“That's Why We Hold Hands”: Gadugi and the Path Toward Indigenizing a PWI

Abstract

This article seeks to extend our understanding of how American Indian college students’ success is crafted from their lived experiences and ancestral understanding to create community on a college campus. Using a methodology of portraiture, the Cherokee concept of gadugi is explored as a formidable concept to indigenize spaces on a primarily white institution campus. The findings highlight the strength and agency of Eastern Band of Cherokee Indian students in disrupting the marginalizing structures of a settler academy.