My name is Hannah Norberto. I am a 20-year-old Indigenous woman, affiliated with the Navajo Nation. I was born and raised on the Navajo reservation with my family who proudly express Navajo tradition and heritage. I wake up every day, blessed with a bloodline that has survived and overcome genocide, racism, and monstrous determinants that take away Indigenous lives. I come from a matriarchal lineage full of prideful Indigenous women who happen to be my mother, my grandmother, and so forth. They built me into this brown-skinned goddess who admires everything around her, especially health. As an Indigenous Navajo woman growing up on the reservation, I have experienced my share of systemic issues that have plagued Native American health. My present is full of a lifetime of processing grief due to my family lineage burdened with health issues that deter their sacred lives. Diabetes, neuroendocrine tumors, alcohol addictions, depression, etc. are all that have taken away my beloved family, friends, and community. I want this cycle to stop completely. That is my inspiration. Indigenous communities need balance within the aspect of health. My grandmother was a strong Navajo woman, who possessed the qualities of being a matriarchal leader; full of beauty and sacredness, a keeper of wisdom, and ancestral teachings. I am her blood, the granddaughter who has the potential in breaking generational trauma and promoting a better life for her family and herself. She died from a rare form of cancer in 2020 during the pandemic. I was her caretaker when she started chemotherapy. I was giving her medications, alleviating her pain, and watching her every minute of the day and night to ensure her pain and health were monitored. She died that year. The grief was immense for my family and me. I witnessed how resilient and persistent she was despite having a painful health issue. Ever since I was a kid, my grandmother praised the importance of education and being a successful Indigenous woman. She did not get to finish high school, so I use that example from her to uplift myself through education. The blood, sweat, and tears she shed to carry my mother and uncles, my family heritage, and life will be carried on. These are ways I stay motivated in becoming a leader for Indigenous health. Being able to dismantle systemic health for Native American communities is important to me because I am the future of the Navajo Nation. Despite the tragic and lingering historical past of my ancestors, I am the product of being a resilient Indigenous woman. Being Navajo is important to me because I want to carry on the vision of showing how capable Native American youth are in the huge world besides being on the reservation, to give being ‘Indigenous’ a sign of hope and beauty to the future generations to come. I live to see Indigenous youth represent and be a part of STEM careers. I hope to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in public health for Indigenous women through my STEM education. I want to be remembered as a successful Indigenous woman rooted from the Navajo Nation with a Ph.D. in Epidemiology, to be the one who dismantled her generational trauma and fear. Education is the key to dismantling Indigenous trauma. Indigenous communities deserve unity in all aspects on reservations and worldwide. The resilience of being Indigenous is why I aspire to walk with my head high, to be heard and seen, and to be successful in a world where my existence was on the edge of erasure.

In the aspect of Indigenous resilience, Chief Manuelito of the Navajo tribe said, “We cannot fight them, there are very few of us compared to them. We have to fight the injustices of our people with education. They have people out there called lawyers, doctors, and engineers and that is how we will win the battle. Education is part of the answer.” This inspires me to advocate for Indigenous success and motivation in the aspect of education. Education is a weapon for Indigenous youth, the social stigma surrounding Indigenous communities labels us as the “dumb Indian”. Chief Manuelito wanted the Navajo tribe to realize their worth and capability to dismantle systemic stereotypes about our intelligence. Without education, there is a world that failed to uplift Indigenous children and communities. It dismantles systemic trauma upon Indigenous communities and culture. This is the first and foremost crucial value to my goals and success. As an Indigenous Navajo woman growing up on the reservation, I have experienced my share of systemic issues that have plagued Native American health. My present is full of a lifetime of processing grief due to my family lineage burdened with health issues that deter their sacred lives. Diabetes, neuroendocrine tumors, alcohol addictions, depression, etc. are all that have taken away my beloved family, friends, and community. I want this cycle to stop completely. That is my inspiration. Indigenous communities need balance within the aspect of health. I come from a matriarchal lineage full of prideful Indigenous women who happen to be my mother, my grandmother, and so forth. They built me into this brown-skinned goddess who admires everything around her, especially health. My grandmother was a strong Navajo woman, who possessed the qualities of being a matriarchal leader; full of beauty and sacredness, a keeper of wisdom, and ancestral teachings. I am her blood, the granddaughter who has the potential in breaking generational trauma and promoting a better life for her family and herself. She was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in 2020 during the pandemic. I was her caretaker when she started chemotherapy. I was giving her medications, alleviating her pain, and watching her every minute of the day and night to ensure her pain and health were monitored. She died that year. The grief was immense for my family and me. I witnessed how resilient and persistent she was despite having a painful health issue. Ever since I was a kid, my grandmother praised the importance of education and being a successful Indigenous woman. She did not get to finish high school, so I use that example to uplift myself through education. The blood, sweat, and tears she shed to carry my mother and uncles, my family heritage, and life will be carried on. These are ways I stay motivated in becoming a leader for Indigenous health. I hope to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in public health by enabling success for future generations of Native American students. I want to be remembered as a successful Indigenous woman rooted from the Navajo Nation with a Ph.D. in Epidemiology or Medicine, to be the one who dismantled her broken generational trauma and fear. Education is the key to dismantling Indigenous trauma. I must instill peace and balance for Indigenous health in my community. Indigenous communities deserve unity in all aspects on reservations and worldwide. The scarcity of being Indigenous is why I aspire to walk with my head high, carrying on the Navajo existence, to be heard and seen, and to be successful in a world where my existence was on the edge of erasure.

My name is Hannah Norberto. I am a 20-year-old Indigenous woman, affiliated with the Navajo Nation. I was born and raised on the Navajo reservation with my family who proudly express Navajo tradition and heritage. I wake up every day, blessed with a bloodline that has survived and overcome genocide, racism, and monstrous determinants that take away Indigenous lives. I come from a matriarchal lineage full of prideful Indigenous women who happen to be my mother, my grandmother, and so forth. They built me into this brown-skinned goddess who admires everything around her, especially health. In the aspect of Indigenous resilience, Chief Manuelito of the Navajo tribe said, “We cannot fight them, there are very few of us compared to them. We have to fight the injustices of our people with education. They have people out there called lawyers, doctors, and engineers and that is how we will win the battle. Education is part of the answer.” This inspires me to advocate for Indigenous success and motivation in the aspect of education. Education is a weapon for Indigenous youth and individuals, the social stigma surrounding Indigenous communities labels us as the “dumb Indian”. Chief Manuelito wanted the Navajo tribe to realize their worth and capability to dismantle systemic stereotypes about our intelligence. Without education, there is a world that failed to uplift Indigenous children and communities. It dismantles systemic trauma upon Indigenous communities and culture. When I take advantage of attending college, I inspire my community of bright-minded and motivated Indigenous students to aim to be successful, graduate high school, and attend college as I have done. Without a college education, I will not be able to revitalize the Navajo Nation’s healthcare system or use my population health degree to revolutionize Indigenous health. This is the first and foremost crucial value to my goals and success. As an Indigenous Navajo woman growing up on the reservation, I have experienced my share of systemic issues that have plagued Native American health. My present is full of a lifetime of processing grief due to my family lineage burdened with health issues that deter their sacred lives. Diabetes, neuroendocrine tumors, alcohol addictions, depression, etc. are all that have taken away my beloved family, friends, and community. I want this cycle to stop completely. That is my inspiration. Indigenous communities need balance within the aspect of health. My grandmother was a strong Navajo woman, who possessed the qualities of being a matriarchal leader; full of beauty and sacredness, a keeper of wisdom, and ancestral teachings. I am her blood, the granddaughter who has the potential in breaking generational trauma and promoting a better life for her family and herself. She died from a rare form of cancer in 2020 during the pandemic. I was her caretaker when she started chemotherapy. I was giving her medications, alleviating her pain, and watching her every minute of the day and night to ensure her pain and health were monitored. She died that year. The grief was immense for my family and me. There are days I grieve, wishing she could witness my milestones through education and life. I witnessed how resilient and persistent she was despite having a painful health issue. Ever since I was a kid, my grandmother praised the importance of education and being a successful Indigenous woman. She did not get to finish high school, so I use that example from her to uplift my family’s generational legacy within the aspect of Indigenous success and education. The blood, sweat, and tears she shed to carry my mother and uncles, my family heritage, and life will be carried on. These are ways I stay motivated in becoming a leader for Indigenous health. Being able to dismantle systemic health for Native American communities is important to me because I am the future of the Navajo Nation. I have lived a life full of generational prayers, traditions, and expressing passion for my culture. For decades, Native Americans have been exploited and conflicted with unresolved trauma. Despite the tragic and lingering historical past of my ancestors, I am the product of being a resilient Indigenous woman. Being Navajo is important to me because I want to carry on the vision of showing how capable Native American youth are in the huge world besides being on the reservation, to give being ‘Indigenous’ a sign of hope and beauty to the future generations to come. My indigeneity is sacred, beautiful, and unique. I am a first-generation college student attending the University of New Mexico studying to receive a bachelor’s degree in Population Health in the honors college. I care about population health on the Navajo reservation because this career can help me address and uplift Indigenous well-being. I have a life and career objective to get a master's in Population Health, then go on to get a Doctor of Medicine degree at the University of New Mexico. I want to explore health careers as an epidemiologist, or as a doctor. I also hope to apply to a prestigious medical school to obtain a Doctor of Medicine degree. I envision myself to be diagnosing and alleviating Indigenous communities against illnesses or diseases that affect our sacred existence. I hope to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in public health by enabling success for future generations of Native American students. I want to be remembered as a successful Indigenous woman rooted from the Navajo Nation with a Ph.D. in Epidemiology, to be the one who dismantled her broken generational trauma and fear. Education is the key to dismantling Indigenous trauma. I must instill peace and balance for Indigenous health in my community. Indigenous communities deserve unity in all aspects on reservations and worldwide. The scarcity of being Indigenous is why I aspire to walk with my head high, carrying on the Navajo existence, to be heard and seen, and to be successful in a world where my existence was on the edge of erasure.