Ep. 33 Native Education Experience

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For full disclosure. The views and
opinions expressed in this podcast are those of

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the guests in the host. The
content here is for informational purposes only.

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Thank you everyone for tuning in.
My name is Napoleon. I'm part of

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the donal Outhom Young Voices podcast.
I'm talking about autumnal Atom and Peeposh and

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recently graduate student from Arizona State University, and I want to just introduce a

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few of our guests here that we
have tonight, but also one of our

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my colleagues here, Bree like introducer
as well. So yeah, thank you

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all so much for joining us,
and happy Autumn New Year if you're listening

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and you're autumn as summer Solstice is
here, So thank you all for joining

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us, and we are really excited
about our topic we have. I agree

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if you want to go ahead and
introduce yourself and then you can introduce our

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guests. Yeah, hell yeah.
My name is Brian Harvey and I'm don

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Insition Cootney. I'm also a recent
grad from the OBA with my bachelor's in

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public health and a Trouble Law certificate, and I'm also the content creator for

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this podcast. Thank you, Gree
and We'll go ahead and turn over to

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our guest. Um. We have
Monique and Crystal here with us, and

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we can go ahead and get started
about introducing yourself, any cool things that

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you're up to or anything like that, and then we can go ahead and

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get into our conversation. He not
Crystal Miller, and Nania not Guya Kada

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Na Lane Hicks Nabia and a Montoya
Na Nai Na Na Tashi Nania. Hello

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everyone. My name is Crystal Miller. I'm an enrolled citizen of the walk

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Over put You tribe located in what
is now known Northern Nevada. I am

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currently a HD student at the University
of Arizona UM in the American Nadian Studies

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Department, and my research focus is
in Indian Reorganization Act reform. I'm a

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mother to three children, an eleven
year old, two year old, and

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a one year old, and i
also work for the Native Nations Institute for

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Everyone Ya Monique Carvey and Chia has
Gonzo Nichelkachi Baschin Tabaha that Sha chain tenni

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Zenie. Good evening to all.
My name is Monique Carvey Ika showing on

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the Fruit Plan Growing Foot the Red
House People Plan. My Chain. Maternal

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grandfather is a water Edge people plan
and Manelli paternal grandfather is a Tango clan.

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I'm originally filmed Tis West, Arizona, and I am alum of the

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University of Arizona a class of twenty
thirteen. I graduated from you Oba with

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a Bachelors of Science of Public Health
and a minor in psychology. Currently right

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now a graduate student at the University
of Colorado, Denver, and currently pursuing

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a Masters of Air in school counseling
and free time when I have it,

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I enjoy traveling, rock climbing,
apparently right now not in the best shaprit,

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but hope to be soon better at
it. So I'll go with you.

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Awesome. Yeah, a lot of
two song represented right now. You

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know you let me just throw out
I just cried, so yeah, so

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I just yeah. Recently graduated from
a su with the Masters in American Indian

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Studies with the emphasis on Indigenous rights
and social justice. However, I'm still

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working on my master's drinking in Public
administration. And so how we sort of

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developed this episode. If you all
have been following us, we've been covering

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different topics about the summer socistice is
autom buy Dutch the harvesting, and so

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we wanted to sort of navigate a
conversation around different experiences in education since we

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are fairly new, you know,
to the graduate space. You know,

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now we have to start thinking about
careers, life choice has grown up decisions,

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you know, and so we're out
there and we wanted to bring into

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influential folks who are working in tremendous
places of student advocacy and a lot of

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times that we don't get to hear
about some of these experiences that we've had

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being in different positions, and so
we wanted to engage the community as you

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all have our questions in a Google
form, so we were really happy to

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also get that as sort of a
leeway into the conversation as far as Indigenous

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experiences in higher ed. But also
not just that, but even if we

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were doing a ged if you're in
middle school or high school. So we

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wanted to get a range of responses, and the responses we've gotten have been

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really really great and critical and how
we're going to engage our conversation tonight.

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So thank you all for those of
you who did fill out this Google documentation

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because it really helps us really navigate
the conversation about what our experiences are,

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especially during this time coming from a
pandemic and where we're all sort of coming

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together on the first thing you can
talk about, Monique or Crystal, which

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everyone used to chime in, is
sort of like preparing you know, your

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journeys. How did you prepare into
feeling like you're you're welcomed or like going

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into these different places and higher education? Okay, So for me, I

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am a first generation college student,
so navigating high education was extremely hard.

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I didn't have anybody in my family
that I could turn to, so I've

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just kind of been navigating it blindly. One thing that has been very beneficial

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for me, especially in my educational
journey, is having and finding mentors.

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So most of my mentors have strategically
been indigenous academics and educators and faculty and

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staff because they can relate to some
of the barriers that I've had encountered with

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higher education, but as well as
some of the navigating the success and then

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how to sustain that, because sometimes
we reach a high and then we don't

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know how to stay there because we
don't have support systems that can relate to

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some of our experiences as Native and
Indigenous students in higher education, and so

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for me, I didn't have a
preparation plan kind of did it. But

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in order for me to navigate and
be in the position that I am,

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I had to find mentors and friends
with the same mission and same goals.

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And a lot of times, a
lot of the friends, like you guys,

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can all relate, have goals to
better our own communities or surrounding native

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communities, or if we're occupying other
Native lands, we're going to benefit their

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communities for the time being, and
so just sharing the same vision is really

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helpful. I agree one percent with
Crystal. I would say I got a

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lot close with my adviser and my
first year undergrad, her name is Josie.

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She introduced me to a lot of
range of people, starting first with

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like a talking medicine circle, which
was something that was very new to me

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going into a college environment and not
knowing a lot of people. So talking

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in a circle with others was very
enlightening knowing that I wasn't the only one

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who was a little bit of homesick, was doing college my own and didn't

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really have much family in the area
at the time, so it's basically kind

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of like growing my own independence.
So I'm really grateful that I learned a

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lot from just attending some events out
of my comfort zone and started to gain

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my own self esteem and confidence.
So I think that was really something that

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was very enlightening to me during my
experience, and I hope that others will

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get that chance. Even though amazing, daunting, or a little bit scary

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at times, but you never know
what you're going to run into. Maybe

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you'll find your long term roommate at
this event, or even a lifelong friendship

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develops, or even a future opportunity
even comes to light. So I say

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that's something i'd like to share.
Thank you for sharing, um Napoleon.

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I think something that I noticed a
lot when we read the answers to the

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Form and Relationship being prepared. I
think a lot of it was community and

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cultural identity and just finding others to
make you feel comforted and supported. I

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think it's really crucial and important,
especially for us as Native kids, and

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like you guys said, finding mentors, people to lead you, people to

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guide you, it is really important. I also definitely heavily agree that that

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helped me get through school as well. Just having somebody to talk to but

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also somebody to rely on and push
you. It's definitely more helpful than you

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think it is. Yeah, definitely. And we did have a response that

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was like fifty percent prepared, and
it was like, well, what does

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what does that look like? Well, how do you fifty percent like measuring

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on a scale like I'm fifty percent
know that I'm going to graduate, you

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know, or something of that sort
of nature, because I how we sort

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of view preparedness is always different where
we're missing on a scale or like yeah,

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I'm you know, I've been through
all these programs, so now I

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feel confident in talking to navigating a
college spaces or it's like, well,

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you know, I usually talk to
my grandma for advice. That prepares me.

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You know, I know my community
that prepares me. So it is

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a really interesting response. And then
you know, the culture identity was a

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big one that we had a lot
of response from, because you know,

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you're preparing and there's like different layers
of preparedness when you're an indigenous student,

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first year, come from a family
with PhDs educators. So we yeah,

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that was a really interesting question and
thank you for your responses and so um

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with that preparing and now like you're
in the space. Now you're working for

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different communities, you're working you know, advocating. So there is there any

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unique experiences that you've had, whether
it's in the field that you're working in

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or like as a student, any
unique experiences that you any of you sort

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of had during the time when you're
a uvay or you know, bachelor's degree

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or even like were your work spaces. I would say for me as an

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undergrad at you obey, they would
host through an organization called America India Alumni,

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and it was during my first year
that I learned a lot of what

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the AIA supports to you obey and
not only helped to educate others about our

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culture. To you obey, like
there's more than one reservation in the area

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and how to recognize it and give
recognition to it. I think that was

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something that was kind of new to
me as opposed to the student coming from

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reservation and grew up on a reservation
their entire life, so you would think

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that maybe others would kind of in
a sense of that as well, but

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coming to a different environment where not
many people know the back ground or the

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history of a tribe. I think
that was really something that inspired me more

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further into pursuing going further in education, like making our presence known as well

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and then honoring in different ways.
So I think for me, that was

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honoring experience from me at you of
a and it's growing now here in my

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current graduate journey. But that's something
I would definitely say to students, like

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make your presence known and don't be
great to educate others too as well during

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your college journey, so drop some
knowledge. I totally agree. Sorry I

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didn't know. Are you done?
Yeah? Sorry, but no, I

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totally agree. I think one of
the highlighted experiences that I've had in higher

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education because like if you think about
my statistical journey, like from a child,

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so now I'm not supposed to be
in high education and I'm not supposed

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to be almost a doctor. I
should probably be like in jail or somewhere,

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you know, Like I just but
that was never my path. But

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ever since I was a young girl, I've always been doing activists works,

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specifically for my community and then the
indigenous community that I grew up in because

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I grew up on two different reservations
and one being mine and one not being

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mine. So I was always involved
in those kind of things. One thing

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that was interesting for me is when
I got to ASU, I'm at a

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professor named doctor James writing in and
he kind of showed me the way of

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you can still continue to be the
activist that you've always been, now you're

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just an academic activist. And so
it kind of has fueled a lot of

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the research and academic success that I've
had because of that understanding that you can

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maintain both. You don't have to
give up being an activist and you don't

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have to give up fighting for your
nations just because you're in the academy,

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which most times academy it's not serving
to our nations, but you know,

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we're in there disrupting those types of
things. To that way, the generation

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after us has the door opened a
little bit more, and then generation after

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them it's going to be open more. And so those kind of ideas us

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and concepts and things that we're bringing
in takademia now are being normalized generationally.

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As long as we keep that knowledge
with us. That's a good point.

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And you know, wouldn't re share
when you were going to school the comment

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that was sort of made because,
like you said, like there's just so

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many things that are always we're constantly
educating people about. And so when we're

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talking about this prepping and mentioned something
that is a unique experience that I'm sure

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we've all come across and if you
had any thoughts on that, every if

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you want to share, if you
yeah, I can definitely share. So

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I think my experience just moving into
a different area and then being maybe one

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of three indigenous students at my school. I went to high school Sawarita,

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which is like twenty twenty five minutes
south from Tucson. I moved there like

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a week before high school. I
had only ever lived in Kurtland and Farmington

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and Teas as well my entire life, and I felt very sheltered. I

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didn't know what to expect, and
I guess my very first experience kind of

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explains my entire high school experience.
But so it was my very first class

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of the day and haven't talked to
anybody nothing. I was just everything was

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new. I was very scared.
I was very shy at the time.

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Tale and I walked into my first
class and it's filled with older students like

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seniors and juniors and I sit down
sit down next to these two older guys,

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and I started telling them about myself
where I'm from, and the first

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thing they asked me was, so, do you have a TP in your

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backyard? And I was so shocked. I was appalled. I was like,

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did he really just say that to
me? And I did no idea

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what to say, Like, I'm
pretty sure I just laughed it off at

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the time, but I was talking
appalling yesterday about how like it's funny,

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we're just laughing about it, because
it's really crazy to think about. But

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if you really think about it,
like these are very weird things for us

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to experience and have to deal with, and especially you know, just being

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a kid and having to stick up
for your own people. I also had

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an experience with a history teacher who
said that Native of Americans weren't impressed.

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And there was just like little things
like that that happened a lot through my

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high school, and I think it
really pushed me to be the first I

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am today to want to speak up
to show the world who we are,

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who we can be. You should
have told that guy that you got weeds

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around your TV he can pull.
Yeah, those are those are differently um

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interesting experiences because what we're talking mentioning
earlier with Bree is, you know,

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I don't think any other community by
Park, you know, any other communities

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kind of laugh about it. You
know, we're always like, yeah,

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that was crazy. You know,
I got this asked question if you know,

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if I was Navaho or not.
You know, like just walking down

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the street and they're like, hey, are you Native? And you know

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you don't. You know, these
constant things that we were just like walking

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around or just sit down and then
all of a sudd and say like it's

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a foreign country, you know,
like from Farmington, New Mexico, grew

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up on a never you know,
I'm from Hilo River and Alcamon at them

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and they're like whoa who's that?
You know, like whoa? UM.

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I think a lot of times experiences
happen outside of the university for me,

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you know, going in Uber,
just going to I worked at the herd

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for like my summer I saw I'd
always get questions like what's the herd.

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Oh, it's just native you know
Native arts and things are like oh,

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you're Native, and then you know
it's just it's always I'm just like,

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ah, so it's exhausting sometimes and
those unique experiences always like travel with us

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wherever we go, and I'm sure
like no matter how many degrees or things

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like that, we try to you
know, put to prove ourselves or always

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like sort of like very humble about
it, you know, oh what a

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doctor, you know, and then
then you bet then you get these like

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very mediocre questions like so what nation
are you from. They don't ever want

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to talk about your research, they
don't want to talk about your advocacy.

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They're just like, you know,
I've been to yeah, you know,

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I Farmington. You know, I've
been to you know, within the Rock.

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You know. It's like, you
know, talk about my dissertation or

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something. You know, that's always
an interesting thing of unique experiences. And

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if you're out there listening and you're
in high school, you know, don't

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feel afraid to educate those out there. If you're listening, you know,

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don't feel ashamed of where you come
from. It's it's a great thing that

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people just don't know. But when
they do know, they're like it'll stick

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with them somewhere. Yeah, So, was there was there any experiences like

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sort of like that, Crystal,
I know, you mentioned like in the

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beginning, like some people don't know
where that's at, you know, don't

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know when Nevada, where that's at. Yeah, it's that you ask,

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because every time people think people that
don't know, when they think about natives,

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they think about one, how Navajos
look, how the big guy on

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Pocahanas or peter Pan and so like
all the time they're like, you don't

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like native, But if I show
you like twenty different paytes from my territory,

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you'd be like, why are you
guys all look just like? So

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it's so funny. People always categorized
as especially being down here. So maybe

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that's like my true experience being down
here in Arizona. So I've like formally

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been down here in like three years, but like if you count the times

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I've actually been here, it's only
been like a year. So that's my

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experience here. But we have this
old saying and it kind of speaks to

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what you were talking about, Napoleon, And we call these guys sad guys

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and bad guys, and it's something
that's kind of always stuck with me.

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And so sad guys are the ones
who don't know any better, and so

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those are the ones that you really
have to educate, and like you said,

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most likely it's going to stick with
the sad guys. But then you

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also have the bad guys who do
know better and they don't care and you're

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never gonna want to fight with them. You're just talking into a wall.

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You have to like acknowledge those kind
of things. Is it a sad guy

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that I can help, that I
can educate, he's gonna stick with he's

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gonna ally for us, or is
he a bad guy? Because if he's

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a bad guy, you just go
do something else for sure. Thank you

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for sharing that. Yeah, a
lot of our responses. I want to

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also acknowledge that there was some that
feel like it was just moments like where

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I was feeling unsafe and insecure about
who I was, you know, to

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kind of acknowledge that as well,
because I know we've all felt that even

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though I was going somewhere that was
just in my backyard, there was no

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one at all like me, not
even just a single other native that I

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can just relate to because it was
you know, it's one of the largest

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universities in the country, and you're
just like, what's going on and to

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acknowledge that you know that those experiences
are really real, you know, feeling

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unsafe, whether that's being insecure.
You know, you're in this program,

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you don't know if you can get
the amount of grade. So you have

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all these things on your shoulders,
scholarships, things that you have to maintain,

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a family, you know, family
community, and so you're coming in

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with a lot of stuff, and
so I just want to acknowledge that responds

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to because you know, those are
really things that experiences that for those that

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aren't able to talk about it,
we just recognize that those are real and

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those do happen in our when we
do enter these spaces. So, but

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what means you know that that's or
we're in the education space to help alleviate

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and acknowledge those and push towards a
bright or more confident level of where we

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stand as native people. So to
get where the position that you've all have

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been, you know, whether that's
the support what exactly? Well, I

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guess because you all work in different
types of advocacy, and I think that's

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what it's really intriguing, is like
when we're talking about getting students involved or

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getting advocacy efforts involved with policy or
health or any type of ways in indigenous

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communities, because everydigitous community is different. So what resources do you did you

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really utilize now that you wish you
had back then, whether that could be

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learning about you know, tribal water
rights or anything that you know. Monique,

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you said you're part of ACES,
which a lot of students are part

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of the STAMP programs left and right. You know, you can't go anywhere

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without a STEM major. So this
is revolving around like what resources that you've

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had that you wish you had before
them that really helped shine your the work

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that you're doing now. I would
say for me, something that really helped

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me back then would be like a
mentorship program. There was a mentorship led

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by doctor durn Biggae and it was
for first gen students, no matter if

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it's undergrad or graduate or even a
KH student. I gave a lot of

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support and awareness to not only Native
American students, but others as well,

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and it really gave them the opportunity
to discuss not only like academic issues,

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but personal issues as well. So
I think that space has widened a lot,

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especially in my work. Now with
ACES, we are able to support

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students not only through financial support,
but also mentally as well as featuring them

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and opportunities that can definitely expand them
later on down the road. One of

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them is like an internship experience that
gives send a chance to journey out outside

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of the reservation and then again dropping
knowledge about where they're from and where they

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hope to take what they gained from
the internship back home and hopefully expand into

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that stem field. And so that's
something I very much was able to grow

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and prosper in through the mental opportunity
with Actor. During BIGE, I was

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able to grow confidence and sharing a
lot of advocacy and support resources from you

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of AY as well as from NASA
the Native American Student Affairs Office, and

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was able to tell them like,
there's so many resources here that are wanting

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to help you, and the first
step is just going out there and taking

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part of it or taking a chance
on it, to making sure that what

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you're going to utilize and gain from
this is going to help you way much

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more down the road. It's like
it's kind of like a full circle experience

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because once you gain that experience,
someone like you, a younger you,

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is going to come back and be
like, hey, how did you get

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your start? How did you get
through the program? How did you get

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through a course? How'd you survive
you one day of school? So I

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always try to tell them that,
like, hey, if you look back

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at a younger you, it's going
to come back and say like what did

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you do? So be a resource
not only to yourself but to others as

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well. It's something I definitely like
advocate to students all the time, making

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sure we all went to our own
challenges and barriers, but remembering that not

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only are you serving yourself, but
you're serving your community in your own special

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way. So one thing that you
have a just recently implemented, I believe

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in the fall. So this will
be the first year that it Ran is

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an Indigenous counselor and I haven't had
the opportunity to go see them. I've

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just been super busy. I'm a
mom of three and PhD I were two

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jobs, so I should spend in
allocate more time to go see them.

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But why I say that is it
really important is because I know the struggle

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it is as an Indigenous student who
doesn't have that support. When I was

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at ASU, I didn't have insurance
it's like mid pandemic. I just had

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two newborn babies right back to back, and I had struggled with postpartum for

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almost two years because they were back
to back and I had no support most

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of the time I was in Arizona. When I was in Arizona, I

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was by myself with just the kids, and I tried to go to counseling

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with the free counselors that ASU offered, and it didn't work out. They

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were non Indigenous, and they don't
have to be, but they had absolutely

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no idea about Indigenous experiences. They
don't know. The guy that I had,

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I guess he was just randomly given
to me, didn't know anything about

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historical generational trauma, didn't understand anything
about childhood trauma, and so it was

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really detrimental to me. It almost
to the point where I felt like I

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was walking backwards, like to the
and it was so crazy. I had

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to even explain what imposter syndrome was, because I struggled with the imposter syndrome

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the entire time, and even here
and there, I struggled with it just

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because it's hard being Indigenous and higher
education, especially the longer you stay,

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it just gets harder and harder.
So if I would have had a resource

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like that when I was at a
SU, I think that my experience would

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have been a lot better because I
struggled the entire time that I was there,

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and so I'm really happy and I
was happy to learn about it when

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you know, in the beginning of
every semester they have like all of those

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boots out on the lawns and stuff. That's why I learned about it.

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So I was like, man,
all these little Native students out here,

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they got a good but don't forget
to use them. They're there for a

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reason. The university did a lot
of work to find what kind of needs

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that people like us need and what
kind of support that they can give,

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and their institutionalizing it, they're putting
the people in those types of positions who

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are qualified to help us. So
I know, traditionally and historically it's like

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super taboo for Indigenous people to go
even seek help and counseling and talk about

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our feelings, but it really is
beneficial, especially when you're struggling the way

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that I was struggling. Thank you
for sharing that because it brings a good

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point of just the resources that we
have in different academic spaces. I was

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talking to about, we have this, but then we don't have this.

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So what you're mentioning is like those
mental programs for aces. You know,

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those internships which which STEM is a
very competitive field engineers everything systeming from all

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that electrical mechanical, those are very
competitive, and we were mentioned I've heard

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horror stories about students going into just
like these very depressive states because those are

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very competitive programs. That's when,
like Crystals mentioning these these obstacles of going

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into you know, you're feeling depressed. It's just challenging, you know,

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even having to do that and then
go back home and your focus so much

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on this like competitiveness. I got
to get an A in this class.

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You know, you're you're draining yourself
out, and so those it's like,

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you know, for years, I
think ASU has been trying to talk about

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getting you know, indigenous counselors,
and you've been pushing for that a lot

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of people have been pushing that initiatives. So and then now you're very implementing

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that is really good for those resources
and there because I know the Crystals mentioned,

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those life changing moments happen families.
You know, you'd never know that

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every major is different. You know, it's just that stress of trying to

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keep up and things of that nature. So and I know, like you're

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mentioning a lot of like your mentors
have been been very advocates, so advocates

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for you. It's not all just
like all by yourself. So just letting

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listeners know that it's not about you
know, you do, in some way

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do able to have a community around
you, whether that's your native community,

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whether that's within academic spaces, that
that community is there to support you.

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And if you are in sort of
like you know, feeling this dream what

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is it called burnout? You know, and you're feeling this sort of way

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of feeling like I don't know,
this is imposter streams M I know it.

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And recognizing those earthly triggers of how
you feel about the way you're approaching

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different things because it could range.
So it's good that you all mentioned that

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those types of things because it all
entangles one another, Like you're saying this

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trick did people just don't know like
what inter generational trauma and all those messy

386
00:28:18.119 --> 00:28:23.200
the messy stuff and that's within itself
was struggle to just like talk about because

387
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as you were vamping it all up
again and like you don't understand. So

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yeah, I don't know, Breed. Do you want to add anything as

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far as like mentors and things like
what got you sort of through your final

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steps of your program. Yeah.
So I definitely had a rocky road through

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a school. Um. I definitely
didn't realize the resources I did have,

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which I know a lot of people
understand and feel too. I did find

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some great resources near the end of
school, which I am grateful that I

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found. I do wish I found
them earlier though, But I think the

395
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biggest thing for me was not only
finding my own community in little spaces that

396
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I could at school through clubs.
The only Native club I was really a

397
00:29:12.680 --> 00:29:17.920
part of was NALSA, the Native
Law Club Pierre at the job and just

398
00:29:18.279 --> 00:29:23.079
seeing how many other Indigenous kids who
are putting themselves in these what I saw

399
00:29:23.160 --> 00:29:27.359
before as impossible to get into spaces
you know, has been so it was

400
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really powerful and empowering for me,
and it gave me the motivation I needed,

401
00:29:33.559 --> 00:29:36.559
and also the support just talking to
them and also the people they had

402
00:29:36.599 --> 00:29:41.200
come and speak to that club to
follow my dreams and do whatever it is

403
00:29:41.240 --> 00:29:45.240
I need to do to you know, accomplish my passions in life and help

404
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my own people, my community.
And so I think the biggest thing I've

405
00:29:48.680 --> 00:29:52.880
learned was how much I could learn
from other people, even if it's not

406
00:29:53.039 --> 00:29:56.640
Indigenous students in particular, just other
students in general. I think we all

407
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have a you know, we're all
very different journeys, but we still have

408
00:29:59.640 --> 00:30:02.319
a lot to teach each other.
So I really just try to cherish that

409
00:30:02.599 --> 00:30:04.680
throughout, you know, school.
So I think, you know, don't

410
00:30:04.720 --> 00:30:10.200
be afraid to take up spaces that
we aren't normally in, because in that

411
00:30:10.359 --> 00:30:14.519
way, I've been blessed with so
many different opportunities to be the face,

412
00:30:14.960 --> 00:30:18.240
be someone to stand up so then
others can fall behind me. But yeah,

413
00:30:18.319 --> 00:30:19.880
that's all I have. They say
that with the pull up chairs a

414
00:30:21.000 --> 00:30:26.759
tables, we weren't invited to exactly
exactly drag that chair over. Yeah,

415
00:30:27.000 --> 00:30:32.240
exactly. Because my friend Robbie,
if you're listening out there, this is

416
00:30:32.240 --> 00:30:33.599
always stuck out to me, he
said, if you're not at the table,

417
00:30:33.680 --> 00:30:37.240
you're on the menu. So I
always think of that all the time,

418
00:30:37.480 --> 00:30:41.160
Like Dana's so true. It's like, well, that's not our problem,

419
00:30:41.480 --> 00:30:45.960
you know, but it's going to
be because it all entails. It's

420
00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:48.240
going to eventually come back to you're
looking at it. It's just you're not

421
00:30:48.400 --> 00:30:53.440
being served right now. You know. One thing I wanted to ask both

422
00:30:53.519 --> 00:30:59.599
of you, because I know another
resource where we were talking about, and

423
00:30:59.720 --> 00:31:03.920
this is outside of academia that we
know as indigenous people, is you know,

424
00:31:03.079 --> 00:31:08.880
feeling grounded, So family, elders, traditional practices, what does that

425
00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:14.200
look like to feel grounded? Where
you're where you are at? Um?

426
00:31:14.720 --> 00:31:18.759
You know, Monique, you're in
your way. Um, Crystal, you've

427
00:31:18.759 --> 00:31:22.400
been traveling a lot. You know, you travel constantly, Like what does

428
00:31:22.480 --> 00:31:26.359
that grounding take place? And how
does that is? What does that look

429
00:31:26.440 --> 00:31:32.039
like? As far as you know, this ever constant journey of traveling and

430
00:31:32.519 --> 00:31:34.960
family and then trying to keep up
a grade. So how do you see

431
00:31:36.039 --> 00:31:40.720
grounded? I guess you would say. I think for me, and I

432
00:31:40.839 --> 00:31:45.240
don't encourage this because it is highly
not feasible, okay, but for me,

433
00:31:45.599 --> 00:31:48.599
I always go home. Yeah,
if I don't feel good, I

434
00:31:48.759 --> 00:31:52.319
will like if I'm like broke,
I'll find a way to make the gas.

435
00:31:52.400 --> 00:31:57.480
I'm going home. But that's that's
just who I've always been, and

436
00:31:57.559 --> 00:32:02.920
that's that's what helps me. And
if I ever couldn't, then I always

437
00:32:04.000 --> 00:32:07.839
go hillside when I need to clear
my mind or like I'm not feeling good.

438
00:32:08.880 --> 00:32:13.440
Me and another good friend of mine, actually two good friends of mine.

439
00:32:13.480 --> 00:32:16.000
One just graduate with her PhD and
she's not a hole in Blackfeet,

440
00:32:16.480 --> 00:32:21.839
and then another good friend of mine
is from White Mountain and we all share

441
00:32:21.920 --> 00:32:25.400
similar struggles and it's not one hundred
percent of the time we can make it

442
00:32:25.519 --> 00:32:29.160
home. So we'll just send a
little text and say, hey, you

443
00:32:29.240 --> 00:32:34.359
want to go hillside and we'll just
go hike, like for hours. So

444
00:32:34.680 --> 00:32:37.079
that helps me a lot. I
know it's not my land, but it's

445
00:32:37.079 --> 00:32:44.599
a connection to land. Yeah,
I agree with Crystal. I'm kind of

446
00:32:44.680 --> 00:32:49.440
similar. Whenever things get a little
closed in, a little tight too stress

447
00:32:49.480 --> 00:32:52.880
a little bit more, I definitely
go outside. Luckily there's a mountain,

448
00:32:53.279 --> 00:32:59.160
and I love this mountain because I
realized my problems aren't as big as I

449
00:32:59.240 --> 00:33:01.680
think they are. It's really small
and compared to a big world. So

450
00:33:01.839 --> 00:33:06.680
that's something I always keep in mind
in my perspective and background. But one

451
00:33:06.759 --> 00:33:09.039
thing for sure is but I miss
home. I miss my family, my

452
00:33:09.160 --> 00:33:16.319
loved ones. I make food specifically
fibread or fan potatoes because that keeps me

453
00:33:16.559 --> 00:33:22.480
filled and it gets back a sense
of purpose of like why I moved a

454
00:33:22.519 --> 00:33:25.960
little bit farther away from family from
home. It brings back that sense of

455
00:33:27.000 --> 00:33:30.240
purpose for me, and it just
brings back the whole feeling of like family

456
00:33:30.319 --> 00:33:34.559
and loved again. So it's not
their hugs, it's their food. And

457
00:33:34.559 --> 00:33:38.599
I'm feeling in my belly so great. Do you have anything? Yeah?

458
00:33:39.039 --> 00:33:44.720
Okay, well if you couldn't tell
or new Me and Monique our cousins,

459
00:33:45.279 --> 00:33:49.720
I don't know if we've forgot to
say that, but so yeah, she's

460
00:33:49.799 --> 00:33:54.480
my family obviously, and I definitely
feel the same way. I just if

461
00:33:54.519 --> 00:34:00.200
I could drive, if I had
the sleep capacity to drive home all the

462
00:34:00.200 --> 00:34:01.559
time, I would, but it's
seven hours away and my back can't do

463
00:34:01.759 --> 00:34:07.960
that. But but when I am
feeling just you know, lass and I

464
00:34:08.079 --> 00:34:14.840
need some you know, to respark
that light again. I love calling my

465
00:34:15.000 --> 00:34:19.719
ya yaha, my nully, you
know, just to hear they're soft voices,

466
00:34:20.079 --> 00:34:23.320
and to hear how their days when
and just remembering, like every single

467
00:34:23.440 --> 00:34:29.079
day when I'm here studying, reading
for hours and hours their home. They're

468
00:34:29.119 --> 00:34:31.559
waiting for me. They're always going
to be there and this is for them,

469
00:34:31.960 --> 00:34:37.000
you know, so that definitely helps. It's easier to go home,

470
00:34:37.159 --> 00:34:42.800
but it helps. Yeah, thank
you for sharing, because those those are

471
00:34:42.840 --> 00:34:45.199
always the things that we get response. When we got the response on you

472
00:34:45.320 --> 00:34:49.960
know, Grounded, you know,
there was mentors, there was you know,

473
00:34:50.119 --> 00:34:53.440
being at a Ivy League school,
you know, being in that sort

474
00:34:53.480 --> 00:34:58.400
of realm, that's totally different thing. You know, resources you have,

475
00:34:58.559 --> 00:35:00.880
so they have to seek out res
sources in an Ivy League school, you

476
00:35:00.920 --> 00:35:06.079
know, even a small margin possibly
in a university like that. And then

477
00:35:06.199 --> 00:35:08.199
there was one that stuck out was
like Grounded, Grounded, you know,

478
00:35:08.320 --> 00:35:12.599
family, elders, traditions, practices, and I think that's where we all

479
00:35:12.599 --> 00:35:15.079
always ask each other, like,
ah, do you have any you know,

480
00:35:15.280 --> 00:35:19.559
sage or sweet grass around here making
you feel that or smell that sense

481
00:35:19.639 --> 00:35:22.440
of belonging again. And for me, you know, it's just family.

482
00:35:22.639 --> 00:35:25.360
You know, I have eleven year
old, so I always you know,

483
00:35:25.440 --> 00:35:30.199
talk to him just to get away
from all the things and get different perspectives.

484
00:35:30.239 --> 00:35:35.039
And kids are also a beaming light
of knowledge as well, because they're

485
00:35:35.079 --> 00:35:38.440
so they haven't experienced a lot of
the things that we've experienced, you know,

486
00:35:38.639 --> 00:35:43.360
so when you're opening up their mind
to different things, they're asking questions.

487
00:35:43.440 --> 00:35:46.199
You know, they're like two or
three sentences and you could be like,

488
00:35:46.320 --> 00:35:52.599
oh, yeah, it's actually better
than what I thought about. We're

489
00:35:52.639 --> 00:35:54.920
not thinking about it's so critical.
You know. I think our families and

490
00:35:55.159 --> 00:35:59.719
our kids and children really have that
sort of since of bringing you back to

491
00:36:00.039 --> 00:36:01.800
where it is, like that light
again. And then like you're mentioned,

492
00:36:01.840 --> 00:36:06.559
like food, you know, things
that really motivate us to feel in a

493
00:36:06.719 --> 00:36:09.079
way of feeling good. So yeah, thank you for Shanna, because those

494
00:36:09.079 --> 00:36:15.079
are just always different, different perspectives
and things that I'll connect to us throughout

495
00:36:15.159 --> 00:36:19.760
relationships and stuff. So and I
guess the next the next sort of topic

496
00:36:19.880 --> 00:36:24.079
we wanted to mention because this was
a really really big one that a lot

497
00:36:24.119 --> 00:36:31.119
of our listeners responded to, and
it was so sort of talking about different

498
00:36:31.159 --> 00:36:37.599
experiences, but also we can't go
about experiences without talking about challenges and barriers,

499
00:36:37.679 --> 00:36:39.719
and we sort of mentioned a little
bit of them, you know,

500
00:36:39.880 --> 00:36:44.719
challenges and barriers that have whe they've
been in academy or outside, you know,

501
00:36:44.920 --> 00:36:50.840
having raising family, staying on top
of your grades, So what else

502
00:36:51.000 --> 00:36:58.320
other challenges that you faced while attending
or doing the work that you're doing right

503
00:36:58.440 --> 00:37:02.519
now. That kind of sort of
key focus, you know, because when

504
00:37:02.639 --> 00:37:07.119
one of the things that I always
look back on are just like financial aid,

505
00:37:07.480 --> 00:37:10.440
being able to support yourself, but
also like your family, Like those

506
00:37:10.519 --> 00:37:14.119
are the things like, okay,
I have to stay focused. Those are

507
00:37:14.119 --> 00:37:17.559
the biggest challenges. And I know
a lot of students face those native students,

508
00:37:17.960 --> 00:37:22.119
whether it's financial aid and scholarships,
not knowing how to deal with manage

509
00:37:22.159 --> 00:37:25.119
money, you know, and things
of that nature. I know a lot

510
00:37:25.360 --> 00:37:28.840
of students always I don't want to
take out a loan, you know,

511
00:37:28.920 --> 00:37:31.159
there's a lot of always working in
a field of advocacy for students, it's

512
00:37:31.199 --> 00:37:35.880
always that first thing is his finances, Like how don't pay for school?

513
00:37:35.920 --> 00:37:38.079
I don't get my books. So
straight away from that a little bit,

514
00:37:38.679 --> 00:37:45.559
but there was also mentions of like
homesickness, which we've sort of discussed career

515
00:37:45.679 --> 00:37:50.159
growth, what you're majoring in,
sort of that imposter syndrome. It might

516
00:37:50.320 --> 00:37:54.679
worthy enough to be in STEM,
you know, sort of those highly competitive

517
00:37:55.400 --> 00:38:00.880
academic journeys. There was challenges would
professors like Bree was mentioning, you know,

518
00:38:01.679 --> 00:38:06.239
history teacher. So a lot of
our responses have really sort of been

519
00:38:06.519 --> 00:38:09.599
all kinds of different ways, have
been different challenges that they faced, So

520
00:38:09.760 --> 00:38:15.079
off you would like to share sort
of what a huge challenge that was sort

521
00:38:15.119 --> 00:38:20.480
of happening, but then how you
sort of over those those particular challenges.

522
00:38:21.480 --> 00:38:24.320
I have a lot of challenges,
so I'll go through just a couple.

523
00:38:27.320 --> 00:38:35.840
One major challenge that I've always had
is I've never had the ability to have

524
00:38:36.559 --> 00:38:39.800
financial support from my family to go
to higher education, and so it wasn't

525
00:38:42.199 --> 00:38:46.119
it was never an option to just
go to school, like I've always had

526
00:38:46.199 --> 00:38:52.679
to work to support myself and my
children while going to school. And so

527
00:38:52.920 --> 00:38:58.239
that in itself has been a challenge
because there's many times where it's like,

528
00:38:58.280 --> 00:39:00.159
Okay, well let me just choose
one, and it's obviously not going to

529
00:39:00.159 --> 00:39:02.760
be the education one, because I
can't live and I have a bunch of

530
00:39:02.840 --> 00:39:07.079
kids and how are they going to
eat? And so those responsibilities are already

531
00:39:07.719 --> 00:39:13.280
a part of my life every day, and so that's been a real challenge.

532
00:39:13.559 --> 00:39:20.880
It's also been a challenge dealing with
how the system in Arizona is set

533
00:39:20.960 --> 00:39:28.519
up, and so they have childcare
priced more than what for the three kids

534
00:39:28.559 --> 00:39:32.519
that I have. There is a
very small bracket of people who can pay

535
00:39:32.639 --> 00:39:37.599
that. And because I wasn't an
Arizona resident when I first started, I

536
00:39:37.719 --> 00:39:42.480
barely became a resident given though I
want to, as I was always considered

537
00:39:42.480 --> 00:39:46.119
out of state. So I had
to establish residency in order to get any

538
00:39:46.239 --> 00:39:53.000
kind of subsidy for childcare. And
it's not like I've had like this conversation

539
00:39:53.079 --> 00:39:57.000
with people who are like, oh, wow, you know, the poor

540
00:39:57.159 --> 00:40:00.360
Natives just always need subsidy. But
it's like, well, yeah, when

541
00:40:00.360 --> 00:40:04.559
you're charging thirty five dollars a month
for childcare, everybody's gonna need subsidy.

542
00:40:05.280 --> 00:40:09.719
And so that's another barrier that I
encountered. And I've always had professors,

543
00:40:09.800 --> 00:40:16.920
mostly early on, who have challenged
my perspective because my worldview and life goals

544
00:40:17.360 --> 00:40:22.239
don't conform to Western education. Like
most of the time I'm arguing with my

545
00:40:22.320 --> 00:40:28.320
professors, and that's okay because I'm
pretty good at arguing. So that's always

546
00:40:28.400 --> 00:40:31.320
been a very large challenge. And
yeah, those are probably two of the

547
00:40:31.599 --> 00:40:35.880
largest ones. Like, like,
I have challenges all the time, but

548
00:40:36.440 --> 00:40:38.880
we all do you know, and
you just have to make a choice.

549
00:40:39.360 --> 00:40:44.039
Like some nice you're not going to
sleep, probably more than any other student,

550
00:40:44.239 --> 00:40:45.960
but like comparing yourself to other students
isn't going to help you either.

551
00:40:46.360 --> 00:40:51.559
You just have to take your situation
and understand this is the deck that I

552
00:40:51.760 --> 00:40:54.519
was given and I'm they're gonna play
the game or I'm gonna fold. So

553
00:40:58.559 --> 00:41:02.360
yeah, I agree with Crystal one
hundred percent, and I'm sorry Christe.

554
00:41:02.440 --> 00:41:06.960
I hope there's a shining light I
are in. Definitely more supportive services,

555
00:41:07.039 --> 00:41:12.239
hopefully more growth in child support.
I know scholarships are more in doubtly including

556
00:41:12.280 --> 00:41:15.320
that in the reward, so definitely
hope it's in your way. Yeah,

557
00:41:15.920 --> 00:41:24.000
yeah, but yeah, I agree
with Crystal said a lot of not comparing

558
00:41:24.039 --> 00:41:28.440
yourself to students, but something I
faced with in my early years undergrad.

559
00:41:29.679 --> 00:41:32.559
A lot of the classes I had
were like just me alone, native one

560
00:41:32.639 --> 00:41:37.639
outpost student and Kim oh Kim,
and I didn't really get the support I

561
00:41:38.000 --> 00:41:42.920
hoped I could get from those classes, like going into tutoring and going to

562
00:41:43.039 --> 00:41:46.800
TA and instruct your hours, Like
I know it's basic information, but sometimes

563
00:41:46.920 --> 00:41:51.559
you have to go out of your
way of we teaching yourself and that always

564
00:41:52.440 --> 00:41:57.280
is very hard to do for me. So going to my undergrad I was

565
00:41:57.360 --> 00:42:00.559
pre med going in starting out at
a Great Advisor Jersey. She was amazing.

566
00:42:00.880 --> 00:42:04.400
She helped me a lot in networking, like I said, for the

567
00:42:04.519 --> 00:42:08.960
Talking Medicine circle. But when she
retired, I kind of was left in

568
00:42:09.000 --> 00:42:15.079
the dark a little bit of going
further in premed. So my gears shifted

569
00:42:15.079 --> 00:42:17.239
a little bit, My point of
view shifted more into public health. So

570
00:42:17.960 --> 00:42:22.280
that's where the whelm of like,
although I'm not doing premed officially, I'm

571
00:42:22.360 --> 00:42:28.519
helping a way of health in some
shape or form. So I guess kind

572
00:42:28.519 --> 00:42:31.559
of a solution to others who may
be thinking, like if there's a certain

573
00:42:31.599 --> 00:42:36.159
field that you felt was your calling, but sometimes it can come with a

574
00:42:36.199 --> 00:42:38.599
different message, I would say,
don't be afraid listening to that message and

575
00:42:38.760 --> 00:42:43.880
just kind of think like you're something
better coming out of it. So I

576
00:42:43.960 --> 00:42:46.079
would say, just flow with it, see what comes of it, and

577
00:42:46.960 --> 00:42:51.559
you know, a greater opportunity cre
even come your way, So just don't

578
00:42:51.599 --> 00:42:53.599
I would say, don't be closing
your eyes to all opportunities coming your way.

579
00:42:54.639 --> 00:42:59.679
And one thing too that I learning
now and my graduate journey is learning

580
00:42:59.719 --> 00:43:02.440
to balance challenge and support. So
kind of like what Crystal said, there

581
00:43:02.559 --> 00:43:07.119
is going to be decisions you're gonna
have to make. Like one thing for

582
00:43:07.199 --> 00:43:09.880
me is always is just self affordability. It's hard to live as an adult.

583
00:43:10.079 --> 00:43:15.320
It's so expensive. Who said this
was easy? But there's always a

584
00:43:15.360 --> 00:43:19.719
bunch of ways to gain support for
that. So there's chances are that there

585
00:43:19.800 --> 00:43:22.679
might be a loan in there,
but there's a lot of ways to combat

586
00:43:22.760 --> 00:43:25.360
it, like during work steady,
which is what I did my senior year

587
00:43:25.400 --> 00:43:30.719
in undergrad and currently now I'm working
full time, and so your skills of

588
00:43:30.880 --> 00:43:36.599
learning tend to improve over time.
I would say, just be open to

589
00:43:37.000 --> 00:43:40.320
some challenges and there will be always
ways to improve it and solutions standing by

590
00:43:40.920 --> 00:43:45.480
or is looking for you to try. So just balancing again, challenge support

591
00:43:45.599 --> 00:43:51.719
is something I've learned to still learning
too, so it's wanted to share that

592
00:43:51.760 --> 00:44:00.599
with others. That's a good points
there have Breedy, Do you have anything

593
00:44:00.639 --> 00:44:05.320
you wanted to add Yeah, it's
kind of just like an addition to miniques.

594
00:44:05.440 --> 00:44:12.199
But I think for me, just
feeling like I had a place to

595
00:44:12.440 --> 00:44:15.960
go and I had a solid I
know that everybody told me, oh,

596
00:44:16.039 --> 00:44:19.639
you're going to change your major like
four or five times, and I was

597
00:44:19.639 --> 00:44:23.079
like, no, I don't say
that. That's so scary. But I

598
00:44:23.199 --> 00:44:30.679
just learned to trust the process to
continue to choose opportunities and things that I

599
00:44:30.679 --> 00:44:36.360
have fulfilled my passions and my dreams
in life, and again just trying new

600
00:44:36.480 --> 00:44:40.840
things, putting yourself in new places. Growth is uncomfortable, and that was

601
00:44:40.880 --> 00:44:44.960
something I really had to get over
because for a long time, I was

602
00:44:44.960 --> 00:44:45.519
like, oh, if it doesn't
feel right, it's not for me.

603
00:44:45.800 --> 00:44:49.760
But you know, I was kind
of keeping myself in a circle and doing

604
00:44:49.840 --> 00:44:52.760
that. So once I broke out
of that, I kind of realized how

605
00:44:52.840 --> 00:44:57.840
much more I can do as an
indigenous person. You know, I really

606
00:44:57.920 --> 00:45:00.079
love that quote, you know,
for the generations four and after us,

607
00:45:00.639 --> 00:45:05.239
because if we don't start taking up
these spaces and trying all these new things,

608
00:45:05.559 --> 00:45:09.639
others won't follow. So thank you
for sharing that. And like you're

609
00:45:09.679 --> 00:45:15.440
mentioned, breeze is growth and that's
all we're all doing is just growing in

610
00:45:15.519 --> 00:45:17.599
these this card game, you know, like Crystals mentioned, you know,

611
00:45:17.639 --> 00:45:22.639
we're all you know, we're all
growing together and trying to make this work

612
00:45:22.760 --> 00:45:27.079
as much as we can, and
I also want to acknowledge, you know,

613
00:45:27.159 --> 00:45:31.079
if anybody who's listening out there,
if you've graduated from high school or

614
00:45:31.239 --> 00:45:37.079
middle school or you know, congrats, my son graduated from fifth grade,

615
00:45:37.159 --> 00:45:40.480
so he's going to sixth grade,
so graduates. Yeah, so there's a

616
00:45:40.519 --> 00:45:43.679
lot of you know, when you're
out there listening, you know, those

617
00:45:43.719 --> 00:45:46.880
are big steps to high school,
community college. You know, we might

618
00:45:46.960 --> 00:45:51.199
be university students, but I think
a lot of these things entail each other

619
00:45:52.079 --> 00:45:55.440
and those are big, big significance
to where you know, like we're saying,

620
00:45:55.960 --> 00:46:01.199
generations that come, whether you get
the advocacy from listening to platforms such

621
00:46:01.239 --> 00:46:07.159
as ours, or if you're just
like always interested in the work that Monique

622
00:46:07.199 --> 00:46:10.039
or Crystal is doing, you know, there's always room to always like gain

623
00:46:10.159 --> 00:46:14.960
knowledge and that's in that sense and
learn someone you know that is like you

624
00:46:15.239 --> 00:46:20.280
or you know you can see yourself
in. And that's sort of another another

625
00:46:20.960 --> 00:46:24.119
response that we got, you know, was like they were excited to be

626
00:46:24.239 --> 00:46:29.440
accepted. You know, they just
graduated. They they're having a lot put

627
00:46:29.480 --> 00:46:31.880
ahead of them and then like to
be ignored by the university, you know

628
00:46:32.159 --> 00:46:37.360
for their issue for things that their
barriers and challenges to be ignored. You

629
00:46:37.440 --> 00:46:39.880
know, here they are getting accepted
to college, but then now you know

630
00:46:40.000 --> 00:46:45.320
they're unaware that, you know,
when things these challenges happened, there was

631
00:46:45.400 --> 00:46:50.119
no support. So I think that's
where we like, yeah, there there,

632
00:46:50.559 --> 00:46:52.280
congrats, you got you got into
you know, hey, Sue or

633
00:46:52.440 --> 00:46:55.440
you know Harvard, and then you
get there. You know, there's also

634
00:46:55.639 --> 00:47:00.719
these other reflecting door that it's sometimes
it's not is what we seem to be

635
00:47:01.360 --> 00:47:06.199
until we're actually in those particular spaces, and they were like, man,

636
00:47:06.960 --> 00:47:08.360
it's hard, I have to work
two jobs. You know. It's just

637
00:47:08.519 --> 00:47:14.320
like that they want to see the
glorified PhD or STEM, but all the

638
00:47:14.400 --> 00:47:16.280
work that it takes to get there
is a lot. And some of the

639
00:47:16.480 --> 00:47:20.880
responses were just like, you know, institutional barriers I thought would be I

640
00:47:20.920 --> 00:47:23.079
would feel supported, you know,
what is this? Why am I facing

641
00:47:23.159 --> 00:47:28.519
this? And others were saying like
fiddly connected with one professor because she was

642
00:47:28.519 --> 00:47:31.840
the only native professor there. So
it's like, wow, it makes me.

643
00:47:31.880 --> 00:47:36.039
We reflect on how privilege we are
at ASCU to have a lot of

644
00:47:36.119 --> 00:47:42.000
these faculty and driven things paving the
way things. You know, However,

645
00:47:42.199 --> 00:47:45.039
there are still some barriers that I
think, you know, I've personally faced

646
00:47:45.239 --> 00:47:51.239
to where it's just like m yes
and no, you know, oh he's

647
00:47:51.280 --> 00:47:54.159
great. How does it feel working
all right? You know Christa knows,

648
00:47:54.280 --> 00:47:58.400
you know, doing his joke all
the time. You know, we we

649
00:47:58.920 --> 00:48:00.920
we see the light of everything that's
out there, and then it's like,

650
00:48:01.360 --> 00:48:05.000
let's tell you really how it is. You know, like, yeah,

651
00:48:05.320 --> 00:48:09.599
this is it's okay. So and
I'm sure that's like anywhere anywhere. It's

652
00:48:09.639 --> 00:48:15.079
just like how natives are in institutions. You know, we're all doing our

653
00:48:15.079 --> 00:48:19.880
own thing. But I really wanted
to overcome those barriers, and so I

654
00:48:19.960 --> 00:48:23.400
guess lastly, and and this is
also a big one that I think we

655
00:48:24.079 --> 00:48:28.400
when we put out the poll for
the Google doc, we wanted to end

656
00:48:28.440 --> 00:48:34.000
on a really positive note on things
that are our listeners and viewers have shared

657
00:48:34.079 --> 00:48:37.639
with us. You know, some
words of advice of encouragement that you know,

658
00:48:37.800 --> 00:48:43.079
you two would like to share for
future Native students UM coming into fields,

659
00:48:43.480 --> 00:48:46.880
coming into different areas, you know, social sciences, science, UM.

660
00:48:47.159 --> 00:48:51.360
Sort of what advice or words of
encouragement would you like to give to

661
00:48:51.440 --> 00:48:57.719
other currently or future students that you
want to share it. So one thing

662
00:48:57.800 --> 00:49:00.239
that I will say is anything that
you do in life is not easy,

663
00:49:00.719 --> 00:49:06.840
no matter how you trick yourself into
thinking about things. And so that's the

664
00:49:07.000 --> 00:49:09.400
same for our higher education as well. But there's a lot of doors that

665
00:49:09.480 --> 00:49:13.800
can open if you go to higher
education. There's all the doors if you

666
00:49:13.920 --> 00:49:17.199
just work. In general, it
could be going into the job market,

667
00:49:17.360 --> 00:49:21.239
it could be going into trade school, it could be going to higher education.

668
00:49:21.360 --> 00:49:27.519
It doesn't matter. But as Indigenous
people's because of those we're not like

669
00:49:28.760 --> 00:49:35.440
Western or ideologies are not the same, and so we don't think that to

670
00:49:35.599 --> 00:49:38.000
be successful or to contribute to community, you have to have a degree.

671
00:49:38.880 --> 00:49:43.559
But we do know that we have
roles in our community, and those roles

672
00:49:43.639 --> 00:49:50.800
always include working, and that's to
advance in better community. And so as

673
00:49:50.840 --> 00:49:54.519
long as you maintain that knowledge of
those roles and how that looks for you

674
00:49:54.960 --> 00:49:59.920
and how that contributes and gives back
to your community, I think that's something

675
00:50:00.000 --> 00:50:04.159
think that's going to be beneficial for
you, your family, your tribe,

676
00:50:04.559 --> 00:50:07.559
and then even for the children that
haven't even been born yet. But that

677
00:50:07.679 --> 00:50:13.480
also encompasses higher education. If that's
your decision, and it can't open up

678
00:50:13.480 --> 00:50:20.559
a lot of doors. Thanks Christa. I love that. I would say

679
00:50:20.760 --> 00:50:27.519
to former graduates to middle school and
high schoolers. Small advice that I wish

680
00:50:27.599 --> 00:50:31.159
that was shared with me is don't
let the small steps overwhelm you. College

681
00:50:31.199 --> 00:50:35.559
planning can take a lot of thought
and a lot of like what is the

682
00:50:35.639 --> 00:50:37.280
financial aid? How do you write
a resume? How do you start a

683
00:50:37.360 --> 00:50:40.800
cover letter? Even applying to your
first summer job, And there's a lot

684
00:50:40.840 --> 00:50:46.159
of steps included. But don't overthink
it and don't overwhelm yourself on how much

685
00:50:46.239 --> 00:50:50.440
needs to get done. It's just
a matter of starting it. So I

686
00:50:50.519 --> 00:50:52.880
would say one quote was shared with
me, is it takes eighty percent more

687
00:50:53.000 --> 00:50:58.199
energy to start something in twenty percent
to finish it. So just kind of

688
00:50:58.199 --> 00:51:01.159
remember that, I keep it in
your thoughts that it takes less energy or

689
00:51:01.239 --> 00:51:06.039
more energy to start it and then
less energy to finish it. So all

690
00:51:06.159 --> 00:51:09.480
the small steps of around you.
And something else too is ask questions to

691
00:51:09.599 --> 00:51:14.360
seek to understand. I was always
afraid to ask questions. Even to this

692
00:51:14.519 --> 00:51:17.719
day. I even get scared to
ask if there's can I get extra napkin

693
00:51:17.840 --> 00:51:22.760
at a restaurant? As far as
I go, like, don't be afraid

694
00:51:22.800 --> 00:51:27.880
to ask questions. Everybody always wants
to know about something, and as kind

695
00:51:27.920 --> 00:51:31.840
of formally mentioned in the beginning of
the podcast, is drop knowledge to others.

696
00:51:31.960 --> 00:51:36.599
You know, there's gonna be always
that student next to you or someone

697
00:51:36.679 --> 00:51:39.599
next to me that wants to know
what your T shirt is, your jewelry,

698
00:51:40.760 --> 00:51:44.840
why are your skin is a little
bit darker than there's so we'll be

699
00:51:45.000 --> 00:51:49.320
free to showcase or tell them where
you're from. So at one hundred percent

700
00:51:49.639 --> 00:51:53.159
they probably won't know. So drop
some knowledge. And then to all of

701
00:51:53.360 --> 00:51:59.840
the scholars, graduates, college and
beyond, were our students for life,

702
00:52:00.119 --> 00:52:02.400
no matter how much we don't like
it, we're always learning every day.

703
00:52:02.840 --> 00:52:06.719
And I want to give a shout
out to my partner because he always helped

704
00:52:06.760 --> 00:52:08.679
me that every day a chance.
He always says, I'm a student for

705
00:52:08.800 --> 00:52:13.920
life, So a learner for life. No matter if you're in school or

706
00:52:14.000 --> 00:52:16.559
not in school, you're learning something
new every day, So embrace it,

707
00:52:16.840 --> 00:52:22.679
empower it, and be a resource
to yourself. That was really good.

708
00:52:23.199 --> 00:52:29.280
Do you have any you know,
words of encouragement? Yeah? Nothing too

709
00:52:29.400 --> 00:52:31.400
long. I definitely agree with everything
you know. Crystal and learning kids said,

710
00:52:31.400 --> 00:52:35.920
I think We'll definitely help a lot
of people and would have helped me

711
00:52:36.159 --> 00:52:39.320
if I still in school, will
help me right now. But I think

712
00:52:39.400 --> 00:52:45.400
we should just all remember that learning
and education is a privilege, and so

713
00:52:45.599 --> 00:52:47.320
with that, you know, as
I have continued my education, I've been

714
00:52:47.360 --> 00:52:52.159
so grateful for what I have learned, not only for myself and who I

715
00:52:52.280 --> 00:52:55.519
can you help along the way,
but for people I can now educate and

716
00:52:55.719 --> 00:53:00.039
help also guide along the way,
because I think, you know, like

717
00:53:00.159 --> 00:53:06.159
this whole podcast episode is about are
our experiences are very unique, and so

718
00:53:06.320 --> 00:53:08.960
I think sharing them and you know, like when you said talking to other

719
00:53:09.079 --> 00:53:13.159
people, just getting to know you
know, those around you, those in

720
00:53:13.199 --> 00:53:17.639
your community, really strengthens you and
opened new doors. Awesome. Yeah,

721
00:53:17.719 --> 00:53:22.679
those are very powerful words, and
I guess I can share a little bit

722
00:53:22.760 --> 00:53:29.960
of whatever responses from the listeners have
shared from what their words of encouragement is.

723
00:53:30.320 --> 00:53:36.639
We have adapt and quickly adjust to
every changing environment. We have do

724
00:53:36.840 --> 00:53:40.199
to be afraid to ask for help
and ask questions. Continue your goals,

725
00:53:40.480 --> 00:53:45.239
don't hesitate to dominate, be yourself, be humble, have faith, stay

726
00:53:45.280 --> 00:53:51.400
in your path. All will fall
into place. God bless and we don't

727
00:53:51.400 --> 00:53:54.679
feel like you have to have everything
planned out. I would say, don't

728
00:53:54.719 --> 00:54:00.280
let the small details overwhelm you.
Take it step by step, and don't

729
00:54:00.320 --> 00:54:04.679
be afraid to ask or help.
I ask for help starting for my advisors.

730
00:54:04.800 --> 00:54:08.199
Professors. Resident advisers are in friends. I have made so many friends

731
00:54:08.280 --> 00:54:13.039
during my college journey that I'm so
grateful for. You get to broad your

732
00:54:13.239 --> 00:54:15.920
interests so wide that you not only
figure out who you want to be,

733
00:54:16.440 --> 00:54:21.800
but you also become gifted with the
experiences that you help that help you reflect

734
00:54:22.400 --> 00:54:27.239
so much on your small and big
goals. And then we don't give up,

735
00:54:27.360 --> 00:54:30.599
keep going. And then one last
one is pretty pretty long, but

736
00:54:30.760 --> 00:54:35.800
I think there's some really powerful words
in it. I encourage Native students to

737
00:54:35.880 --> 00:54:39.440
dream big. It is easy to
feel discourage in academic spaces. I want

738
00:54:39.480 --> 00:54:44.559
them to feel confident their decisions and
feel excited for whatever path they choose to

739
00:54:44.639 --> 00:54:49.920
take. There's going to be many
hardships, most expected, but there are

740
00:54:50.239 --> 00:54:53.760
a lot of great opportunities and friends
you meet along the way. You'll discover

741
00:54:53.880 --> 00:54:59.599
new things about yourself as you navigate
these challenges and make some mistakes along the

742
00:54:59.679 --> 00:55:02.599
way. My biggest piece of advice
for any Native student to make sure in

743
00:55:02.719 --> 00:55:07.199
whatever space that you're in, you're
expressing who you are. This is something

744
00:55:07.280 --> 00:55:13.840
I struggled with a lot. I
begin you're lit belittling my identity experience is

745
00:55:13.880 --> 00:55:19.159
an intellect just to accommodate the people
around. Don't do that. Who you

746
00:55:19.280 --> 00:55:23.000
are as an individual is so special. Don't let anyone or anything take that

747
00:55:23.119 --> 00:55:28.400
away. So I almost started crying
there. That's that's a lot that was.

748
00:55:28.519 --> 00:55:31.599
That's a good one. Yeah,
So at that, I think that's

749
00:55:31.840 --> 00:55:36.519
a really a special way for those
of you who filled out our form.

750
00:55:36.639 --> 00:55:40.480
Thank you all so much. Muss
up with and we are really happy to

751
00:55:40.639 --> 00:55:49.239
have these two awesome guests here alongside
with me and and breathe and it never

752
00:55:49.360 --> 00:55:53.480
stops here. So we could also
if you are interested in learning a little

753
00:55:53.480 --> 00:55:58.519
bit more and the work that Monique
and Crystal are doing, we could also

754
00:55:58.599 --> 00:56:04.639
share this their information and their emails. You know, if you are in

755
00:56:04.760 --> 00:56:07.159
the Tucson area, you know,
let them know when they're in the area

756
00:56:07.199 --> 00:56:10.559
and want to know more about you
know, their PhD journey or you know

757
00:56:10.800 --> 00:56:15.079
Monique and Stem. You know,
there's are very challenging areas and we want

758
00:56:15.119 --> 00:56:20.000
to make sure that we're uplifting our
students and the next generation. And if

759
00:56:20.039 --> 00:56:23.039
you are interested in college in general, you know we can always have those

760
00:56:23.119 --> 00:56:28.239
experiences expressed within ourselves. And what
does it mean to be an indigenous student

761
00:56:28.320 --> 00:56:31.079
as a you know, as a
grad student or just an undergrad. What

762
00:56:31.239 --> 00:56:36.199
are those experiences like? So you
all have any last words or anything you

763
00:56:36.280 --> 00:56:40.000
won't want to share before we wrap
it up here, I just want to

764
00:56:40.079 --> 00:56:46.239
echo that amazing ending posts that if
you have a chance to put that on

765
00:56:46.320 --> 00:56:51.159
one of your guys as amazing graphics
and share it for the audience or anybody

766
00:56:51.199 --> 00:56:53.960
that uses your guys as page,
I would do that because it really touches

767
00:56:54.000 --> 00:56:58.480
a lot of points that we try
to touch today, and then more so

768
00:56:58.599 --> 00:57:00.719
people can always reflect back on that
they need. I just thought that was

769
00:57:00.719 --> 00:57:05.880
amazing and I'm so thankful for the
person who shared that. Yeah, just

770
00:57:06.400 --> 00:57:10.679
ahead, to all our guests and
to our presenters today, thank you so

771
00:57:10.800 --> 00:57:15.920
much, Napoleon Free and to everyone
on Young Voices, I thank you so

772
00:57:16.039 --> 00:57:22.840
much for the invite. It's really
honorable to share experience and always feel free

773
00:57:22.880 --> 00:57:27.920
to reach out anytime. So definitely, I hope all we's here today,

774
00:57:28.119 --> 00:57:31.519
am IKT you all and hopefully inspired
to many people. So thank you all

775
00:57:31.519 --> 00:57:38.880
again. Thank you. Yeah,
I just had to say that. I

776
00:57:39.039 --> 00:57:44.199
hope everybody enjoyed the podcast. I
hope this gave you something to think about,

777
00:57:44.320 --> 00:57:47.400
gave you something to motivate you.
If you're doing a homework right now,

778
00:57:47.719 --> 00:57:53.559
finish that paper you can do it, and then also keep an eye

779
00:57:53.599 --> 00:57:59.360
out for any more opportunities to share
your stories or insight. I know we're

780
00:57:59.519 --> 00:58:01.920
thinking about putting more episodes out like
this, so I'm very excited about that.

781
00:58:06.840 --> 00:58:10.280
Thank you all so much for joining
us, and that Young Voices podcast

782
00:58:10.360 --> 00:58:15.599
will definitely be sharing some information in
a post and as well as a recommendation

783
00:58:15.760 --> 00:58:21.519
from Crystal Tina is our executive producer
who is in the background when the logistics

784
00:58:21.840 --> 00:58:28.119
want to Thank you all for listening
with us. Thank you, Thank you

785
00:58:28.199 --> 00:58:31.519
for tuning in to today's episode.
Onto Young Voices. Make sure to go

786
00:58:31.800 --> 00:58:36.800
check out the other episodes. You
can find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts,

787
00:58:36.920 --> 00:58:37.480
or wherever you listen to your podcasts.