My favorite experience during this summer of internship was setting connection with my fellow interns from New Mexico, Angelo Mchorse and Tiana Suazo. Angelo, Tiana and friends traveled down to my hometown of Pine Ridge, SD just in time for the Annual Oglala Nation.
The gathering is a reservation-wide event that includes powwow, rodeo, carnival and events sponsored by local programs in between. My fellow interns was amazed by the 3 day extravaganza. We shared similarities between our reservations but they have noted that they haven’t seen a gathering quite like ours. For example, they were quite surprised to see locals riding horses as the norm and watching local youth perform freestyle at the Rapper’s Delight that’s hosted at the park after walking back at the powwow.
I also showed them around the districts of Pine Ridge Reservation. The main attractions of my Tour de Rez was the Wounded Knee Massacre site ( the historical landmark of 7th Calvary’s retaliation to the Lakotas) and the gardens in Pine Ridge and Kyle districts.
My new friends has broadened my horizons on opportunities to network than just my reservation. “We are made allies now” I joked with them.
I would like to say great thank you to Darryl Birkenfield for giving me the opportunity to extend my circle of contacts down to New Mexico. My internship has taught me to see any opportunity in any relations.
The bigger your connections becomes, the smaller the world gets.
