Hannah N. — University of New Mexico, Population Health (Public Health)

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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 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.

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
have a life and career objective to get a master’s in Population Health, then apply to
a prestigious medical school to obtain a Doctor of Medicine. I want to explore health
careers as an epidemiologist, or as a doctor. I envision myself to be diagnosing and
alleviating Indigenous communities against illnesses or diseases that affect our
sacred existence.

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. 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.
When I take advantage of attending college, I inspire my community of
bright-minded Indigenous students to aim for inclusion in higher education.
Without a college education, I will not be able to revitalize 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 peace and 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, and a keeper of wisdom. 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. 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. 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. Indigenous communities deserve unity instilled in them
in all aspects worldwide. The scarcity 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.

The legacy I would like to leave in my community is to promote the inclusivity
of a community full of Indigenous scholars, working together to make a change for
Native well-being and health. My education helps me to be a part of the foundation
of Indigenous excellence, enabling success for future generations of Native American
students. I want many Native communities to prosper and to be included in the
bigger society without systemic health problems. I must instill the inclusion of Native
communities in healthcare and advocate for innovations that can dismantle
systemic history that affects Indigenous health.

I am addressing health inequities for Native communities by attending
college. I hope to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in public health by enabling
Native representation in public health for Native American students. A public health
degree will help me innovate the healthcare system in Native communities. 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
generational trauma and fear. Education is the key to dismantling Indigenous
trauma. I will end systemic health trauma through higher education.