Within the framework of Philippine higher education, this study explores how Indigenous students perceive academic hurdles and cultural inclusivity. The study, which was based on the frameworks of Critical Pedagogy (Freire, 1970), Culturally Responsive Teaching (Gay, 2010), and Social Justice Education (Sensoy & DiAngelo, 2017), sought to investigate four main areas: (1) the academic difficulties that Indigenous students frequently encounter (2) how they perceive cultural relevance in curricula and classroom practices (3) how they perceive inclusion and representation in institutional policies and educational activities and (4) whether there are notable differences in these perceptions based on ethnolinguistic affiliation. The study used a quantitative descriptive-comparative methodology to survey 90 Indigenous students who were enrolled in the 2025–2026 academic year at West Visayas State Universitys Himamaylan City Campus. The most common academic difficulty, according to the findings, was financial hardship, highlighting larger socioeconomic disparities. Notwithstanding these challenges, students thought their education was inclusive and culturally relevant in general, however group differences indicated different experiences. The four Indigenous groups assessments of cultural relevance and inclusivity did not differ statistically significantly, according to Kruskal-Wallis analyses. In order to overcome structural inequities, these findings emphasize the necessity of focused, culturally sensitive, and equity-oriented initiatives that go beyond symbolic inclusion. The study supports continued initiatives to bring Philippine higher education into accordance with Sustainable Development Goal 4 and the tenets of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), namely Article 14.