|  2021 E-NEWSLETTER  |  VOLUME 21, ISSUE 4  |

Circle of Hope

Hear Our Voices

In this newsletter, I have the honor and privilege of introducing you to this year’s Student Ambassadors. Our Ambassador Program is designed to help students develop their leadership skills – the skills needed to lead communities, companies, and organizations – as well as become strong activists and voices for themselves and their tribes and communities.

These students are the people you will see most often in newsletters, the mail we send you, emails, and social media posts, as they share their stories and speak on behalf of the thousands of students we serve. While they come from different communities and have diverse interests and goals, there is a lot they share – their love of their families, tribal communities and culture, their determination and commitment to being the best students they can be, and their desire to make their communities and the world a better place for all to live.

They also share the really difficult path of trying to maintain belief in themselves in a world that constantly tells them they don’t exist, they don’t matter, and they aren’t good enough. They will often question whether they really deserve the good things that come their way and they will wonder when the bottom is going to fall out.

This is heartbreaking to me – because even though we do everything we can to support and encourage students, my biggest disappointment and greatest frustration is that we still send our smart, talented, accomplished college graduates into a world that hasn’t changed and is often an unfriendly place for Native Americans. At very least, it’s a world where their voices are diminished and silenced. I simply will not accept this anymore.

To that end, this month the College Fund is launching a nationwide visibility campaign asking our friends and allies to join us in elevating Native voices and, just as importantly, inspiring others to listen. The campaign kicked off with a virtual concert in celebration of Indigenous Peoples’ Day (we hope you were able to join us!); and a comprehensive public service campaign showing the many ways Native peoples and communities influence the world we live in, both from a historical and present-day perspective.

Hear Our Voices

In this newsletter, I have the honor and privilege of introducing you to this year’s Student Ambassadors. Our Ambassador Program is designed to help students develop their leadership skills – the skills needed to lead communities, companies, and organizations – as well as become strong activists and voices for themselves and their tribes and communities.

These students are the people you will see most often in newsletters, the mail we send you, emails, and social media posts, as they share their stories and speak on behalf of the thousands of students we serve. While they come from different communities and have diverse interests and goals, there is a lot they share – their love of their families, tribal communities and culture, their determination and commitment to being the best students they can be, and their desire to make their communities and the world a better place for all to live.

They also share the really difficult path of trying to maintain belief in themselves in a world that constantly tells them they don’t exist, they don’t matter, and they aren’t good enough. They will often question whether they really deserve the good things that come their way and they will wonder when the bottom is going to fall out.

This is heartbreaking to me – because even though we do everything we can to support and encourage students, my biggest disappointment and greatest frustration is that we still send our smart, talented, accomplished college graduates into a world that hasn’t changed and is often an unfriendly place for Native Americans. At very least, it’s a world where their voices are diminished and silenced. I simply will not accept this anymore.

To that end, this month the College Fund is launching a nationwide visibility campaign asking our friends and allies to join us in elevating Native voices and, just as importantly, inspiring others to listen. The campaign kicked off with a virtual concert in celebration of Indigenous Peoples’ Day (we hope you were able to join us!); and a comprehensive public service campaign showing the many ways Native peoples and communities influence the world we live in, both from a historical and present-day perspective.

The time has come for Native voices to be elevated, amplified, and heard. I am no longer able to let others set the pace and patiently wait for them to acknowledge my voice. So I am asking you, as a friend and ally, to encourage everyone you know to seek out Native voices and perspectives, learn more about the history of the land you live on, open someone’s heart and mind to the hard truths of our country’s history, and hold people accountable for acknowledging our presence in the world today.

Read and share the emails we send you, follow us on social media, answer the phone and talk to us, and TALK ABOUT US! It is only through a collective voice that we can amplify not only Native truth, but the collective truth of our country’s history and current state. I may not be able to change the world by myself, but with our collective voices and power we will be heard.

Pilamayayapi (thank you) for your support and friendship,

Cheryl

RETURN TO TOP

As part of our call to friends and allies to amplify Native voices this November, we ask you to join us in celebration!

If you were unable to participate in our Indige-Bration concert, featuring more than 20 guests, including Nathaniel Rateliff, Martha Redbone, Frank Waln, Jewel, Sarah McLachlan, Samantha Crain, Portugal, The Man, and more – find it below.

Explore and share our Native American Heritage Month Resource Guide, which includes tools, recommendations, and other resources for you to participate in Native American Heritage Month.

Connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter so you don’t miss news of upcoming events, updates from students, or additional ways to Stand with Native Students!