I think my kids have been the biggest source
of motivation for my return to school.
Because I want them to know that it doesn’t
matter how you grew up where you came from.
I never finished the 9th grade, and went to
work, and at 34 years old I was horrified
and took my GED and went back to school and
I want them to know that it doesn’t matter
where you came from… there’s always hope
for a better life if you work for it.
Basically I look at how horses on the Yakama
reservation became kind of this terrain of
struggle.
They have about 12 thousands wild horses on
their reservation right now, so the Yakama
is seeking to reduce the numbers to a more
manageable size now in opposition you have
very vocal animal activist groups who are
seeking to kind of claim the horse as a symbol
of freedom to the American people.
Resistance to encroachment on communal tribal
land always stems back to this idea of who
has the right to decide.
You know you realize overtime like it’s
not about these horses, it’s about something
far greater than that.
I think what a lot of people think when they
hear the term history or historian is just
somebody that regurgitated these obscure facts
and dates and names and places, but it’s
so much more than that.
It’s about telling the story of what happened
and from different perspective.
Undergraduate research has given me the tools
to be accountable, responsible, really helped
me become more confident in producing work
that I am proud of and knowing that I can
be successful and independent and motivated,
whether it’s academia, into the business
world, any career that you choose to go into,
any path you choose to take, these are gonna
be the skill you can take with you.
I got a scholarship from the department of
history last year and they paid for my entire
tuition for this year, which is fantastic,
but I took my daughter with me to the award
ceremony, and when they called my name and
I went up there, she had the biggest smile
on her face, and that was the moment when
I know that she was proud, that I was her
mom.
If I can do this, anybody can do this.
