This qualitative study investigates how speaking the Lumbee Dialect impacts the academic achievement and identity development of Native American college students in predominantly White, Research Intensive institutions. The eleven students who participated in this study identify as members of the Lumbee Indian Tribe. The Lumbee Dialect differs from written and spoken conventions of Standard English in grammar construction, vocabulary, and pronunciation serves as a linguistic marker for members of the Lumbee Tribe of Robeson County, North Carolina. The researcher analyzes the data through a lens that recognizes oppression by race, oppression by class, and oppression by language and integrates concepts of linguistic hegemony with Tribal Critical Race theory. Findings from the study reflect that speaking the dialect impacts both academic achievement and identity development, as evident in themes such as talking White and language masking. This study has implications for K-12 and higher education, specifically in the areas of counseling, language learning, instructional leadership, and Native American community development and language preservation.