Graduates

 

On behalf of my colleagues in Native American Studies, I want to extend our heartiest congratulations on your graduation from Dartmouth.   The path toward receiving a college degree is never easy, but your class has endured challenges that, in isolation and collectively, have been monumental and unprecedented:  a global pandemic whose effects will still be felt for months or years to come; a nation as deeply polarized over issues of race, class and politics and as inclined to violence as we've ever experienced in our history; and the existential crisis of climate change that may soon dwarf these other issues.  In many respects, the challenges awaiting the graduates of your generation have perhaps never been greater.  At the same time, we recognize that there are few better prepared to take on the burdens unfairly laid before you and to work towards a better, healthier, and more just society.

 

Please know that our commitment to you and our support of your work do not end at graduation.  If anything, your graduation simply marks the beginning of a new chapter, a new phase of working together for the good of all.  We hope you'll stay in touch and even join us for a guest lecture down the road!

 

Best wishes to you and to your families.

N. Bruce Duthu

Samson Occom Professor and Chair

Native American Studies

Muriel Ammon is Tsnungwe and Hopi from Northen California. She majored in Native American Studies and is a Dartmouth Senior Fellow. Ammon is passionate about learning k'iwinya'n-ya:n mixine:whe, Hupa language. She spent her senior year studying Hupa  through the Master Apprentice Program with her dad, creating language curriculum and leading camps for the Hoopa Valley Tribal Education Department, and working on her fellowship studying Hupa language education. Next year, she plans to continue her language work with MAP and HVTED, while also working with community members on language curriculum as a Lombard Fellow. Ammon hopes to one day start a Hupa language immersion school with her teacher-learner cohort, to support language revitalization and to promote community wellness through language.

Siyo! My name is Taylor Armbrister, and I am a member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. During these last four years at Dartmouth, I pursued a double major in Anthropology and Native American Studies with a minor in Environmental Studies. Given my passion for Indigenous people, the environment, and law, my intent was to foster my learning by exploring a set of interconnected disciplines that have the ability to uplift Indigenous communities. Long term, I hope to take what I've learned at Dartmouth and pursue a career in law that advocates for the protection and progression of Indigenous people and the environment. 

I am from Warroad, Minnesota and am Pembina Band Ojibwe. While at Dartmouth I have pursued Native American Studies and Government majors. After graduating from Dartmouth, I will be attending Mitchell Hamline School of Law in Saint Paul, Minnesota beginning this fall. I have accepted a fellowship position with the school and will be concentrating on their Indian Law Litigation Pathway offered through the Native American Law and Sovereignty Institute. Chi miigwech!

 

I am a member of the Chickasaw Nation located in Oklahoma. I am passionate about environmental justice and resource allocation for minority groups, specifically Native American communities. These interests motivated me to pursue a major in Environmental Studies and a double minor in Native American Studies and Studio Art. The intersections of these fields point to the importance of holistic approaches in understanding the relationship between communities and their environments on micro and macro scales. After Dartmouth, I hope to pursue a career in environmental law and work with Indigenous communities to protect their resources!

Gabe Canfield '21 is an Environmental Studies and Native American Studies double major from Ketchikan, Alaska. She is Iñupiaq with her family originating from all over Alaska. After graduation, Gabe is returning to work in Anchorage Alaska in the nonprofit sector and one day hopes to return to academia for graduate school. 

My name is Kylea Garcia, daughter of Carla Garcia and Harvey Garcia, and I am from Kewa Pueblo, New Mexico. Much of my academic and professional interests center on tribal sovereignty and health equity in Indigenous communities across the globe. My passions in these areas have driven me to focus my time at Dartmouth in Native American Studies and Global Health. I'm grateful for the many research and professional opportunities that were made possible by Dartmouth's Native American Studies Program, Undergraduate Research and Advising, and the Dickey Center for International Development. Special thanks to my friends, family, and other relatives for the immense support throughout this journey. After Dartmouth, I plan to return to my community for a much-needed break after more than a year in the virtual setting. In the near future, I hope to return to academia and pursue a Master's/PhD in public health.

 Yá'át'ééh. I am Diné from Tuba City, Arizona. I am majoring in Native American Studies and minoring in Environmental Studies. During my four years at Dartmouth, I was a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow, a Native American Art Intern at the Hood Museum of Art, a Native American Program Intern, and a Research Assistant for both the 2018 Charles Eastman Fellow, Dr. Kaitlin Reed who researches cannabis cultivation in Indigenous homelands of Northern California, and Dr. Bethany Hughes who is exploring the concept of 'redfacing' and racist depictions of Native Americans in 19th century American Theatre at the University of Michigan. During my off-campus terms, I have been a Special Events Intern at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C, a Dine Policy Institute Intern at Dine College, and attended the Institute of American Indian Art with the NAS Domestic Study Program in Santa Fe, New Mexico. I wrote a senior honors thesis in the Native American and Indigenous Studies Department titled "Visual Sovereignty and Contemporary Resistance to Colonial Ecocide in the Navajo Nation." My thesis examines the concept of visual sovereignty, and how Indigenous artists and allies use their artistic mediums to challenge, critique, and discuss modern extractive practices and environmental degradation occurring in Indigenous homelands. This summer, I am going to the University of Virginia as a Bridge Fellow, where I will begin a Masters of Anthropology! I am so grateful for all of the support I have received from the NAS faculty/staff and the NAD community at Dartmouth!

 

ᎣᏏᏲ ᏂᎦᏓ! My name is Steven Jump and I am a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. I grew up in Santa Paula, California. At Dartmouth, I was a co-president of Native Americans at Dartmouth, a Pathways to Medicine intern, Undergraduate Advisor for the Native American House and Novack barista. I will be graduating with a double major in Native American Studies and Environmental Studies. I plan to use my degrees to serve my community by working public health following graduation as I put together an application for medical school. I am so grateful that to have been apart of such a caring and supportive community of students and faculty in my time here at Dartmouth and know that the relationships I have built will go far beyond graduation. ᎦᎵᎡᎵᎦ ᎠᎴ ᏙᎾᏓᎪᎲᎢ ᎣᎩᎾᎵ!

I am from Boston, Massachusetts and am Tuscarora. At Dartmouth, I pursued a Government major and a Native American Studies minor, and I will be working at Bain & Company in New York City after college. I hope to work in a social entrepreneurship role that empowers indigenous-owned businesses after I complete my MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business in three years (currently in the Chicago Booth Scholars deferred admission program).

Howka! My name is Sydney Nguyen. I am Iipay-Kumeyaay, Cahuilla, Luiseño, and Cupeño from Valley Center, CA and a citizen of the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel. At Dartmouth, I've been a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow, the Mellon Mays Special Projects intern at the Hood Museum of Art, an Indigenous Student Peer Advisor, an associate at Novack Cafe, and creative director for Street Soul Dance Team. During my time here I've met so many amazing people and have had the chance to pursue many of my interests and passions, even studying in Japan for a term on the Japanese LSA+. I am majoring in Anthropology and Native American Studies. My senior honors thesis in Anthropology focuses on Kumeyaay Tukuk (Bird) song and dance ceremonies and its influence on Kumeyaay identity, sovereignty, nation-building, and healing. After graduation, I will be working as an elementary school teacher in New York City before returning to grad school. I'd like to congratulate my friends and peers in the NAS department for making it through Dartmouth, even during a global pandemic. I'd also like to thank my family, friends, and mentors for supporting my through this journey. Eyay Ahun!

안녕하세요, pay lolma! I was born in South Korea and raised in the Hopi Reservation. I am majoring in Philosophy and minoring in Native American Studies and Chinese. After my time at Dartmouth, I plan to apply to law school, and during my gap year, I will be returning to the Hopi Reservation to conduct a language revitalization project with a non-profit organization. I love thinking about issues in moral and political philosophy, law, religion, culture and language with the tools and perspectives I developed through my studies in Philosophy and Native American Studies. I hope to become a legal practitioner and scholar to contribute to causes relating to Indigenous peoples' interests and give back to the Hopi community which has raised me with much warmth and love.

My name is Brianna Seidel and I am a member of the Mohegan Tribe of Connecticut. At Dartmouth I pursued a major in Native American Studies. I was many other undeclared majors until I decided to choose Native American Studies. In the end, I chose to pursue this major because I could study everything from law to literature to history to environmental studies... etc. from an Indigenous framework, which, is a perspective I could acknowledge as my own. I am thankful I was able to attend the Native American Studies DSP (domestic studies program) in Santa Fe, NM and conduct an independent study which revolved around producing a concert to give a platform for Indigenous artists to share their art. I am so grateful for this department and the people in it have supported my journey. I am certain this experience will produce much fruit in the future. Mundo Wigo! 

Yá'átééh, Shí éí Shelby Snyder yinishyé. Lók'aa' Dine'é nishłį. Hashk'aan Hadzohí bashishchiin. Italian dashicheii. Belgian dashinalí.

Hello, my name is Shelby Snyder. I am of the Reed People clan born for the Yucca Fruit Strung Out in a Line clan. My maternal grandfather is Italian. My paternal grandfather is Belgian. I am Navajo, Southern Ute, and adopted Meskwaki. I currently live in Lawton, OK. I am a double major in Biology and Native American Studies on the pre-health track. My passions include Native American healthcare, Indigenous support networks, and multiracial advocacy. Post-graduation, I will be applying to medical school and starting a position with the Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health. I want to thank everyone who has been a part of my journey thus far for their guidance, advice, and support! Ahéhee'

Caitlin Wanic '21 is an enrolled member of the Bay Mills Indian Community (Ojibwe). She is a double major in Native American Studies and Studio Art at Dartmouth College. In addition to studying at Dartmouth, Caitlin was able to study remotely at Bay Mills Community College (her tribe's college) to earn an AA in Native American Studies during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Upon graduation, Caitlin is heading to University of Michigan to participate in a post-baccalaureate program called MEDPREP. This program is dedicated to preparing non-traditional majors for medical school. Caitlin's ultimate goal is to return to Bay Mills Indian Community and work at the Bay Mills Health Center as a Family Medicine Doctor.