Voices of Native Youth

Tag: Success

Hoping for a Future without Poverty on the Reservation

Posted on by Jolina Barron

Native youth perpetuate the negative beliefs of living on the reservation and maintain its stagnant poverty. Native youth grow up witnessing the poverty and are conditioned into this hopeless belief. Because they have no faith in a better future, it is impossible for an effective reform for change. I believe Native youth should be the driving force behind reformation on the reservation. I think there are ways we can break the cycle and the “Rez mindset” that has permeated through modern native culture.

Native youth have adopted the “Rez mindset.” The unemployment rate on the Navajo Reservation is 42%; and 43% of Native Americans live below the poverty rate. In all the places that I’ve lived (over 20 different locations in four separate states), the reservation has had the biggest poverty issue. Native youth witness the state of poverty on the reservation first-hand throughout their childhood. 

Children and adolescents on the reservation have the highest rates of lifetime major depressive episodes and highest self-reported depression rates than any other ethnic group. Native American youth have grown up into believing that improving their condition in life is hopeless. This carries on into their adulthood and prevents the reservation from getting any better. The “Rez mindset” has permeated the young generations and causes them to believe that the reservation cannot be helped.

The 'Rez mindset' has permeated the young generations and causes them to believe that the reservation cannot be helped. #nativeamerican Click To Tweet

Don’t Fall Victim to the Pygmalion Effect

Believing in the hopelessness of the reservation creates and perpetuates this form of self-fulfilling prophecy. This phenomena, known as the Pygmalion effect, can cause negative or positive things to happen as a result of people’s projected expectations. Living on the reservation and seeing its poor conditions gives its residents reason to accept their environment. All too often  you hear the phrase, “Well, that’s the Rez.” The terms, “rezzed out” or “rezzy,” have become synonymous with “bad” or “poor.” 

Most residents believe that the reservation has reached an insurmountable state of poverty. Because our youth have grown to accept this belief, nothing is being done to help. As we grow, we carry this perspective of the reservation into adulthood by continuing to believe that the reservation’s poverty issues are unsolvable. That is why, as a community, improving the reservation is an intimidating challenge because we have made it out to be impossible. Life has conditioned us to accept poverty on the reservation with no hope of it getting better, thus it won’t get better.

Improving the reservation seems impossible because we believe it is impossible. #poverty #rezlife #nativeamerican Click To Tweet

A Call to Break the Cycle of Poverty on the Reservation

As a new generation, we need to start taking action to break the “Rez mindset” and its cycle. Out leaders need to encourage Native youth and tell them that change and reform are possible. When Native youth start helping in their communivties from a young age, they will carry that resolve into adulthood. With a generation of willing young people, we can hope to improve the reservation. 

As adults, we may look at poverty on the reservation as a hopeless problem. But what if we changed our attitude and empowered youth? #nativeyouth #navajo #nativeamerican #poverty #change

The Navajo Nation community should begin more programs and initiatives that will encourage Native youth to produce change. In our nation’s past, President Roosevelt created the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) and WPA (Works Project Administration) programs. Native Americans who participated help amend the economy on the reservations substantially. Programs like YCC (Youth Conservation Corps) and other restorative programs benefit the community and the applicants. 

I’ve participated in a Youth Conservation Corps reconstruction program for Native youth and have seen the results myself. Native youth just need the push of strong encouragement to excel. Therefore, I believe that the reservation should make inspiring Native youth and the public to restore the reservation a priority.

Every generation raised on the reservation continues to ignore its dire poverty conditions. Each generation raised on the reservation has grown into accepting the “Rez mindset” and believes that change is impossible. The reservation will never improve if Native youth resign themselves to a future without hope.

To break the cycle of poverty on the reservation, our elders need to encourage Native youth to help out in their communities in a beneficial way. The reservation is not hopeless. Native youth should be the driving force bring about the reform to diminish poverty on the reservation.

native americans in history
Jolina is a college-bound high school senior. She comes from a multiracial family that consists of mainly Hispanic and Yaqui heritage. When she isn’t dancing to 80s music, she is working to combine her passions for writing and photography by becoming a photojournalist.

Urgent Advice About Dating at a Young Age

Posted on by Davarena Hubbard

Dating Young Seems Fun, but…

Many Native Americans have had experience with or are currently in, unhealthy relationships. I think this happens because most Natives haven’t seen what a good relationship looks like. As Native youth grow up, they often don’t see good role models of healthy relationships from their family members. We’ve also started dating young, and I think that since we’re young and haven’t been shown what a relationship is supposed to be like, we have unhealthy ones ourselves. 

Adolescents should avoid dating relationships. You should not only look at the nice things that could possibly come out of the relationship but also the bad. Unhealthy relationships can cause negative emotional and physical consequences.

Dating isn’t all about Roses and Kisses

When you get into a relationship, you’re probably thinking about the nice things that can come of it, not the bad things that could possibly happen. Before getting into or even considering a dating relationship, you should evaluate both the good and bad things that could happen. I know this may seem boring, or even pointless, because your young minds just don’t want to be lonely. But this will allow you to see the cost of the relationship—both positive and negative.

According to Anita Ojeda, you should weigh the positive and the negative consequences. When you do this, if there are more negatives than positives, then you know the relationship wouldn’t be a good idea. Therefore, make a chart or something that separates the good and bad before starting the relationship.

Dating can Depress You

A high school senior advises kids to think before they start dating. Just because everyone else seems to be hooking up doesn't mean you need to! #dating #highschool #middleschool #relationships #consequences #graduate

When you start a relationship you’re all lovey-dovey and happy; you can’t imagine the relationship not working out. Because Natives aren’t exposed to what a good relationship should look like from childhood, we don’t know what to expect. We may come from an abusive family or background and might start acting out like that in a relationship. Since Natives basically grew up around lying and stealing or cheating you might act out like that in a relationship. According to domesticshelters.org, the National Institute of Justice did a study showing 84 percent of Native American women have faced violence in their lives and half of that is caused by an intimate partner. Alcholol-related abuse is not only found within the Native American culture, it’s a universal concept.  

Men suffer from domestic abuse, too—not just women. I have adolescent family members who have gotten depressed from being in a relationship. I myself have been let down from an unhealthy relationship and have gone through depression. This type of emotional negativity shouldn’t be coming from a relationship at a young age. Adolescents can get emotional consequences like these from dating while young. 

Things You Think Will Never Happen to You

In addition to the emotional consequences, there are other negative consequences. When you date, you might get distracted. You may not focus in school completely because you spend all your time thinking about something relating to your relationship or the other person. It can cause you to fall behind in school work from lack of concentration. 

When you date, your teenage hormones can take over sometimes, and you and your partner can get sexual. It can start with kissing and lead to something else. According to advocatesforyouth.org, 31 babies are born to every 1,000 Natives between the ages 15-19. I know at least seven people who got pregnant before finishing high school.

It's hard to take care of a baby while trying to finish school. #dating Click To Tweet

It’s hard to take care of a baby while trying to finish school. It can lead to dropping out and not graduating. That is another negative consequence to dating as an adolescent. Having a boyfriend or girlfriend at a young age can lead to negative consequences. 

Just Say, “No!”

You shouldn’t date at a young age. I know you probably feel like you have to, because it might seem fun. Maybe a relative had a relationship at a young age and so you think nothing bad will happen to you. But these reasons should help you stop and think. Especially if you don’t have anyone warning you about the dangers of relationships at a young age.

Before you get into a relationship, you should list the good and bad things that could come with it. Being in a relationship will cause emotional consequences. Not every relationship brings abuse or causes depression, but it will affect your emotions. You also want to look out for the negative consequences of relationships such as distractions and pregnancy. 

Also, since both teenagers are still basically children and aren’t on their own then you’re not mature enough to be caring about someone else’s needs when you have your own. Just worry about yourself for now and avoid dating at a young age.

Davarena (a.k.a Dave) is a Navajo currently finishing her last year of high school and preparing for her college education. Dave is an eccentric foodie with dispraxia who loves her puppy, Oliver.

A Growth Mindset Might Not Be Enough for Native Youth

Posted on by Keira Sloan

Native youth struggle with becoming successful even if they have the right growth mindset. One of my friend’s cousins has struggled, even though she had goals in life. People’s negative expectations kept pulling her down. She struggled because of the lack of resources in her family and eventually she wandered down the path of alcohol and drug use.

Her story made me think of why Native youth struggle so much. We might not reach our goals because of negative expectations, environmental factors, and lack of resources.

Growth Mindset Starts With People’s Expectations

Having a growth mindset might not be enough for a Native youth to achieve his or her goals. Three other factors (ones you can help with) play a part. #pygmalioneffect #growthmindset #nativeyouth #education

People’s negative expectations hold Native youth back. Projecting negative expectations onto Native youth puts the Pygmalion Effect into action. The Pygmalion Effect is when expecting certain behaviors makes them more likely to occur. A study on the Pygmalion effect (also referred to as the Rosenthal study), took place at an elementary school where students were given intelligence pre-tests. Twenty percent of the students showed potential for growth, but a group of students were actually randomly picked and placed in a class for exceptional students. All of the students showed growth when they retook the test, showing that when we expect students to do well, they will live up to our expectations. 

The opposite can also happen. For example, when my older sister Kayla was in the fifth grade, her teacher told her, “Your sisters are better at math than you. You’ll be repeating middle school while your sisters go to high school without you.” Kayla struggled in school all because of a comment which unknowingly put the Pygmalion Effect into motion, causing her to get bad grades after she completed the fifth grade. Now that she’s at a new school, where everyone expects her to do well, she’s finally finding success. Putting your negative expectations on Native youth may not impact you negatively, but it does have a very negative impact on Native youth such as Kayla.

The Debilitating Effects of Poverty

We as Native youth are held back by our environment. According to a 2013 article on the American Psychological Association’s website, “In 2009, poor (bottom 20 percent of all family incomes) students were five times more likely to drop out of high school than high-income (top 20 percent of all family incomes) students.” An astonishing 33% of Native youth come from families living below the poverty line (compared to 14% of the general population). This means that Native students will have a harder time in school because they are suffering from the effects of poverty. 

Statistics don't lie. Native American students start school at a disadvantage. No wonder they fail to thrive. #nativeamerican Click To Tweet

The type of environment that you live in affects your ability to achieve your goals. Poverty can not only impact school success but mental health, too. The stress of poverty can put a strain on a kid’s mental health with the constant worry of having sufficient funds to do well in school. Stress of poverty can also lead Native youth to drop out because they will need to help provide for their family. Poverty can impact not only school success, but mental health, too, which can hold native youth back from achieving their goals.

Family Support is Pure Gold

Native youth don’t have the resources we need to achieve our goals. Support from family is a resource Native youth often don’t have. Support from family isn’t very common because we really aren’t expected to go to college. Some of the Native youth’s family members expect them to stay home and watch over their younger siblings and take care of the house. Even if we choose to go to college, distance and financial support will make it even more difficult. 

When I was younger my mother went to University of New Mexico (UNM), while we stayed at our grandma’s house, who was still living in Crownpoint at the time. My mom drove herself to and from the school for her classes, she also used student loans to pay for school which she is still paying off, but it was all worth it, because she is now a nurse. Native youth might not have the right resources such as support from family or financial support which could cause Native youth to struggle with achieving their goals.

We Have Dreams, Too!

Native youth feel like they aren’t able to achieve their goals because of several factors holding them back. Projecting your negative expectations onto us will make it more likely that we’ll fail. Poverty will make it more difficult for us to succeed, and it impacts our mental health. When we don’t have support from family or financial support, it makes it difficult to reach our goals despite our growth mindset. Native youth might struggle with these things, but we want to dream big and work hard so we can achieve our goals. 

Keira is a fifteen-year-old Navajo girl with two sisters. She is the middle triplet, and hates it when people think she’s exactly like her sisters. She loves being unique. Her hobbies are reading, drawing, listening to music and watching TV, which she thoroughly enjoys doing.

Why do Native Youth Have to Drop Out of School?

Posted on by Jorge Lopez

For the past ten years my family has moved around from apartment to apartment, staying with whichever family member had room to house us. This means that we often had to change schools and make new friends.  In trying to figure out why we moved so often, I realized that none of my family had finished high school.

Not finishing high school seemed to make it difficult for everyone to find steady jobs. I now understand that not finishing school would make my life more difficult. Most Native youth don’t get enough support from family or others. Native youth drop out of school because they are unstable emotionally, academically, and financially.

The Importance of Family Support

Most Native youth don’t get the support they need from families or others, and some families don’t encourage their kids. The Pygmalion effect helps explain this: people tend to perform at the level that others expect of them. Some families don’t expect their children to finish or go to school. Therefore, their kids don’t finish.

Most Native youth on the reservation don’t have an education because their parent(s) don’t put any effort into encouraging them to go. I have four older sisters that have not finished school because of lack of support and encouragement. They would have had a better lifestyle if they would have finished school. Therefore, my sisters would have lived up to their potential and would have had a good and stable life. Most kids don’t get enough support or encouragement from their family.

Homelessness Gets in the Way of Success

Most native families don’t have a stable home for their kids to finish school. A report by the Department of Housing and the Urban Development  estimates that between 42,000 and 85,000 Native people don’t have their own home or apartment on reservations. In other words, there are thousands of homeless Native youth. Whenever a kid a moves in with a relative or friend, it makes it harder for them to get to school or to start a new school. 

One difficulty with staying in a crowded house is that concentrating on school work feels impossible. This makes it hard to stay focused on school. Usually, when the house or apartment is crowded, it is harder to get homework done and kids will eventually start to get behind in school. I was close to being a drop-out because of the struggle I had and problems I put myself in. I lived in an unstable home because problems my family had. Therefore, I know how difficult it is for Native youth to finish school without a stable home/lifestyle.

Most people don't understand the barriers to success for Native American youth. Like laundry. #nativeamerican #poverty Click To Tweet

Drop Out or Go to School Dirty?

Laundry and lunch money shouldn't keep kids from an education. But that and other challenges often force Native youth to drop out of high school. #nativeyouth #graduation #poverty

Most Native youth don’t have the money for school and for their lunch. Most kids I grew up with didn’t have money for clean clothes and other things that were needed for school, so they decided to drop-out. Many kids don’t have the support for their financial needs. 

They didn’t have money that would get them a new set of clothes, pay for laundry, or buy food. For example, my friends lived on welfare but didn’t have the money for school. My sisters didn’t have money for necessities so they had to drop-out. My sisters also had to babysit us when we were little while my mom was working, so they got behind in all their classes.

Now that they are adults with no high school diploma, they have to work hard because of the low-paying jobs that they have for people who never finished school. Most kids don’t have the support they need when it comes to money.

Most Native youth don’t get enough support from families or others. Some families don’t encourage their kids. Native youth don’t get much support from families, either. Many Native families don’t have stable homes which makes it harder for kids to go to school and finish. Native kids don’t always have money for necessities that help ensure school success. Native youth are less likely to finish school and have a lower chance of being successful in life.

Jorge hates snow but loves snowboarding. He’s proud of his Navajo heritage

Three Reasons Why Alcohol Should be Illegal

Posted on by Davarena Hubbard

My family has a history of struggling with alcohol. They have many bad things going on for them because of their struggles with alcohol. Why should alcohol be illegal? Alcohol is bad for your health. It can cause liver disease, depression and other things can come from that. Alcohol is bad for your life, because you can die or get addicted. Alcohol can also cause permanent changes to the brain.

Alcohol Should be Illegal Because it’s Bad for Your Health

Adults make laws, but this young woman has a valid question about why alcohol is legal. She give three reasons why it should be illegal. #alcohol #alcoholic #drinking

Alcohol is bad for your health. According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, nearly 88,000 Americans die annually from alcohol-related causes. Forty-nine per 1 million Native Americans and Alaska Natives die each year from alcohol-related causes, making my people the most at-risk for alcohol poisoning.

Some of my family members drink alcohol and they have bad health. For example, one relative has problems with drinking and now has liver disease. Drinking too much alcohol can lead to three main types of liver conditions; fatty liver, hepatitis, and scarring of the liver. Because my relative drinks so much, my relative makes frequent trips to the hospital for medicines and for sicknesses. Therefore, this family member doesn’t spend a lot of time with family and misses out on important life events due to bad health. In other words, drinking alcohol is bad for your health and can mess up a lot of things for you.

Alcohol Makes You Do Dumb Things

Alcohol has negative effects on your brain. When you drink large amounts of alcohol on a daily basis, it will eventually do negative things to your brain. According to a report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “a person who drinks heavily over a long period of time may have brain deficits that persist well after he or she achieves sobriety.”

When you have alcohol in your system you do things you wouldn’t do when you’re sober. You can experience difficulty walking, blurred vision, slurred speech, slowed reaction times, impaired memory, and bad decision-making. Alcohol can produce impairments in memory. Alcohol can do multiple things to you, but it will affect your brain the worst.

If you stay away from alcohol then you won’t have any negative effects from it that will harm your brain. Therefore stay away from alcohol or your brain will get damaged.

Alcohol and Unemployment

Alcohol is bad for your life overall. Over time, excessive alcohol use can cause unemployment, according to a 1995 study of research by John Mullahy and Jody L. Sindelar. If you don’t have a job you can’t pay anything for your living, transportation, or food. It’s hard without a job, because you can’t pay for what you need to live, especially if you have a family. 

Alcohol can also cause death. If you have a family or loved ones, they will miss you if you die. Your death from alcohol can be hard on them and they just might take the path you were on. As a result, alcohol should be illegal for these reasons I’ve talked about.

Alcohol is bad for your health, it causes liver disease and depression. It is bad for your life, causing addiction and death. It’s bad for you and your family. Alcohol can also permanently damage and change how your brain works.

Have you ever wondered why alcohol is legal, even if it's really bad for you? #alcohol #drinking Click To Tweet

Before you pick up a bottle you should always consider these reasons. You should also consider the consequences that come from drinking alcohol. 

Davarena (a.k.a Dave) is a Navajo currently finishing her last year of high school and preparing for her college education. Dave is an eccentric foodie with dyspraxia who loves her puppy, Oliver.

Why You Shouldn’t Tell a Native Youth to Stay in School

Posted on by Thalia Davis

Have you ever had someone tell you to stay in school? How did you feel? According  to a friend of mine, an adult told her to stay in school and it made her feel pressured. She had to push herself to work hard and improve her grades. When the adult told her to stay in school she felt that if she didn’t, she would be a failure.

Finishing school is great, but having the pressure put on you is too much. There are reasons why native youth don’t finish school. Some may have experienced abuse and some may have trouble keeping up with their education while caring for family members. Maybe other family members could help care for their younger siblings or grandparents then they could continue their education.

Native Youth need their education to succeed in the future. It really bothers me when middle-class white people tell me to stay in school. Especially when they don’t understand how education is on the Reservation, our personal problems, and the family responsibilities we have.

Reservation Schools

People don’t realize how hard it is to live on the Reservation and to get a good education. According to Rebecca Clarren in an article entitled “How America is Failing Native American Students says, “American Indian and Alaska Native students are more likely to be suspended then any other racial group, with the exception of African Americans.” If they are suspended they will miss out on some of their education. The longer the suspension, they more days they’ll miss. Suspension makes you feel hopeless and at risk because you are suspended and falling behind.

According to the same article, “The high levels of poverty on Native American Reservations do create barriers to educational success.” If the white people knew how hard it is to live on the Reservation, then they would understand. Instead of accusing us of not wanting to succeed, white people need to understand the reasons behind our behavior. Native Americans we are capable of proving wrong those who misunderstand our abilities to achieve.

Depression and Anxiety Create Barriers to Success

Most white people don’t understand how personal problems can keep Native youth from succeeding in the future. Thirty-nine percent of American Indians adolescent suffer from depression. According to Aisha Mays, MD UCSF Department of Family and Community Medicine, “A lot of teens don’t get help for the depression they have.” When teens don’t get help for their depression it can cause harm or lack of self-worth. They need support when going through depression. 

Jerald G. Bachman, Patrick M. O’Malley and M. Brent Donnellan in a study entitled Adolescent Self-Esteem state that, “self- esteem relates to demographic characteristics such as race/ethnicity and, to a lesser extent, gender, and age.” Of course race/ethnicity causes lack of self-worth because of how Native youth are being treated.

Nobody should be feeling overwhelmed due to their ethnicity and race. In other words, People need to realize that Native youth feel sensitive about their stories and speak to them in ways that don’t condescend or make them feel put down.

Native Youth Caregivers

Taking care of family members can effect a Native youth’s education. What many people don’t realize is that Native youth feel pressure from their families to help care for younger siblings or older relatives while the parents work.

Here's why one student thinks you shouldn't tell a Native youth to stay in school. Her reasons and solutions might surprise you. #nativeyouth #nativeamerican #educaiton #success #graduation #mentorship

According to an article from the American Psychological Association, “as many as 1.4 million U.S. children age 8 to 18 are caring for a parent, grandparent or sibling with a disability or illness.” The article goes on to say that “Many of these young caregivers are from low-income, single-parent households.” For instance, young caregivers want to remain in school, but caregiving affects their education.

When young caregivers are in school their ability to concentrate drops, their mood changes, and they want to drop-out to care for their siblings or parents. Young caregivers might not achieve their goals or have a career in the future. According to Connie Siskowski, RN, PhD, of the American Association of Caregiving Youth, in a 2006 poll funded by the Gates Foundation, 22 percent of young adults who dropped out of the school for personal reasons cited family caregiving as their primary motive.

Youth should have support from other family members so they can keep up with their education. For that reason, people need to realize that Native youth are putting their lives on hold to care for their siblings or grandparents. People shouldn’t assume that kids just drop out of school because they want to.

We’d Like to Succeed: Here’s What We Need

Native Youth find it difficult when white people tell us to stay in school when they don’t really know how hard life is for us. Some say Native Americans can’t succeed, but we can prove them wrong. It would help if instead of people telling us to ‘Stay in school,’ they would ask us ‘What can we do to help make it possible for you to stay in school?’

Instead of telling Native youth to 'Stay in school,' adults should ask, 'How can we help make it possible for you to stay in school?' #education #nativeyouth Click To Tweet

White people don’t understand we put our lives on hold for our siblings and grandparents because we have that connection with them. If white people understand what we go through every day then it would be easier for us.

Thalia loves to read and she hopes that her love of reading will help her when she finishes high school and studies to work in the medical field.

Native Youth Shouldn’t Drop Out of High School

Posted on by Marklynn Whitehair
Just because a kid doesn't know what they want to do when they grow up doesn't mean that they should drop out of high school. #graduation #success #nativeyouth #dropout

Native youth shouldn’t drop out of school and give up on their futures. Some kids think it is cool to drop out, but really they are making it hard on themselves. School may be  hard, but leaving school will make it even harder to achieve what you want in life.

Parents should help keep their kids in school, they should talk to them and show them that they care. For example, my friends and I finished the same elementary school, and when the time came to move on to high school, they only went the first week or didn’t go at all. Yes, there are times they wished they had stayed in school, but now it’s way too late for them.

According to an article in U.S. News and World Report, 23% of high school dropouts say that lack of parental support and encouragement, which made it easy for them to drop out. Yes, it’s true your parents still love you, don’t think they don’t. Parents  want their kids to have the life they never had (or the one they turned away from). Now they try to help their kids, but they see their kids have followed in their footsteps. It’s very hard for my friends’ parents to see them struggling then they could have been in school.

Your Friends Can Drag You Down

Some kids drop out because they hang out with the wrong crowd of people. They don’t know what to do after they get out of high school, so they just don’t go. They never even think about graduating, but they think their parents are just going to keep giving them money. I wish my friends hadn’t dropped out; maybe they could have been sitting right by me and finishing high school in 2019.

It’s sad it all had to come to an end because almost all of my classmates from 8th grade have already had a child or two. They have no job, so they ask their moms or dads for money. I see my former classmates struggling and living in hardship because they chose not to go to school and they tried  to live life on their own.

Too Late?

What’s going on in kids’ minds when they think about dropping out? Some friends told me that if they had a chance to go back to school, they would go for it. They realize now that they had potential. People don’t realize that they can do so much more than they think they can. They can push themselves harder than they thought possible instead of making the choice to lose out on opportunities.

Most of my friends talked about what they were going to do in high school, but they gave up on their goals. They had big dreams of becoming this and that, but because they dropped out of school, their dreams died.

It's important to stay in school because school can give you the tools you need to make a living. #nativeyouth Click To Tweet

When they dropped out they had to live with their parents and depend on their parents for money. It’s important to stay in school because it can give you the tools you need  to make a living. Now my friends struggle more than ever trying to provide for their own kids and themselves. They had big dreams, but they have let their dreams die because of their choice to drop out.

Marklynn Whitehair is a proud member of the Navajo tribe. when she’s not sleeping or drawing in class, she thinks about home and her family. But most of all, she thinks about her horses. She’s in high school and loves to play sports and spend time with friends.

Successful Native Americans Have a Growth Mindset

Posted on by Heather Dixon

The Path to Success Takes Determination

Native Americans go through hardships but can still be successful in life. Non-Natives judge when life isn’t easy for Natives, but we can still succeed by overcoming difficult obstacles. We don’t have a lot in life, but there are opportunities we can take. Life is not easy for Natives, but we can succeed because we have examples of Native Americans that have became successful in life because they have a growth mindset. They took paths to get where they are now, and even though life is hard, they manage to conquer those difficulties.

'Successful Native American' is NOT an oxymoron! #growthmindset #nativeamerican Click To Tweet

Some people think that the term successful Native Americans is an oxymoron, but that is not true. For example, Jamie Okuma is a successful Native American that has her own clothing line and business. She graduated from high school and college, leading to her success. Okuma took classes aiming for her goal of designing and creating art. She started by selling her work at a couple of markets, and now her work is displayed in museums and art institutions. 

Henry Red Cloud, member of the Lakota Souix tribe, grew up in poverty and is another example of a successful Native American entrepreneur. He became founder of Lakota Solar Enterprises. He started his business in 2004 with degrees in sociology and cultural ecology. His renewable energy business is the only one believed to be owned by Native Americans in the U.S. In short, Native Americans can be successful.

Dangerous Detours

Life is hard because we don’t have the full support we need. For example I have a family member who has no dad. Her mom and older brother got into drugs and alcohol, and are not usually home. Therefore, this has affected the way she lives and thinks. She had no good role models, and because of this she dropped out of school and is following her family steps. As a result she doesn’t care about her actions and how it effects her and others around her, she finds happiness in the “high” she sees in drugs and alcohol. 

Jovannah Poor-Bear Adams, a Lakota Sioux, has experienced a life of hardships. For instance, she went through abandonment from her family and emotional abuse. Her dad went to prison, so she was missing her dad for part of life. While growing up she also had no food and money. Despite the hardships she went through, she graduated, went to college, has a family of her own, and she is the vice-principle of a school for Native American students. Most people experience challenges throughout life that make it hard to succeed, but it is still possible to overcome them.

It’s all about Growth Mindset

Society might think that the term 'successful Native American' is an oxymoron. It's not. With a growth mindset, Native Americans CAN succeed. #nativeyouth #nativeamerican #success #growthmindset

Keeping a positive growth mindset and making the right choices can help Natives become successful. My auntie kept a positive mindset and made good decisions growing up. She and her husband remodeled their own home, do their own business, and help others.  My auntie saw how her family drank and it affected them. She didn’t want that lifestyle for herself, so she finished school without doing any drugs or alcohol. Imagine if she did start taking drugs and alcohol, she wouldn’t have had a good future. Her life is good because she made good decisions and took the right path. 

Brandi Charley, who is a full Navajo, claims that by setting goals and staying focused on those goals you can be successful. She also credits having the right mindset and being confident in yourself. Brandi grew up with her family drinking around her and doing drugs. She didn’t have the best models while growing up, this caused her to follow their steps.

Brandi managed to stay in school and finish high school. She eventually stopped drinking and and doing drugs. Once she set a goal to become a model, she kept what she wanted her mind. She is still pushing herself to achieve her goals. Today she is a model in Phoenix, AZ, and has her own YouTube channel that shows inside her work and her life. Clearly, to be successful you have to aim for your goals in life and make good decisions for yourself that will have a positive effect on you. 

Yes, Native American’s CAN Succeed!

These examples explain and prove that although life can be hard for Native Americans, we can still manage to become successful. There are examples of Native Americans that have became successful despite the challenges. It’s possible to overcome the hard times in your life and become successful. Having a positive growth mindset for yourself and following the right path that will be beneficial to your future will help a lot with achieving your goals.

There ARE opportunities for us Native Americans, we can become successful even though we don't have it easy growing up.  Click To Tweet
Heather Dixon is a Navajo high school student who wants every teacher to give her a watermelon when she graduates from high school (or a pet fish).

The Importance of Good Role Models for Native Youth

Posted on by Aliandra Lopez

How Important Do You Think Good Role Models are to Native Americans? 

Most people have heard about Ben Carson, the famous neurosurgeon. But not everyone knows about his early life. According to one article about Ben Carson, “The family was very poor and to make ends meet Sonya sometimes toiled at two or three jobs simultaneously in order to provide for Ben and Curtis.” He grew up in the ghetto but stayed focused every time he felt down. As Ben grew up, his mother played a great role of being a mother and providing what she could. She was always lifting her boys up when they needed it the most. His mother always encouraged Ben to do his best. Despite all they have gone through, Ben Carson became successful as a neurosurgeon. 

Parents don’t realize how important it is to be good role models for Native youth. Teachers and parents need to be good role models because their kids watch what their teachers and parents do, more than they listen to what they say. Parents and role models need to be aware of the burden of poverty, family influence, and family involvement.

The Legacy of Poverty

Parents don’t realize that their life of poverty affects their children. For example, my grandparents only finished eighth grade and some of high school.  They didn’t notice that their lack of education would set a poor example for my parents. My parents didn’t finish high school and it continued the cycle of living in poverty. Since my parents didn’t finish high school, it is very difficult for them to find steady work. Good jobs require high school diplomas and that was something my grandparents and parents don’t have. In other words, I am at risk to continue the cycle of poverty and dropping out of school. 

Negative family actions influence kids to repeat the same behavior. For instance, some of my relatives act violently, make bad decisions, and drink alcohol. Their examples have affected us younger ones to act in negative ways. Seeing our older relatives act this way makes it difficult for me to resist acting the same way.

Teachers as Role Models

Family members have the opportunity to act as good role models for Native Youth. One high school student explains how. #ownvoices #nativeyouth #navajo #nativeamerican

As a Native American woman, I’ve experienced some teachers who wanted us to be successful and some who didn’t want us to succeed as a person. In the fifth grade, I had a Native American teacher who would put students down because they weren’t focused enough. I personally think older adults, like parents and teachers, should show good examples to kids who want to become better people. I’ve never been shown a good example from my relatives, and I could be capable of not showing good examples for myself and younger family members.

Families tell their kids to behave in a certain way, but their actions provide a different role model. For an example, my family has always told us kids to behave ourselves everywhere we went. When we’re in school, my siblings and I act in a good way because my family want us to do well, but sometimes they don’t act the way they expect us to act. They don’t realize that since their actions speak louder than words, it could affect our behavior everywhere else.

Relatives push us to do our best and to be really focused on what’s in front of us, but when they use alcohol, it drags us down with them. It affects my ability to stay positive and have a good mindset when relatives put me down because it hurts me. My personal opinion: I deeply feel like my relatives should be the ones lifting me up and encouraging me to keep striving for what is good for us. But sometimes they are the ones that make us feel worse by putting us down. Sometimes I put people down and continue the negative behavior that I have seen, but that’s not who I want to be. 

Native youth need good role models in order to succeed. Their families need to lead the way. #nativeyouth #rolemodel Click To Tweet

Actions Yell, Words Whisper

Based on my examples about my family, I still think families should be more involved in their children’s lives and should be able to be there for them in many different ways. I believe family support is important for Native youth. My family has lived in poverty, therefore, I am at greater risk of living in poverty, as I get older. That’s something I want to change as a person. Due to family influence, I haven’t gotten the chance to see with my own eyes what good family role models looks like. 

I have that power to show a great example to my younger siblings and show them what is good and to not act in a negative way. I also didn’t realize that God wants us to love everyone like he loved us, even if they are putting you down. Therefore, I want to become a better person and avoid the cycle of poverty. I want to provide a good role model for my younger siblings and avoid acting like the role models I’ve had in my life. I want to be the change in everyone’s eyes and show people that there is a bright side in life and that it’s not always about spreading negativity.

Aliandra has a Navajo-Mexican heritage. Her favorite things about high school are sports, doing math, journaling, singing, sleeping and taking photos. Her biggest goal is to become successful as a brain surgeon and for her voice to be heard in writing because sometimes it’s difficult to express yourself out loud. One of her pet peeves are BUGS and people with no fashion sense.

Why Students Become Troublemakers and Slackers (Even Good Ones)

Posted on by Kayla Sloan

Ever since I was in elementary school missing recess because everyone was too loud really peeved me. Every day was the same; students caused trouble for the teachers. Even in class they still wouldn’t settle down, and the teacher would give all of us extra work.

By punishing everyone for the misbehavior of a few, the good kids started to feel bad. Teachers need to understand that punishing everyone for one student’s behavior makes the rest of us want to give up.

Teachers need to understand that punishing everyone for one student's behavior makes the rest of us want to give up. #teachers #nativeyouth Click To Tweet

Every day in middle school it got worse than before. Sometimes troublemakers picked a fight with the teachers or started taking their anger out on others.

Whether in class or outside of of class, I just sat and watched them do their mischievous acts every day. I rarely reported them because sometimes they were mean to me and my sisters. Sometimes people around me would be bullied because they snitched on the troublemakers, and I didn’t want this to happen to me. I felt helpless to stop the cycle.

Look for the Reason Why

But maybe teachers need to do what I do before they punish everyone for one student’s behavior. Sometimes I look at the person and wonder how they were before they got labeled a troublemaker. I ask myself, “Why do they do this?”

Have you ever wondered why some kids don't do well in school? A high-school student looks at why kids become troublemakers and slackers. #Nativeyouth #student #dropout

The reason why troublemakers slack off is maybe they don’t like school or maybe it’s their home lives. The more I think about this, the more I feel sorry for them. If they’re having problems at home, they should talk to a counselor. If they don’t like school, they should tell their parents about it, or the teacher themselves.

Students need to deal with the problem instead of making trouble for the teachers and other students. I hate getting punished by having activities cancelled for a few days straight. Sometimes teachers even cancel educational ones, because of one or two students’ bad behavior.

I understand that people have days when they’re upset. Maybe a student or a teacher put them down and they feel that they must take their pain out on others by hurting them as well. Some kids even consider dropping out of school because of their issues at home or their issues at school.

Sometimes they even might just feel dumb being at school or have given up in class. Maybe they’re bored with what the teacher teaches because to them it’s the same thing over and over.

Why do kids become slakers and troublemakers? Maybe it isn't all their fault. #nativeyouth #teachers Click To Tweet

Why Troublemakers don’t Talk

Fighting in some schools is common. Some of the staff look into the cause of the fights so they could find a way to resolve the student conflict. But students don’t always want to explain themselves to adults because maybe they’ve been molested or worse and are afraid to tell someone. Adults need to think about things like that.

Sometimes kids act out because they are trying to punish a teacher for something the teacher did to one of their friends. Or maybe the principal suspended or expelled their friend so they might cause trouble for the teacher because of their missing friend.

The slacker might have a good reputation at school with the teachers, at least, but they sometimes act mean to to their peers.

It all starts in elementary school. Good kids might get in with the wrong crowd and they could end up in loads of trouble. I think the reason why kids slack off is because of their personal struggles, the teachers (sometimes), and being in with the wrong crowd. They learn to not value school and they try to make it interesting, even if they go about it in a strange way.


Kayla is a Navajo high school student who loves drawing, writing, and reading. One day, she’d like to become a writer. Meanwhile, she hates it when things go terribly wrong and when people fight.

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