I’m from the Pala Band of Mission Indians and am of Southern Cheyenne descent. I grew up on the Pala Indian Reservation, where I was exposed to the beauty of my Kupa and Luiseño culture. Growing up, I was raised family-dependent, knowing that community was where my support and love came from. My mother constantly exposed me to our Native cultures, telling me stories of her old pow wow days, family stories and legacies, and even taking me to pow wows and cultural gatherings/ceremonies. However, I also noticed the struggle and depression that affected my reservation, resulting in many of my loved ones and community members turning to drugs and alcohol to distract them from the hardships going on in our lives. As a result, I found it difficult to accept my Native identity. I was conflicted about what it meant to be Native because my reservation life was too harmful for me to accept and want for my loved ones despite the culture that came with it. I found myself using school as a way to distract myself from my reservation. This led me to prioritize my education as I believed it would provide me with more opportunities than staying at home. However, I became disconnected from my identity and culture in the process. I started to think that my success would only come from assimilating into Western education. 

During high school, I attended a school far from my home and was the only Native student there. When I noticed that my school appropriated my culture, as evidenced by our mascot being a hawk in a headdress and our name being the “Warriors,” I began to realize the limitations of Western education, as it did not acknowledge nor respect Native Americans. This resulted in my journey to higher education being fueled by another desire: proper representation. When I got accepted into UCLA, I was sad to leave my family, but I knew that this was an opportunity for growth and change, not only for myself but for Pala. However, I knew I would need a strong support system, like my family, to help me through the transition. So, I sought out the Native Bruins. 

When I first arrived at UCLA, I noticed many people in our community weren’t from a reservation like me. This made transitioning to college life harder because I was concerned they wouldn’t understand my identity or my struggles. However, I realized that since this was my only community in an unfamiliar environment, the American Indian Student Association (AISA) would have to become my home away from home. I accomplished this by sharing my experiences from my home back in Pala, forming connections with the few people who also came from the rez, and then understanding the other Natives who didn’t. By being introduced to American Indian Recruitment (AIR), I was exposed to an opportunity to give back to my community and make their journey to college more accessible than mine. Becoming involved with AISA helped me realize how there are other people like me who are committed to uplifting our communities and creating meaningful change for Natives all around.