This fall there has been a lot of worry, data analysis and speculation in higher education about the consequences of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling last summer that ended affirmative action. As expected, some highly selective higher education institutions reported significantly less racial diversity incoming classes this year after rolling back race-conscious admissions strategies.

These national conversations rarely address enrollment trends among Native students — but they should, advocates say, because Native American enrollment rates have been in steep decline for years. And enrollment data beginning to trickle in from colleges and universities shows that several selective universities have seen a decline in enrollment of Native American freshmen this fall.

Amherst CollegeTHE Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cornell University and the University of Virginia saw their already low percentage of Native American freshmen cut by about half. Harvard University also saw a slight decline, from 1.2 percent last fall at 1 percent this fall. Similarly, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill welcomed first-year Native students. drop in registrations from 1.6 percent to 1.1 percent.

“We’re seeing the numbers go down, and it’s so disheartening and discouraging,” said Angelique Albert, CEO of the Native Forward Scholars Fund, a major provider of scholarships for Native students.

Cheryl Crazy Bull, president and CEO of the American Indian College Fund, which provides scholarships and programs to support Native students, was also disturbed by the affirmative action decision, although she noted that “a “A limited number of indigenous students actually attend highly selective schools.” establishments. »

A 2023 Report by the Brookings Institution, a public policy think tank, found that the types of institutions that attracted the most Native Americans and other minority students were less likely to use race as an admissions factor than highly selective establishments. Native students largely attend public four-year universities, community colleges, tribal colleges and universities, and nontribal Native American-serving institutions, a federal designation for institutions with student bodies of at least 10 percent Native Americans.

But reports from selective institutions remain concerning to students and their supporters. Although the enrollment losses reported so far may seem modest, advocates fear that the Supreme Court’s decision risks exacerbating the already staggering downward trend in Native American participation in higher education.

Indigenous student enrollment nationally fell 40 percent between 2010 and 2021, equating to a loss of tens of thousands of students, according to the data from the National Center for Education Statistics. Only 16 percent of Native Americans ages 25 to 64 have a bachelor’s degree, a recent report of the Campaign for College Opportunity.

“The barriers to getting into college have been difficult enough,” Albert said. Even before the court’s decision, indigenous students already faced great difficulties in pursuing higher education. Research by Albert’s organization and others shows that financial barriers are the biggest barrier to Native American students entering and exiting college. A 2022 survey of 5,321 Indigenous students receiving scholarships from Native Forward and other Indigenous scholarship providers, 65% of them had an annual income of less than $35,000.

“There are Native students who deserve to go to college, who want to go to college, who are ready to go to college,” she said. These students “are people who just need access…and once they have access, they go on to do amazing things.”

Applying to college was already a challenge this year for many Native American students. Because they need a disproportionate amount of financial aid to be able to finance higher education, many have had to fight their way through school. failed deployment of the new free federal student aid application. Total first year registrations fell sharply this yearand lagging FAFSA completion rates appear partly to blame.

Meanwhile, state bills targeting diversity, equity and inclusion efforts deprive some colleges of the resources and supports that attract Native students and encourage them to stay enrolled. Some universities closed the campus cultural centerswhile others dissolved the DEI offices Or modified scholarships to get rid of race-based eligibility requirements (faced with protests from certain donors).

“A lot of our scholars are first-generation college-bound students…they need support services first and foremost,” Albert said. Thus, the loss of cultural centers and other targeted supports “has a significant impact on our students’ ability to succeed.”

Crazy Bull also worries that campuses feel less welcoming toward Indigenous students. “Whether or not Indigenous students benefit from affirmative action – we don’t really know if they do – we know that campus climate, campus culture and a welcoming educational environment impact their participation” , she said.

Derrick Platero, Navajo doctor. student in soil science and hydrology at Iowa State University, said he was saddened by the Supreme Court’s decision and also by Iowa’s recent anti-DEI bill as one of the university’s few indigenous students. Native Americans make up just 0.1 percent of Iowa State’s graduate and undergraduate students, according to university data.

Platero said Indigenous students like him living in small Indigenous communities on campus already feel isolated. “I worry about the impact this will have on Indigenous students and other underrepresented groups who rely on these safe spaces for support and community,” Platero said. “I feel like safe places are slowly disappearing, and I worry that this will make college life more difficult for students of color. »

What colleges can do

The Supreme Court’s decision struck down, or at least called into question, the tools that colleges and universities have historically used to ensure diversity among their incoming students.

Admissions officers may feel like their hands are tied when it comes to enrolling more Indigenous students, but Albert said that’s not the case. “There are so many things these universities can do to attract and increase the number of Indigenous people,” she said.

She advocates a “build it and they will come” approach, saying Native American students will continue to be attracted to colleges and universities known for offering resources and a sense of community through Native representation among faculty and administrators, a solid representation. Indigenous student groups, cultural events and other supports, including scholarships.

In response to the Supreme Court’s ruling, higher education institutions have reduced race-based scholarships, but those offered to Native American students are not actually race-based, Albert noted — a distinction sometimes lost on higher education officials trying to comply. with the ban on positive action.

“We have a unique political affiliation: we are sovereign nations within a nation,” so these scholarships are offered to students as “citizens of nations,” not as members of a race or race. of a particular ethnicity, she said. “So we work with universities to help them understand this historical context. »

Keri Risic, executive director of undergraduate admissions at the University of Minnesota’s Twin Cities campus, said her university immediately aligned its admissions practices with the Supreme Court decision, but its recruiting strategies in Classes for Native American high school students were still permitted and bore fruit. . The percentage of Native American first-year college students has increased over the past five years; This year’s class has 116 Indigenous students, up from 95 last year.

UMTC admissions officers maintain relationships with Native American high school counselors, visit high schools, and make presentations to students about community engagement opportunities for Native students on campus. The university has a support office for Indigenous students called Circle of Indigenous Nations. The state also launched the American Indian Scholars Program last year, a free college program that covers all tuition and fees, before financial aid or other grants are applied, for members of federally recognized tribes at public universities in Minnesota.

The goal of these outreach efforts is “to help Indigenous learners explore the campus community and learn about campus resources and community building opportunities on campus” as early as ninth or tenth grade, a Risic said.

The university’s application also includes a question about how students could benefit from or contribute to the university’s diverse community. The Minnesota Star Tribune This is an approach that other universities have also used to promote diversity without going against the Supreme Court’s ruling. (The application also includes an optional question that gives applicants the opportunity to share their race or ethnicity, not with admissions officers but with other university staff in order to be connected to specific resources or community activities.)

Crazy Bull said one of the ways his organization is responding to the decision is by helping high school students find ways to talk about their Indigenous identity and experiences in their applications.

Under the ruling, students can’t check a box, but they can still “tell their story,” she said. “Their stories are often rooted in economic experiences that…would reveal their tribal experience.” »

Platero, an Iowa State graduate student, said he hopes colleges and universities will still be able to find ways to “support students of all backgrounds, fostering environments where everyone feels included.”

“On behalf of myself and other indigenous people, it is difficult for us to leave home because we love our parents and our homeland so much,” he said. “But when we have the opportunity to go to higher education, it’s like a milestone for us…I just feel like students are going to miss out on that educational opportunity, and that’s is really sad to see.”