Native students hone their policy-making skills at the annual Santa Fe Indian School Leadership Institute this summer

Every morning at sunrise, New Mexico State University student Brad Louis pays tribute to the Pueblo of Acoma in New Mexico, the oldest continuously inhabited community in North America. .

In a daily ritual practiced by many Acoma residents, “we thank the sun and the Creator for giving us life and opportunities to grow and learn,” says the incoming first-year student.

This summer, Louis (right, back row in group photo) was one of 16 scholars selected by teachers and community leaders to attend the Santa Fe Indian School Leadership Institute of the annual Summer Policy Academy, held on the Princeton campus, where high school students visited. and recent graduates learn how government policies affect tribal communities.

This year’s students represent the Navajo Nation and six Pueblo Nations in New Mexico.

Working in a small group led by faculty advisor Rebecca Rae (Jicarilla Apache) of the University of New Mexico College of Population Health, Louis created a plan to coordinate hospital services, public transportation and other important resources within Acoma Pueblo and surrounding communities.

Instead of acting as separate bureaucrats, his proposal suggested, they could better serve citizens using a coordinated public service approach that would align with a holistic approach to indigenous governance.

Regis Pecos (Cochiti Pueblo), a 1977 Princeton graduate and former University trustee, founded and directs the Santa Fe Indian School Leadership Center. The Princeton summer school is part of a broader three-year curriculum that helps Indian students become “creators and policy writers,” he said.

My photo

Matthew Raspanti, Office of Communications

‘Innovators’ for Native strategy

Louis and other Summer Policy Academy staff studied at Princeton from June 8 to 14, and spent a week in Washington, DC, where they presented their findings to senators, members of Congress and stakeholders.

Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) has hosted the academy 18 times since it began in 2008, with support from Princeton’s Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity. More than 300 students attended.

The goal is to develop promising professionals who can become “innovators and policy writers,” according to Leadership Institute co-founder and co-director Regis Pecos (Cochiti Pueblo), a 1977 Princeton graduate. alumnus and former trustee of the University.

Students at the Summer Policy Academy participate in policy discussions, consider case studies, and attend lectures by Indigenous leaders and media experts. They then break into groups to research the strategy and come up with proposals.

In addition to Rae’s community planning team, this year’s team worked on proposals focused on health care, led by faculty advisor Dr. Kristyn Yepa (Jemez Pueblo) from strategic research firm James Bell Associates; study, led by Preston Sanchez (Jemez Pueblo/Navajo) from the ACLU of New Mexico; and justice system reforms, led by attorney Casey Douma (Laguna Pueblo/Hopi-Tewa).

Shared passions

The Princeton summer school is part of a comprehensive three-year Leadership Institute program run by the Santa Fe Indian School.

“At Princeton, we share the aspirations of the Leadership Institute and are committed to incorporating an appreciation of the richness and uniqueness of the knowledge and culture of our Native and Indigenous peoples into our teaching and learning,” said Shawn Maxam, Princeton’s vice chancellor for organizational diversity.

The university continues to grow its relationship with Indian and Native American communities through indigenous studies, historical conventions, partnerships, public affairs and community service.

Collaborators in this work include the Native American and Indigenous Studies Initiative at Princeton (NAISIP), the Princeton Indigenous Advocacy Coalition coordinated by the Undergraduate Student Government, the Princeton American Indian and Indigenous Studies Working Group ( PAIISWG), and Natives to. Princeton student body. The Effron Center for American Studies is home to both NAISIP and PAIISWG.

In March, the University named Kēhaulani Kauanui (Kanaka Maoli) as the inaugural Eric and Wendy Schmidt Professor of Indigenous Studies. Anthropology and the Effron Center for American Studieswho is a professor assigned to promote interdisciplinary studies in Indian communities and other fields.

Students at this school focused their research and policy proposals on the idea of ​​a “desired future” for their community, which they conceptualized through posters as a first step in developing proposals for strategy to present to senators, members of Congress and stakeholders in Washington, DC

My photo

Matthew Raspanti, Office of Communications

Using indigenous perspectives

Elizabeth Ellis (Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma), assistant professor of history at Princeton, was one of the featured speakers at the Summer Policy Academy. Ellis specializes in Native American history and early American history.

He told the students that one of his pursuits as a historian was to highlight how data collected by outside observers in the past misrepresented his people. This in turn led to poor policy decisions “repeating a poor understanding of what our communities need, and we have real needs,” Ellis said, urging staff-‘ help them to change the situation.

Throughout the week, the academy students focused their research and strategies on the main theme of “desired future” for their community.

Mara Kahn (Navajo/Pima-Maricopa), a first-year student at Arizona State University who was part of Rae’s community planning team, worked on a proposal to encourage more funding for federal for Native health centers.

Kahn said he gained a deeper understanding of the policy-making process and appreciated the opportunity to study at Princeton “to learn more about the world and continue to expand our knowledge to help our people.”

A seat at the table in DC

In Washington, colleagues presented the United States Department of the Interior and the United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, outlining proposals that ranged from a public school curriculum that included indigenous culture and language to of new hires that will support community farming.

They also met with Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo), New Mexico Senators Ben Ray Luján and Martin Heinrich, and Kevin Gover of the Princeton Class of 1978 (Pawnee Tribe of Oklahoma), Smithsonian Under Secretary for Museums and Culture.

To bring the program’s philosophy to life, the group spoke with Jennifer Romero Monaco ’97 (Santa Clara Pueblo), Democratic staff director and chief counsel for the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, and Cynthia Chavez Lamar (San Felipe Pueblo ), director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, to show how people from tribes like theirs can shape policymaking conversations locally and nationally.

Douma, who has been a faculty member at the school since its inception, said students recognize through their studies and presentations the importance of bringing indigenous perspectives into policy decisions.

“It is through this experience that they understand how important their voice is to participate in discussions, especially when it comes to what is in the best interests of our people,” said Douma. Often, we are talked about but they are never talked about. Getting that opportunity to feel confident in their voice – that’s a very important part of the Summer Policy School. “