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Four identified cultural self-definitions are generally used in relation to Indigenous
identity: traditional, assimilated, transitional, and bicultural (Peavy, 1995). This
means that Indigenous students can be identified through “traditional” methods—
that is by belonging to a tribe, which means that they have been born into or adopted
into an Indigenous family. For some tribes, this can mean their identity is affirmed
through living on a reservation or through having an Indigenous card indicating
tribal affiliation. However, this classification may be limiting due to a history of
discriminatory laws and government interference in tribal structure (Plous, 2002). Janelle Abela is a
Assimilated, transitional, and bicultural Indigenous students may have a family link doctoral student
to a tribe, but that link is not necessarily documented or accounted for in records. at the University of
Windsor and Founder/
Hidden, secret, and unknown Indigenous identities are found in the family stories of CEO of Diverse
students everywhere. Solutions Strategy
Some criticize tribal outsiders who claim Indigenous identity and “passers” who Firm Inc. She has
can slip through classifications that may have been limiting or liberating by law or experience as a K–12
by custom in the past (Turner, 1995), which places them in a liminal space regarding and undergraduate
any facets of their identity. Others note the flaws arising from how people are educator and is
an active diversity,
identified using demographic markers incorrectly in today’s world whereby a person equity, inclusion,
of multiple identities has his or her demographic information modified, giving only and decolonization
the “dominant” race denotation on forms (Gubar, 2000). In sum, Native Americans advocate, business
and Indigenous peoples have a kind of fluid ethnic identity (Eschbach et al., 1998) advisor, researcher,
that is varied and diverse (Johnson et al., 1995). and author.
Conversely, because of the way in which Indigenous identity is identified by abelaj@uwindsor.ca
governing bodies, it is impossible to know for sure how many of one’s students may
be Indigenous without specifically and directly asking the students, and even then,
the numbers may fall short or be skewed. As Ault and John (2017) stated,
Differences between who qualifies as American Indian/Alaskan Native, as
well as revised data collection processes, do not allow multiple races and
ethnicities to be recorded, which has led to a significant under-identification
of K–12 Native students. This is particularly true for students with complex
ancestries. (p. 1)
Furthermore, in higher education institutions, “if students identify as both American
Indian/Alaskan Native and any other race or ethnicity, they are no longer counted as
American Indian/Alaskan Native” (Ault & John, 2017, p. 3). As previously stated,
for some Indigenous, identity has been defined as being an enrolled member of a
government-recognized tribe or a lineal descendant of a tribal member, but even that
definition is complicated because tribal relationships are complex, and connections
are not always evident to non-Indigenous people. With those considerations in
mind, it is not overstating to claim that most teachers have probably had Indigenous
students in their classrooms at some point without recognizing them as such.
One of the first things many Indigenous people experience after they have
self-identified to others is quantification of identity through derogatory questions
such as “...but how Indian are you?” or “What percentage are you?” These are
racist, inappropriate, and complicated questions at best and a reinforcement of a
colonial mindset, fragmenting (Root, 1990), and more at worst. Both identified and
unidentified Indigenous students are at risk for microaggressions and overt racism
from their peers and, unfortunately, teachers. Because schooling in the United States
was set up to reinforce colonial mindsets (Abela & Dague, 2020), students experience
an oppressive curriculum that primarily reflects Eurocentric ideologies (Rovito &

Changing Perspectives on Teaching and Learning 15