Career Counseling, Native Americans

The need for effective career counseling and related research among Native Americans is striking. Census data show that Native Americans have the highest unemployment rates of any minority group with the exception of African American males. Unemployment approaches 50%, and the number of children living below the poverty level exceeds 50% on many reservations. Likewise, American Indians have the lowest rates of persistence in postsecondary education. Despite evidence of academic ability, postsecondary dropout rates are higher for American Indians than for any other minority. American Indians are also under-represented in graduate programs. Other researchers have found that American Indian students have a lower rate of academic achievement than students in other minority groups. Despite these obvious challenges, relatively little research has focused on Native Americans' career development.

Scholarly writing on career-related issues among Native Americans can be roughly divided into two historic foci. Early research focused primarily on understanding Native Americans' career development vis-à-vis existing theories and used instruments that assumed universal constructs. These efforts could be labeled modern perspectives on Native Americans' career development. More recently, career research and practice have used more contextual and culture-driven perspectives. These efforts can be grouped as postmodern perspectives on Native Americans' career development. Both of these paradigms have generated findings that have important implications for career counseling with Native Americans.