The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 42, No. 2 - 103

First Nations and Higher Education

of them" (Scollon, 1981). Nevertheless, with
the help of an emerging group of First Nations
scholars, we are beginning to see the outlines
of a more culturally accommodating view of
how knowledge is constructed and passed on
to others. One example of an attempt to reconcile differences in the ways knowledge is
understood and conveyed is a contrastive study
of orality and literacy by Joann Archibald, a
member of the Sto:lo Nation in British Columbia, in which she points to the need "to deﬁne
and create new ways of thinking and writing
about literacy and its relationship to orality."
With the technological advances of video,
television and ﬁlm, our world has become
a combined oral/literate/visual one. This
combination has exciting possibilities for First
Nations because it is nearing the traditional
holistic approach to teaching and learning
which is needed to heal our people who have
been adversely affected by history (1990).
Eber Hampton (1988), a Chickasaw originally from Oklahoma and now in Alaska, has
made an effort to identify some of the qualities that he considers important in the move
to construct an "Indian theory of education."
He lists the following as twelve "standards" on
which to judge any such effort:
Spirituality - an appreciation for spiritual
relationships.
Service - the purpose of education is to
contribute to the people.
Diversity - Indian education must meet the
standards of diverse tribes and communities.
Culture - the importance of culturally
determined ways of thinking, communicating
and living.
Tradition - continuity with tradition.
Respect - the relationship between the

individual and the group recognized as
mutually empowering.
History - appreciation of the facts of Indian
history, including the loss of the continent and
continuing racial and political oppression.
Relentlessness - commitment to the struggle
for good schools for Indian children.
Vitality - recognition of the strength of Indian
people and culture.
Conﬂict - understanding the dynamics and
consequences of oppression.
Place - the importance of sense of place, land
and territory.
Transformation - commitment to personal
and societal change.
Such a list of qualities begins to offer
universities (and schools) a set of standards
against which to examine their policies and
practices to see how respectful and relevant
they really are to First Nations considerations.
While Hampton's set of standards may differ
from those against which the university is accustomed to being judged, it is in fact a more
inclusive list of criteria whereby all students
can ﬁnd something with which to identify.
To the extent universities are able to reconstruct themselves to be more relevant to, and
accepting of First Nations students' perspectives and experiences, they will be that much
more relevant and responsive to the needs of
all students.

RECIPROCAL RELATIONSHIPS
One of the most frustrating aspects of the university experience for First Nations students is
the role dichotomy between the producers and
the consumers of knowledge in university settings. The conventional institutionalized roles
of a university faculty member as the creator

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The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 42, No. 2

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