Youth Leading the Way

Seattle, WA - At the annual meeting of the Association of American Indian Physicians (AAIP) this past week, there were presentations on a variety of topics affecting Indigenous communities.

A few of these sessions touched on youth issues.

But one session was actually led by youth leaders, all of whom are in high school. “Youth Leading the Way to Healthier Indigenous Communities” was presented by Tiana Chino (San Felipe and Acoma Pueblos), Sunny Louis (Acoma Pueblo) and Nizhoni Fleg (Dine’).

 

The session opened with a game that allowed participants to become more familiar with one another, while having fun. “I thought this was an important way to bring us together, building trust amongst those in the room,” said Nizhoni, who led this part of the session.

The youth then shared about their experiences as leaders. Tiana Chino spear-headed a blood drive at Bernalillo High School, organizing the various elements and working with her school’s administration to make it all happen. Sunny Louis created the Auntie Moon project that promotes menstrual equity and educates on bleeding disorders. Nizhoni Fleg shared on her policy work that led to her and other Indigenous youth presenting their ideas to U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deborah Haaland and U.S Congressmen Ben Ray Lujan and Martin Heinrich.

The session ended with Sunny leading a "web" exercise, asking each adult in the room to share one thing they will do to create more space for youth to lead in their respective programs and communities. One Tribal Leader, for example, shared that they would go back and revisit their Tribe's Youth Council to make sure the youth got to share directly with Tribal Council, as there is not currently a mechanism to do so. Others who are leading youth mentoring programs had "aha" moments from the session, admitting that youth had never been consulted as to the content of their programs. They vowed to change that.

Sunny reflected on her experience: “Attending AAIP was a highly motivating experience for me. I had the opportunity to connect with others, learn new things, gain resources, and find inspiration. Being surrounded by Native physicians and witnessing the impactful work they do for and within Tribal communities filled me with joy and encouraged me to pursue a career in medicine. My most impactful experience was connecting with young Pueblo women aspiring to become medical doctors and conducting pioneering clinical research.  It hits you different when you can connect with people from your own communities doing things you’ve always dreamed of doing.”

Multiple participants in the session commented that it was the best one in the entire conference. 

Having been in the room, I agree wholeheartedly.

When we, as adults, are able to step back, youth step up and do amazing things. When we find ourselves complaining about youth, it is most likely an issue of adults not creating the space for them to lead, as opposed to it being an issue with the youth themselves.

Sunny, Tiana, and Nizhoni - thank you for leading the way. We are proud of you!