HONORING THE WHOLE PERSON: ACKNOWLEDGING MULTIPLE IDENTITIES OF GEOSCIENTISTS FROM DIVERSE CULTURES

Despite efforts to increase diversity in geoscience disciplines, there remains a notable lack of diversity of students receiving geoscience degrees, low rate of faculty of color in tenure track positions, in addition to lack of diversity in leadership positions in both academia and professional positions. Evidence suggests that a significant percentage of underrepresented students from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds begin their educational journey in STEM fields but leave within the first two years due to the lack of security, mentorship, and sustainable support systems. In an effort to retain diverse students, specifically Native American/Alaska Native students we must acknowledge and address four keys areas and secure environments necessary for retention 1-Instruction, 2-Mentorship, 3-Lab and 4-Field Work. Consideration of these areas will provide faculty an opportunity to reflect on their instructional, mentorship and teaching practices individually within a community of learners, while fostering a better understanding of the complexities of Native American – Alaska Native student identities, responding to the broader deficit narratives about Native students encounter daily. Here we also discuss the multiple identities Native students possess in addition to their diverse tribal communities, of which there are hundreds with distinctive cultures, language and protocols, in an effort to allow students to present and be their whole self rather than a single identity.