota communities and/or reservations, so it is appropriate to have a Dakota studies program and Native studies program at the university. First Close Vote—Spring 1994 The first of the two close votes I experienced regarding my program's status was taken in spring 1994 at a meeting of the university's faculty association. It involved the question of granting "program status" to aisds, which meant getting a specific program number. The vote was thirty-seven faculty for granting program status to AISDS and thirty-one against. [End Page 350] When the program first began with my coming to the university in fall 1992, my position was funded with "soft" money, that is, from a grant. This grant was concerned with diversity and hiring faculty of color. My position was funded from this grant for two years. In 1994 the funds ran out, and a decision had to be made as to the fate of AISDS.2 There was much discussion among...