Glamsquad_Magazine_Jan_2024

REPORTAGE
the world. It took me time, but I
eventually found my place – and
gained more confidence in my
voice.
Who paved the way for
you?
Our people have been on
the frontlines for generations
– those are the people that
paved the way for me in my
advocacy work. And I think, more
specifically, my mom and my
aunties really paved that trail for
me because my mom is also an
incredible advocate. I learned
everything from her. She was a
single parent raising me and my
brothers. We always had help
from our community, and one
thing that I’m very thankful for is
having a great connection to my
community.
What is your proudest
moment?
I have been blessed with
some amazing opportunities. But
some of the proudest moments
are when I go back to my
community and am surrounded
by Native children and elders
who are excited and happy and
who feel proud of who they are.
A lot of our people carry shame
due to generational trauma.
Seeing these young kids have
healthy representation and have
healthy people they can look up
to and, when they go to the store,
see a Native person on the cover
of a catalog or a magazine.
What is your definition of
courage?
My definition of courage is
someone who is courageous
enough, brave enough and
open enough to just take up
space. It takes a lot of courage
to take up space unless that
space was just given to you.
But for people like me and,
honestly, Indigenous people, our
voices, our perspectives and our
experiences had been pushed
out of the media – out of every
narrative.
We are reclaiming that
narrative. We’re reclaiming our
identity and showing people who
we truly are as a people, not just
what Hollywood stereotypes were
created about Native people.
My definition of courage is someone who
is courageous enough, brave enough
and open enough to just take up space.
It takes a lot of courage to take up space
unless that space was just given to you. My
definition of courage is someone who is
courageous enough, brave enough and
open enough to just take up space. It takes
a lot of courage to take up space unless
that space was just given to you.
Is there a guiding principle
or mantra you tell yourself?
My mom repeated this to me
growing up: “Always remember
who you are and where you
come from.”
Who do you look up to?
I look up to my mom. Why she
has been such a powerhouse
in so many different ways. She’s
had so many different careers in
her lifetime: She’s won awards for
protecting women. She was in
law enforcement for a long time;
she was the only Native woman in
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