Headliners Arizona Teens Share Passions with Others at White House Tribal Youth Forum

By Lux Butler, Cronkite News

Gabriella Nakai says she has tackled the challenges facing Indigenous communities on her own, but that being surrounded by others who share her passion makes the load a little lighter.

She says that seeing the amazing work that all of these Native national youth leaders are doing pushes her forward and gives her the feeling that these people have her back.

She was one of two Arizona “Champions for Change” – along with Fort Apache resident Jovi Williams of the White Mountain Apache – at the third annual White House Tribal Youth Forum. It brought together 123 Indigenous teens from across the nation and other countries to share information on the issues affecting their communities today. Discussions at the forum, which was held at the Department of Health and Human Services, ranged from climate change to civic engagement, from the legacy of federal Indian boarding schools to mental health and substance abuse.

The topic that brought Gabriella to Washington was food insecurity.

“I have my Oklahoma tribe (Choctaw) and also my tribe (Navajo) and seeing the issues that plague both these communities are so similar, both having trouble getting access to fresh produce,” says Gabriella, a junior at Arcadia High School in Phoenix.

During the pandemic, Gabriella says her grandparents, who live in the Navajo Nation, did not have access to fresh produce. She took this issue into her own hands and began growing heirloom Native produce, like the Hopi melon, in her backyard garden.

“We started focusing more on traditional and native crops and noticed that those crops actually grow better in Arizona,” she says. The forum is organized in partnership with the White House, the Center for Native American Youth at the Aspen Institute and UNITY – the United National Indian Tribal Youth Inc. Started under the Obama administration, it was revived by President Joe Biden after a hiatus during the Trump administration.

This was the second trip to the East Coast this fall for Gabriella, who was invited to the White House in October as one of 15 young women by first lady Jill Biden at the Girls Leading Change celebration. Gabriella was the only Indigenous participant at that event.

Gabriella says that having opportunities like this pushes her forward and lets her know she's making an impact, while fighting away at bigger issues.

Lux Butler expects to graduate in May 2024 from Arizona State University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a certificate in international studies. She is assigned to the Washington bureau of Cronkite News this semester.