Anpetu wastè, Cante wastè nape ciyuzapelo. I shake your hands with a warm handshake and open heart. It will almost be an entire year since I begun my journey as a Bush Fellow. The question that was proposed to us is what has surprised us about leadership development through our fellowship? 

Thinking back how excited I was to start the fellowship since we first found out in March 2015 was an interesting journey because I think what became my focus was insuring all of my current responsibilities were taken care of including going from a full time role in my current position at the Native Youth Leadership Alliance to a part time role to meet the some of the requirements of the fellowship to TAKE CARE OF MYSELF or the concept of self-care.

It’s a difficult concept because we often think of ourselves as being the point person to which our organization can function without and in this process we fail at taking care of ourselves, especially being the founders of organizations. I’ve often been told in many of the endeavors I’ve undertaken in the non-profit and political spaces are to take care of myself. 

Relearning to take of myself was like relearning to ride a bike. Having helped others with in the area of leadership development it is difficult not to be hard on yourself if something doesn’t work out the way we intended. A good example of this is being able say no to those closest to you regardless of it is work or family because they are usually my biggest supporters and allies in the work we do for our community. 

Going through this process is probably one of the biggest wake up calls for me in prioritizing our personal needs by taking care of ourselves mentally, physically, spiritually, and emotionally because it is only ourselves who will be able to know what we need to keep doing the work we do and without a foundation to carry us it’s hard to keep moving forward with helping others. 

As I was thinking about what I wanted to in the first months of the fellowship, I had to figure out a way to make more time for myself at the same time as doing less work. It is much easier said then done but can be viewed as a blessing in disguise because it requires us to do what is essential to the organization we work for but in far less time. 

The other role I currently serve is as a member of the South Dakota Legislature. This is probably one of the few part time jobs with year round responsibility. There are a plethora of opportunities to learn about various issues affecting our communities but without being independently wealthy, it’s difficult to take advantage of these opportunities.      

I’ve been able to take a more active role in relationship building with relationship building for my community including working with the White House on various issues for our community in Pine Ridge. This past fall, I was invited to take part in a meeting with President Obama about the role leaders can play in their communities and I had the chance to thank him for all of the positive work he has done for Native communities, especially youth, his response was “we are not done yet.” To be able to hear that from a sitting U.S. President in his final year of his term shows a huge commitment that we can take back to our community and most importantly, our young people. 

I mention this experience because it was something that I’ve always hoped I would have the opportunity to do but trying to find the time to do so because as our experience and skill grows, so does the demand on our time as leaders. It’s one of things that becomes clear in this fellowship is the value of time and how it’s used because we only have two years in this fellowship, so the relationship we build is essential to carry our work beyond this time. 

Thinking back from a year ago, I can say I am in a much better place emotionally, spiritually, mentally, and I am still working on the physical part. It is a tremendous honor to be a part of the family of Bush fellows. Hopefully a year from now I will be able to say I completed my fellowship in a good way with a full heart ready to work in my community and thankful I have another year to journey down this path.