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Out of the Mix: Native Americans in Information Technology

Roli Varma

University of New Mexico

The number of Native Americans − the original peoples of the United States of America − pursuing education in information technology (IT) related disciplines is low. For instance, the 1999-2000 Taulbee Survey found that Native Americans earned 31 (0%) of computer science (CS) and 4 (0%) of computer engineering (CE) bachelor degrees.4 Under-representation of Native Americans in IT is critical for the American society, which promotes equal access to education and employment. Because of their relatively small number (1.5% of U.S. population), Native Americans are seldom represented in the assessment of racial disparities in IT. Most importantly, once Native Americans’ land stretched from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean and from the Arctic Circle to the tip of South America. But, over the years, their lives have been disrupted and they have been dislocated.20 With the rise of information society, Native Americans face another danger of being left behind.

Most scholarly work has been on the gender gap in science and engineering (S&E). It is generally assumed that many of the reasons that discourage women from S&E education and careers apply to under-represented minorities. When scholars have studied under-represented minorities in S&E, they have concentrated on Afro-Americans and Hispanics.5,7,16 There is little work on Native Americans in S&E.

Recently, scholars have begun to take a more in-depth look into the specific disciplines of IT and under-representation of women.1,6,9,10,11,13,21 Some have began to focus on under-represented minorities in IT3,22 Studies reveal racial/ethnic socialization of childhood, bias in schooling, lack of proficiency in mathematics and science, problems resulting from working in a predominantly white environment, lack of resources especially computers at home, digital divide, image of IT, and absence of the minorities role models − all of which contributes towards under- representation of minorities in IT education and career. Though most of these are likely to apply to Native Americans, there may be additional historical and cultural factors, which may play an essential role in their learning process.

Native Americans maintain tribal traditions and languages and accept those new technologies, which address their needs.20 They tend to have humanistic and holistic approaches of learning and knowledge. Their worldviews emphasize the importance of grasping the big picture before studying particular things or subjects.12 Native Americans consider competitiveness, boasting about oneself, direct eye contact, and individual success taboos.24 Instead, they prefer harmony and group-oriented learning environments to be more important than the individual success.2 As Proceedings of the 2005 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition 1 Copyright . 2005, American Society for Engineering Education

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Varma, R. (2005, June), Out Of Mix: Native Americans In Information Technology Paper presented at 2005 Annual Conference, Portland, Oregon. 10.18260/1-2--15383