This Indigenous Framed Research will utilize counter-storytelling through shared collaborator stories provided by Nez Perce Native American Graduates. The methodology is shaped by an Indigenous Framework as this form of research promotes and develops a culturally resonant environment for constructing, analyzing and sharing information. The foundation of an Indigenous Framework is to maintain the 3R's of Respect, Reciprocity and Relationality. Incorporating the 3R's in this research will aid to contextually analyze the family support the Nez Perce graduates were provided to persist to graduation from a public, four-year Institution of Higher Education. This Indigenous Research framework and arguments framed in Tribal Critical Race Theory (TribalCrit) are central in analyzing the experiences that Native peoples have faced in the past and continue to face in the present, which are based on the unique relationship Native Americans have with the U.S. Government. By utilizing the constructs defined through TribalCrit, this research emphasizes the balancing act of maintaining cultural integrity and gaining a Western education that Native students must face and master when they choose to purse higher education. It further emphasizes that as more Native students become educated, they are starting to develop practices and strategies involving family support that help them adapt to the Western education world. Research findings from this study will be given with the Nez Perce Tribe and the tribal collaborators, as well as the Education Offices of the Tribes that they represent in order to follow the construct of reciprocity that this research was developed upon. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]