Stephanie Patrick

Alisse Ali-Joseph

AIS 301W

19 September 2021

Northern Arizona University

Personal/Narrative Essay

When I was about three years old, I had a pretty little purple notebook with Anne

Greddes babies dressed like flowers on the cover. I got a pencil and wrote a “book” about

planting a garden with my mom. Of course, it was all scribbles, but it shows just how much I

valued the act and the art of writing even before I could form my letters. I grew up with

educators as parents who impressed on me that education was important and even at the age of

three, I had already begun to understand that. Each night, I would have books upon books read to

me, and as I got older, it was chapters a night. I grew up in Tucson, Arizona, however and my

home state is 49th in funding for education in the United States so the system is bound to have

some flaws. I started to notice that early on.

I am a proud member of the Chickasaw Nation and grew up with many wonderful stories

about my heritage from my maternal grandmothers. When I was at school, however, I struggled

with that part of my identity, especially since I inherited the pale skin and blue eyes of my

father’s side of the family. School never spoke in depth about Indigenous people and never the

way that my grandmothers did. There was so much praise for the white man in my elementary

schools and there were no other students that would challenge that teaching. We never learned

about the tribes in Arizona, despite there being tribes less than an hour outside of city limits. I

wanted to understand my heritage more, from a school setting, and Northern Arizona University
seemed like the perfect place. I wanted to experience something different from the desert valleys

and NAU had a program that encouraged Indigenous students.

After many changes in my interests, I finally chose to stick to my roots and choose a

double major in Applied Indigenous Studies and Strategic Communications with an emphasis in

Public Relations. Because of my experiences in education, lack of representation in media

growing up, and overall injustices I was seeing as a child, I chose to add a minor of Political

Science.

I hated growing up with conflict about my identity. I never mentioned my heritage as a

child and when I did, it was always met with skepticism because of the racist stereotypes of

Indigneous peoples portrayed in the media. It was as if the people I told couldn’t imagine seeing

a Native American who wasn’t dark and living on a reservation in teepees. I never saw “normal”

Indigneous youth represented in TV shows the way other minority groups were portrayed. There

were never shows or movies that tried to combat the old movies of Indian outlaws and cowboys.

I want to change that. I hated having to explain why I was white and why I could wear the

earring my grandmother made--why that wasn’t cultural appropriation. I hated feeling

uncomfortable when I wanted to speak out about learning about Columbus or how great

Jefferson was while the teacher brushed over the Trail of Tears that my very own ancestors were

subjected to. I felt like I had to brush aside my unease when my elementary school did “craft

day” every half day before Thanksgiving and had every child make “feather hats” without

discussing any historical significance. I want to change this and help make other children who

grow up outside of their tribes feel accepted.

Indigenous Studies is a big part of that goal. I want to work with my tribe at some point

as well as in general politics advocating for minority and Indigenous rights and representation.
Having an Indigenous Studies degree will help with that. I need to learn more about policies,

especially considering that my secondary education wasn’t any better at teaching about current

tribal events. Indigneous Studies will help me learn about other Nations and their cultures so that

my knowledge isn’t centered around the stories from my grandmothers. I think that having this

degree will also open up the door to conversation about injustice and representation. When

someone asks me why I chose that degree and perceives me as white, I can make a small

difference in their views by just talking. I’m hoping to gain an internship here in Arizona at the

Capitol my last semester so that I can put one foot in the door. I want to change what I

experienced growing up and to me, the only way to do that is to put myself out there and explain

my situation and change the way others see Indigenous peoples.