In her August 2015 Child Watch column, Children’s Defense Fund President Marian Wright Edelman wrote, “It’s hard to be what you can’t see.”

Her column was addressing the lack of diversity in children’s books. But the statement itself, “It’s hard to be what you can’t see,” is a powerful reminder that children from a wide variety of cultures, races and experiences need to have access to role models – from the famous faces in history textbooks to the teachers in front of the classrooms – who are as diverse as they are.

In its second year, Highline College is preparing to host its second Native Student Success Summit on May 17 to do just that.

The vision of the planning group for the Native Student Success Summit was to create a place where Native students could connect with their communities, and embrace their identities and culture.

“Giving students access to Native role models is one premise of the Native Student Success Summit,” Maxine Alex, director of Native education for Federal Way Public Schools said. “We want to give Alaska Native and American Indian students the chance to connect with local leaders, other Native students, and envision a future for themselves that is meaningful to themselves and their community. It is important to point that out, as these students normally do not receive direct services from their tribes. These urban Native students often find it hard to connect and see themselves or their issues in mainstream society.”

Identity for Native people in urban areas is complex. In a United Way of King County report done by Kauffman and Associates in 2014, they reported that with the exception of The Muckleshoot Reservation near Auburn, that Native people make up less than 5 percent of the population in almost every census tract with the population having moved to south, north and western sections of the county due to the increased costs of living in Seattle. When Native students face these sorts of demographics, it can be difficult to connect to identity, community and culture. Most Native people reside in urban areas as well, and the U.S Census in its 2010 snapshot shared that 78 percent of Natives live off the reservation and villages. In connecting to identity and culture, Janeen Commenote of the National Urban Indian Family Coalition wrote, “This fact is partially explained by the fact that ‘urban’ is not a kind of Indian. It is an experience, one that most Indian people today have had.”

“South Dakota was a harsh place to grow up as a young Lakota woman,” first-year Highline College student, Juvi Twiss of the Yankton Sioux and Standing Rock Sioux Nations, said about her participation co-planning and facilitating at this year’s summit. “Being confronted with negativity, having judgement passed on me, and being stereotyped was a constant part of my life. At times, I felt too intimidated to fully embrace my Lakota culture or be associated with anything Native American at all.”

With the Native Student Success Summit focused on high school and college students, our goal is to connect students to local leaders, role models, connection to leadership tools, access points for career and academic planning and resources. Our goals from the first summit to this summit haven’t changed, but we have expanded the groups we are working and collaborating with and hoping to expand the number of students participating this year with groups coming from Federal Way, Renton, Auburn, Kent, Seattle, Bellevue, Lake Washington, Puyallup, Fife and Muckleshoot. Our theme for our second Native Student Success Summit is #Rise, #Resist, #Reclaim, #Unify. We hope to create a strong sense of community for our students all across King County so that they know they have each other as a source of support both inside and outside of the classroom.

“So being an active participant in the Native Student Success Summit at Highline College is an amazing feeling,” Twiss said. “I’m surrounded by inspiring Native American women and men. They lead and organize meetings, events, programs, and a community at large. I do not feel ashamed of who I am, in fact I am encouraged to embrace and discover my heritage. This will help me realize the strong Lakota woman I am inside. My true identity is still a mystery to me and I look forward to exploring more of my cultural self-identity in part through different opportunities here with NSSS.”

Our planning group is comprised of Native education managers and directors from local districts, including Federal Way, Highline, Renton, Seattle and Auburn School districts and Native students is unique. Our goal with this summit and with our other efforts is to be a catalyst for change in making our community visible and celebrating who we are. We want this summit to empower our youth to be the change they want to see in the world. Authors

Maxine Alex is from the Diné Nation and is the current Native Education Coordinator for Federal Way Public Schools. In her spare time, she likes building tendrils and dendrites and hopes she doesn’t over prune. She believes in the power of our youth and the wisdom of our elders. Native wellness is not an option if we are to lift up our People! She has Indigenous knowledge and is not afraid to use it. She loves to laugh, dance, run, and workout, sew, bead, attend powwows, etc.

Sara Marie Ortiz, MFA (Pueblo of Acoma) is an educator, writer, advocate, and community organizer with over sixteen years of experience and expertise in the realm of Native arts, writing, culture, education, advocacy, and community and youth development. She is a graduate of the Institute of American Indian Arts (BFA) and Antioch University Los Angeles (MFA). She currently serves as the Native Student Success Program Manager for Highline Public Schools in Burien, Washington.

Tanya Powers is St. Lawrence Island Yupik and Irish. She received her Bachelor and Master’s degrees in Public Administration from Seattle University. She is the Director of Baccalaureate and Workforce Education at Highline College. When she is not at work, you can often find her spending time with family (including 3 dogs) and cheering on her two strong daughters with their accomplishments. She likes watch her youngest daughter play junior roller derby.