Native American Internship Report

I hope to attend the Indian Affairs 2016 Student Leadership Summer Institute to gain a greater knowledge of American Indian culture and relations to the public in hopes of grasping a better understanding of what can be done for the future generations. I will reach junior status by the end of the 2016 fall semester and hold high hopes for your consideration in allowing me to attend this internship. I am a diligent worker with insurmountable ambitions. I am currently pursuing a sociology degree with a criminal justice emphasis as my major with a psychology minor at Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota. My goals are to be able to understand and assist people; not only people of my native heritage, but all people. I have attained …show more content…
These would include Native American Student Association (NASA,) and JumpStart, both having similar goals of assisting those who are of Native American descent. NASA provided the most influence on my interest within the culture. I graduated from Aberdeen Central High School with the other American Indian students and received my star quilt and eagle feather after a ceremony that I could only understand as being important to the culture. It did not take long to understand that I did not have a true appreciation for what was presented to me and have been actively seeking ways to manifest my existence within a culture alien to …show more content…
JumpStart is a new government-funded college readiness program providing a learning experience for American Indian students and low income students alike. Throughout the program I have seen many of both types of students lose interest in education because of the difficulty or incapacity to adapt to a college-oriented lifestyle. Thus indicating to me that the practices being utilized in high school environments across the state are ineffective in preparing these students for what is to come. JumpStart taught me more about how to deal with being a college student than high school ever did. I have attempted to be a voice that advocates the importance of this program as it is a wonderful stepping stone to acclimating those who haven’t had the proper initiation into a world beyond the reservations. An upcoming event at NSU will allow me to voice the success of this program in hopes of creating something of similar quality specifically for American Indian students. I personally have spearheaded efforts to recruit and maintain memberships for the program through an offering of kinship for those who brave the harshness of a new