Santa Fe New Mexican — Kayleigh Warren — Using her voice for progress
Posted: Thursday, February 5, 2015 10:00 pm | Updated: 9:06 am, Fri Feb 6, 2015.
By Elizabeth Sanchez
Generation Next | 0 comments
The first time Santa Clara Pueblo student Kayleigh Warren visited the White House, she got lost — during a rainstorm.
“The entire time we were running in the cold, I was still awestruck by all the history and honor that surrounded me. I had chills while walking through the halls just thinking of all the people whose steps I was [following],” she recalled for Generation Next.
In October, Warren, a junior focusing on visual arts at the New Mexico School for the Arts, attended the annual 2014 National Congress of American Indians Conference at the White House in Washington, D.C., where she acted as the youth representative of Santa Clara Pueblo. Warren said each of the country’s 566 federally recognized tribes were allowed to nominate one ambassador and 35 ambassadors made the trip, which her tribe paid.
She attended the conference along with Santa Clara Pueblo Gov. J. Michael Chavarria and a representative of the Santa Clara Pueblo Department of Youth and Learning, Marissa Naranjo.
“We spent the first day sightseeing and meeting the other ambassadors. The second day, we visited the White House and attended breakout sessions. I participated in a forum regarding the protection of tribal land and the preservation of resources. The third day was the day of the conference, where we participated in forums in the general assembly regarding climate change, government-to-government relations and education. We also met Attorney General Eric Holder, Vice President Joe Biden and President Barack Obama.”
Warren said this conference and young Native American involvement in such events is vital in keeping Native American opinions and traditions alive.
“Native Americans are too often pushed to the side and forgotten. … This conference holds monumental importance for the continued cooperation and communication between the federal government and all the remaining tribes in the United States. This event provides an opportunity to make connections and have conversations, not just between government employees, but between tribes. I learned about the value of a single voice and about public speaking and persistence, but also humility. I made sure that I made my experience not about me, but about who I was there for and the message I was carrying.”
Warren has great respect for her family and her nation and how they help shape her identity. “[My] pueblo is always going to be my home — the only place in the world where I am completely and truly myself,” she said.
New Mexico School for the Arts Cindy Montoya Principal described Warren as someone who is “highly motivated, loves to serve her community and understands the challenges that face her community. Her desire to improve the world she lives in is incredible.”
Still, Warren said she is not planning on a career in the arts. “That’s one of the best things about art school; through it you get to really look at what a career in the arts would be like,” she said. “Through my studies, I have concluded that being a professional artist is not for me. However, I will never stop creating and loving art.”
Elizabeth Sanchez is a senior at Santa Fe High School.
Contact her at elizabethann97@hotmail.com.