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Aliza Olsen

Alisse Ali-Joseph, Ph.D.

AIS 301W

9/25/2022

Narrative Essay

I grew up in a small town and I knew that I wanted to leave and explore more of the

world from a young age. One of the options that I was presented with was going to college, and

even though I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, I took that opportunity, that chance

of making a new career path for myself. The small town my family lives in is centered around

the prison system and I didn’t want to work there. Now, I’m not saying that I didn’t struggle, or

that I don’t struggle even now, but for the first time in my life, I have found what I want and

what I believe will give me the most meaning as a career.

I started my educational journey at the University of Arizona majoring in Veterinary

Science, but I already knew that I didn't want to be a veterinarian. Working with animals was just

all I knew because that’s what I did when I was in high school. It was a very long and stressful

road to finding a major that actually excited me and that I felt passionate about. I switched my

major about three times before I tried Indigenous Studies and I haven’t looked back since. Being

a half native person who was raised by my white family, there is so much about my tribe’s

history and culture that I want to learn. Our language is currently being brought back from

dormancy by a linguist and he, along with the rest of his team that I had the pleasure of meeting

over zoom, really care about the tribe and keeping traditions alive.

Looking the way that I do, I grew up not really identifying with my mixed heritage. My

mother didn’t know anything about my tribe and she had too much on her plate to also worry
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about my identity crisis. Imposter syndrome is something that I deal with on a regular basis and

it is extremely difficult to combat the negative internal dialouge that goes along with it, but I

have never been more sure of a decision I have made in my life. My hope is to relocate to

Oregon where my tribe is based and start learning as much as I can. I want to work with my tribe

and hopefully make as big of an impact on the lives of others as the people I have spoken with

have made on me. Being able to put names to faces is also something that I look forward to. The

education and career development departments within my tribe have been such great resources

for me as I have explored future job opportunities using this degree and I would like to help other

people like me do the same. Choosing a job that you will be doing for the rest of your life is a

very hard decision to make and I would like to make another student’s journey easier in any way

I can.

Along with education and career development, I am also very interested in working with

the culture department. As I said, our language is being brought back and the culture department

has been busy creating reading materials, organzing introductory classes, and making an online

interface that includes a dictionary. Helping in this endeavor and teaching our people our

language sounds like an amazing opportunity. There is so much to learn and so much culture that

is connected to language that our people have lost. I believe that bringing it back will make us

stronger as a people and will help me to feel more connected to my ancestry.

I am now a junior at Northern Arizona University and while my major is the same, I have

added an anthropology minor on to my degree plan. While I am excited to explore this minor and

the career opportunities that come with it, I am still sure of my overall decision. I have faced the

hardships of indecision and anxiety, and it took changing my mind about three times, but I know
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what I want. Making an impact on other people’s lives and learning about my history is what is

most important to me and graduating with this degree is just the first step.