I was sitting on the floor in my bedroom when my mentor, Ethel Branch, former Navajo Nation Attorney General called me. COVID-19 was spreading throughout the country, and we both knew it would eventually reach our Diné Nation. What could we do? I thought about the 13 grocery stores across our reservation, which spans acrossContinue reading “COVID Relief Work: My Reflection”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Duke must do more for Native students
“I tell myself that perhaps one day another Navajo student will step onto campus, be welcomed by a Native community, and walk into a Native student center where she has resources available for her to succeed. I pray one day she will not wake up every morning convincing herself that she belongs here, because she knows she does. “
A Journey of Excellence
I believe education is the powerhouse for reinvigorating cultural norms and I am proud to have had the opportunity to contribute to enhancing the Duke experience for Native students. As a proud AIGC Scholar, I continue to make the path better for those who will come after me.
Patience
Our struggles are important. Our opinions matter. We matter. It is hard to succeed. We juggle the life of a scholar with our cultural teachings, and sometimes the two collide. If I have learned anything, it is that it is possible to remain whole. It is possible to piece ourselves back together when the world continues to take pieces of our identity.
News
What would you do? when a childhood friend has left to find happiness in another world. Traveled to the next life, praying for the real opportunity to live. There are two waves that hit you. The first comes in the form of a text message reading “he is gone”. You feel shocked, numb, hurt. EveryContinue reading “News”
Reservation
Many reservations are rural ghettos, intentionally located as far away from the rest of the world as possible. I, like many other indomitable Native Americans, have made it off my reservation. Though I am still reminded every day of the polluting of the land that I love with a society that tried to break me,Continue reading “Reservation”
Beauty
“But, I wanted short hair so bad. I wanted to be different. I needed to be beautiful.”
Con Los Niños
“One day I will go back and smile at the old me who was brave enough to create these memories. This is a painful memory. This is beautiful.”
Always Returning
“These rocks soften my edges; making me human again…”
My visit to the Amazon Rainforest
” Some of my favorite memories are in that rainforest. “
Shandiin Herrera 