Recognizing the erasure of indigenous histories from my own public education, I co-produced a social media campaign, Sovereign Symbols, to connect non-indigenous audiences to indigenous activism by music. The campaign sparked discussions about indigenous rights and created a platform to educate others on indigenous perspectives often absent from American historical texts.

To view the page and support/listen to some powerful diverse Indigenous musicians, click here.

Drawing inspiration from the solidarity presented by Indigenous communities globally in support of the Dakota Access Pipeline protest, I became aware of my lack of understanding of Native Americans. Recognizing the impact historical misrepresentations and erasure of local narratives have on our knowledge today, I took a course in Contemporary Native American Cultures. The course centered indigenous writers, researchers, and filmmakers representing their own stories. Through their works, I learned about the legacy of land loss, cultural genocide, assimilation boarding schools, language loss, broken treaties, and their on-going revitalization efforts today.