“LUXURY” LIVING IN TWO WAYS OF KNOWING – TRADITIONAL AND WESTERN WORLDS

People of color who are minorities have the “luxury” of living in two worlds, the traditional/indigenous world, and the Western world. Being required to “fit” into the Western world’s definition of “educated” is not what minority people of color are familiar with. Based on this understanding, the purpose of this study is to offer the Two Ways of Knowing philosophy in higher education institutions. This project will address i) the challenge of Two Ways of Knowing; ii) the challenges of research in terms of environmental and water resources conditions on tribal lands. The Two Ways of Knowing method will permit students to utilize either method to study environmental health and water quality. Becoming familiar with the Two Ways of Knowing will put minority people of color behind in their academic program, however, they will be more successful, that is, they will graduate. Recent data from the Postsecondary Policy Institute shows that less than 10 percent of Native Americans receive at least their associate degree, and only 16 percent attain a bachelor's degree or higher. Just 19 percent of Native Americans aged 18 to 24 are enrolled in a college program, compared to 41 percent of the overall population and less than 1 percent of overall Native Americans complete an advanced degree. Through this approach first, students will be introduced, if not familiar already, to the traditional way of knowing by enrolling in courses from the School of Diné Language and Culture. Second, students will simultaneously begin the Western coursework of their choice in the physical sciences. The primary focus will be on the Western coursework regarding the environmental science education and water resources education on their respective tribal lands. A key question posed will be related to motivation and associated self-confidence instilled in the traditional native world versus the Western world during students’ research inquiries. Recruitment activities involving the students discussing their research, writing about their research, presenting their research will aid in bringing forth the self-confidence and motivation to complete a degree at an institute of higher education.