The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 44, No. 1 - 51

Supporting Aboriginal Student Success

and support Indigenous wholistic2 understandings of success (HeavyRunner & DeCelles,
2002; HeavyRunner & Marshall, 2003;
Pidgeon, 2008b; Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples [RCAP], 1996; Shotton, Lowe,
& Waterman, 2013; Truth and Reconciliation
Commission of Canada [TRC], 2015a, 2015b).
This perspective considers Indigenous values
and cultural norms and broadly understands
success as the realization of individual goals in
relationship to family, community, and nation
(Brayboy, Fann, Castagno, & Solyom, 2012;
HeavyRunner & DeCelles, 2002; Huffman,
2008; Pidgeon, 2008b; Shotton et al., 2013).
Successful attainment of educational goals is
also connected directly to the well-being of the
Aboriginal nation and the broader goals of Indigenous self-determination and governance
(National Indian Brotherhood, 1972; RCAP,
1996; TRC, 2015b).
Understanding Indigenous perspectives
and their expectations of postsecondary education is important, since increasing numbers
of Aboriginal peoples are choosing postsecondary education-directly from high school
or later in life (students older than 21 with dependents)-as a viable pathway for their educational and career goals, whether those goals
are short-term (taking one course) or more
long-term (completing a doctorate) (Pidgeon,
2008b). In response, Canadian institutions are
beginning to Indigenize their campuses to be
more inclusive and responsive to Indigenous
ways of knowing and being through Aboriginal student services, which include culturally relevant support services that address the
We intentionally spell wholistic with a "w" to reflect the
Indigenous world view of the whole person-their physical,
emotional, intellectual, and spiritual selves (Archibald et al.,
1995).

2

emotional, cultural, physical, and intellectual
needs of Aboriginal students and their relevant
academic programming (e.g., Native teacher
education; First Nations studies; Indigenous
law, forestry, sciences) and policies (Academia
Group, 2015; Corntassel, 2011; Mihesuah &
Wilson, 2004; Pidgeon, 2005, 2016b; Pidgeon
& Hardy Cox, 2005).
Understanding the demographic trends,
particularly the urban and rural distribution
of Aboriginal peoples, is important when considering the housing needs of these learners.
Housing plays an important role in a wholistic sense of success with respect to supporting
Indigenous students' emotional and physical
needs in a way that allows them to focus on
their intellectual and cultural needs. In this
article, we explore how student housing-
through its properties, policies, and practices-can better support Indigenous learners.
In attempting to bridge non-Indigenous
understandings of Indigenous learners and
their experiences, we reflected on the following
questions: What happens when we invite Aboriginal students into our institutions but offer
them living spaces, whether on or off campus,
that are unsuitable for their needs? How do Indigenous cultural frameworks regarding living
spaces influence their needs within housing
structures that were established with Euro-Western values and structures? To explore
these questions, we use the Indigenous Wholistic Framework (Pidgeon, 2008b, 2016a,
2016b) to provide insight into the Indigenous
perspectives that are central to understanding
the Indigenous postsecondary student experiences of housing in order to better support
Indigenous students through housing properties, policies, and practices.

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The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 44, No. 1

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 44, No. 1
