November is Native American Heritage Month. The month is a time to honor and learn about the Indigenous people of America.
The Intertribal Native Council (INC) is an organization at Boise State University, “Dedicated to serving all Native American and Indigenous Students.” The members of INC are responsible for hosting events and creating initiatives to support Native students and staff. From assisting with the Annual Seven Arrows Powwow, to building and sustaining community on campus, the members of INC have worked tirelessly to create meaningful and lasting change.
One member of INC is Veronica Yellowhair, a Boise State Senior majoring in writing, rhetoric and technical communications, and a member of the Navajo Nation. Yellowhair is a writer for the “Writing for Change Journal” featuring articles such as “The end of ‘Savage’”, detailing how the overused word in pop culture needs to be retired due to its origin as a racial slur against indigenous people.
Yellowhair has been interviewed by KTVB7 regarding the 30th anniversary of the Seven Arrows Powwow and has given two presentations at Case Western Reserve University. She is also the 2024 director for the 31st Seven Arrows Powwow for this spring.
“I love talking about Native rights and what’s happening around sacred land sites. That really touches my heart and makes me proud that my academia is [allowing] me to help my community,” said Yellowhair. “Learning and reading has really helped me grow. It’s taken me to the place where I am now.”
Yellowhair recognizes there is room for Boise State to improve when it comes to supporting Native students and staff. “I believe that more English classes requiring books about Native history or books by Native authors is really important. I believe, the more we read, the more we learn,” Yellowhair said.
Melanie Fillmore is a graduate student and an adjunct faculty member at BSU in anthropology. Fillmore is a Hunkapa, Lakota from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North and South Dakota. Fillmore has an undergraduate and master’s degree in political science from Boise State.
Fillmore works as a graduate assistant researcher and has submitted valuable papers such as a report on Missing and Murdered Indigenous People. Along with this, Fillmore served as a researcher and technical assistant for the Idaho Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Abuse to understand the Impact of Domestic Violence in Idaho Indigenous communities.
“I’ve always been interested in the ways in which Native people are and have been impacted by settler colonial governance and authority,” Fillmore said. “I am also interested in the ways in which Native people have changed and shaped American governance…. My work is really thinking about how Native people shape these systems and in what ways have they had to maneuver around law and policy and government institutions”.
Fillmore believes student-led organizations like INC are vital. “In terms of having a sense of home, I only get that from INC. It offers a lot of opportunities for support. This is not an easy experience and there are so few of us that it is important to connect.”
Ayla Sutton is a junior majoring in psychology with a minor in criminal justice. Sutton, from the Lumbee tribe, is a first-year INC member.
Sutton shared that BSU could better support Native students and staff by offering more classes on Native and tribal history. “I did a research project that was really fun and really informative for VSU called the Tribal Urban-Rural Nexus. I thought it was really, really important to be able to get more knowledge on my tribe because my tribe isn’t from Idaho,” Sutton said. “Through the project, we had the opportunity to meet with a bunch of different people from the tribes. I wish there was an indigenous history class or more classes like that.”
Another issue Native students face is a lack of resources.
“A lot of Native students feel they can’t leave their home or they can’t afford to go to college or they aren’t comfortable leaving or going so far away,” Sutton said. “It is building a community of support for the students and it’s also providing them with the resources where they are able to leave their family and they don’t have to worry about if their family is going to be okay without them.”
Sutton expressed her desire for change within law enforcement.
“My dream goal would be to go into the FBI and work on Native American reservations. Because I think it’s really important to have a Native American perspective or tribal perspective when you’re going into an institution like that,” Sutton said. “Because there aren’t enough resources on reservations, the tribal police can’t handle certain crimes. I think that’s a major problem.”
Marco Ovando is a senior majoring in political science with an emphasis in American government and public policy. He is from the Shoshone-Paiute tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation and is currently the student representative to the University Committee of Tribal Initiatives.
During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ovando noticed information going around his tribe was inaccurate. He then created the Office of Public Relations for his tribe. He was selected to speak in a hearing at the United States House of Representatives Subcommittee for Indigenous People, where he got to highlight the mental health struggles of Indigenous people.
As the student representative to the University Committee of Tribal Initiatives, which was created in 2022., Ovando’s job is to report to the committee any concerns or potential ideas from students that could better improve the academic and personal experience at Boise State.
“I must admit it can be daunting at times to be on a committee with a bunch of people with huge roles on campus, but it highlights the unique opportunity to raise student concerns to the highest levels of leadership here,” Ovando said.
Ovando has also served as the Seven Arrows Powwow director and is also a member of INC. His work has been highlighted in articles by KIVI-TV and RFD-TV.
Tanyka Begaye graduates this spring with her Masters in Educational Leadership and is from the Navajo Nation. Begaye is the Senior Coordinator for the Office of New Student Programs at Boise State. In addition, she is a Student Success and Idaho Tribal Relations Coordinator. Begaye has been an Inclusive Excellence Student Council Member and a co-director for the annual Seven Arrows Powwow.
Through her time as president of the INC, Begaye says she, “focused on helping the student organization gain visibility so that others could be educated on issues surrounding Native communities and advocating for change.”
Begaye worked to shed light on the Missing Murdered and Indigenous Women (MMIW) movement. She and the INC collaborated with the campus Art Curator to create a red dress display in the Boise State Gallery.
Begaye explained that a big part of INC is celebrating their culture/heritage, and they did this through planning Indigenous People’s Day celebrations as well as the Seven Arrows Powwow.
“The powwow is one of the biggest campus events because we invite everyone from Boise State and the community to join us in celebration as we honor our traditions through dancing, singing, food and arts and crafts,” Begaye said.
Now, Begaye is the advisor for INC and hopes to one day become a director in higher education. She has been highlighted in articles by Idaho Education News and The Lewiston Tribune.
“Organizations like INC are important because they provide a space for students to be in community, be involved, and spark movement and change. I’d say on our campus there are definitely challenges with figuring out the ways to best support Native American students,” Begaye said. “We really need to be open to listening and learning about where they come from and how their communities are different from what we know or think we do”.
Yellowhair, Fillmore, Sutton, Ovando and Begaye are working to create change within the Boise State campus. Their efforts, along with the effort of so many others should not be overlooked, and their dedication to their work is a testament to the love and respect they have for their communities. The work of Native communities and leaders, along with their cultures and countless contributions to society, should be celebrated every month.
