#weRnative Photo Challenge
"I am currently studying abroad at Trinity College _ Dublin, Ireland, and I visited London, England for a weekend. Being abroad, I have become very aware of my existence as a Native American/Indigenous person on an international level and it is alarmingly isolating. Coming from a predominantly Navajo (Din_) community and living on the Navajo Nation, I am use to being surrounded by individuals who look like me and understand where I am coming from. Often times, I forget how much my ancestors have willingly sacrifice for my survival, my resistance, and my existence. I forget how very narrow the choices they had in life, and the choices they made were not for themselves. The choices they made were for me, and the generations after me. I owe my agency to being able to study abroad and attend institutions outside the United States to the choices and sacrifice of my ancestors, my grandparents, and my mother. If it was not for their support and their sacrifice, I would not be where I am today. I owe my existence to their resilience. We, as a community, have come a long way since the mass genocide and forced assimilation of our ancestors, yet at the same time we retain a legacy of trauma. At the same, we inherited a legacy of resistance and resilience. Being Native American/Indigenous means navigating this world, while being aware of the constant violence against us, yet possessing the ability to overcome them."