The plight of the Native American in today's society is compelling to consider; it is a struggle that is universally recognized, and yet is also universally misunderstood. As is true with all ethnic groups, there exists within the Native American community a multiplicity of traditions, ethics, and cultures: the ôNative Americanö clan is the sum of many radically differing parts. In Andrew Garrod and Colleen LarimoreÆs collection, First Person, First Peoples, a host of Native American graduates of Dartmouth College contribute autobiographies detailing their personal experiences in a predominantly white, upscale institution such as the Ivy League. In offering the reader a portfolio of writers with which to become acquainted, Garrod and Larimore take an important step in clarifying some of the many distinctions that shape the Native American experience.
Of course, many of the writers in the collection explore in detail the nature of the unique pressures that they have endured as wide-eyed students in a strange new environment. Unlike their white counterparts, the Native American students at Dartmouth were forced to endure pressures that relate directly to many larger social forces; forces such as racism, ignorance, and a radically different system of learning. Many of the contributors note that it took years at Dartmouth before these obstacles could be reconciled and allow for real academic progress to begin.
Native American students, as they immerse themselves in the college environment, must cope with internal pressures as well as institutional ones. For many, the most damaging component of college life was the ignorance and cruelty directed at them by their own Native American peers. As a coping mechanism, many Native American students become addicted to alcohol or drugs, and others withdraw completely. In Garrod and LarimoreÆs collection, however, the writers have survived- thrived- in spite of these many press...