SJP mural honors

Native American activist

HCherokee Nation’s attempt to place a Native American in the House of Representatives as a non-voting delegate, Social Justice Pathway students will unveil the mural “Same Moon, Same Stars” on April 24. e mural, created by 13 students from SJP Cohort 7 who communicated directly with the Cherokee Nation, will be part of the 800 building.

e mural celebrates the Cherokee Nation’s e orts to place Native American activist Kimberly Teehee as a non-voting delegate in the House, a right guaranteed to the Cherokee tribe by the 1835 Treaty of New Echota.

Initially signed between a small faction within the Cherokee Nation and the U.S. government, the Treaty also served as the legal basis for the Trail of Tears which forcibly removed the Cherokee people from their native lands.

Teehee previously served as the rst Senior Policy Advisor for Native American A airs under President Barack Obama and was nominated by Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. as the tribe’s delegate in 2019.

Research and organizational leader senior Megha Madhabhushi said the mural highlights the atrocities committed on the Cherokee Nation as a result of the Treaty of New Echota.

Madhabhushi said the mural focuses on Teehee because of the underrepresentation of Native Americans in the House of Representatives.

e treaty allowed her to be a representative, but being a representative doesn’t necessarily guarantee voting powers, which is its own separate thing,” Madhabhushi said.

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Teehee said advocating towards being a voting delegate in the House of Representatives is important for the future of underrepresented groups like the Cherokee.

“For decades, U.S. federal government policies attempted to dissolve (Cherokee) government and (Cherokee) ways of life because we did not have anyone at the highest levels of government advocating for us.” Teehee said. “ e (voting) delegate right is about lifting up the voices of all Native Americans at the highest levels of our government. ” e Cohort 7 mural group had the opportunity to work directly with Teehee. Mural communications leader and senior Sami Lee said meeting with Teehee motivated the group to expand the impact of the mural.

“When we talked to Teehee, it a rmed our work because she was so excited and so happy that we were honoring her.” Lee said. “It made us want to work harder, make our project better and make the audience bigger.” e speakers, including New York Times best-selling author Julie LythcottHaims and Magical Bridge Foundation founder and CEO Olenka Villareal, emphasized the importance of pursuing a career based on one’s passions.

Lee said feedback from members of the Cherokee Nation was a priority in the process of creating the mural.

To give students insight into unique career paths, e Career Speakers Committee organized guest speaker events during PRIME on March 21 and 22.

Villarreal said she founded the Magical Bridge Foundation, which focuses on inclusive, physically accessible playgrounds, to help children learn from unexpected situations or obstacles.

Villarreal was inspired to design accessible play spaces for anyone when her own disabled daughter ran into obstacles at traditional playgrounds.

“My goal was for them to recognize that our lives and careers have surprises and turns, and to be open to opportunities and to embrace di erent directions that may be presented to them, as was mine,” Villarreal said. “I came from one direction and ended up in one that’s now bringing me tremendous joy and is very ful lling and lucrative.”

Villarreal also said she wants students to know that working for a nonpro t is a viable career path, especially for those seeking alternative paths.

“I was hoping to shift their expectation of what it means to be a part of a nonpro t, and that it can be fun, engaging and challenging,” Villarreal said. “It provides all the bene ts of a traditional company but has the social impact element too. I

“We changed a couple elements after revising our original plan with the Cherokee Nation.” Lee said. “It’s our job to amplify what they want. We don’t want to speak over them.”

Senior and lead artist Kellyn Scheel said the art was especially di cult because of the group’s desire to accurately capture the spirit of Teehee’s nomination.

“ e art itself went through close to 15 versions before we reached a point where we felt secure with the Cherokee Nation on the message and the accuracy of the art,” Scheel said.

Teehee said one of the most important aspects of the mural is how it engages conversation on important issues.

“Honoring our treaty rights by seating the Cherokee Nation in the U.S. House is a signi cant way to bring attention to our history,” Teehee said. “I think that simply talking about our history, whether that be among citizens or on the national level, is key to bringing awareness to indigenous history and issues.” wanted to present the nonpro t in a light they maybe haven’t considered.”

Lee also said she hopes the communitywide impact will be long-lasting and to this end, she developed a website dedicated to the mural, including information about its message.

Villarreal said she also wanted to emphasize the importance of considering di erent perspectives on careers.

“I hope they realize this is a community that cares about them, and it’s a gift to have such an opportunity to hear from community members with di erent backgrounds,” Villarreal said. “I’m glad the students are here, and I hope they take advantage of all the speakers and what they bring to the room. We are their network, and we’re happy to be a part of it.”

New York Times bestselling author Julie Lythcott-Haims said she also aimed to share her story to inspire students.

“My work, broadly speaking, is about helping humans thrive,” Lythcott-Haims said. “Career Week seemed like a great opportunity to share some messages that just might sink in.”

Freshman and Career Speakers Committee member Brendan Giang said he joined the organizational team because he thinks it is essential to provide opportunities for students to hear from people who have been successful in a variety of areas.

“I enjoy providing these magical opportunities for both my fellow classmates and everyone else in general,” Giang said.

Giang said he wants students to see they should pursue careers they are passionate and excited about.

“A theme I see with a lot of these speakers is to do something you love,” Giang said. “Don’t do something because people told you to, and you should love what you do and pursue your dreams.”

Lythcott-Haims message was a similar one. She said students need to follow the path that best ts them.

“One of the things that’s really important to me is ensuring that the website lives for a long time,” Lee said. “If people come by in 10 years, they’ll know what it’s about, and they’ll know the story and they can learn from it just as well as people can today.”

Lee said learning about the Treaty of New Echota and Teehee in history class inspired her and a group of students to begin this mural.

“We had a whole class project where each person researched and painted a mini mural. en a group of us opted to do the (mural) outside of class.” Lee said. “Our group started this project back in the fall of 2021. It’s been a long time coming.”

Teehee said she values the younger generation’s opinions and thinks they are an asset towards her mission for justice for the Cherokee people.

“Recently, we’ve seen a trend of the younger generation stepping up and making their voices heard through political involvement. I think this also applies to the Cherokee Nation.” Teehee said. “We need to work with and encourage youth participation in our quest to right the wrongs the Cherokee Nation has su ered.”

Madhabhushi said the mural will help increase awareness about di erent ethnic groups and display the beauty of diversity.

“ ere’s really a big problem in our education system with cultural diversity,” Madhabhushi said. “ ere’s so many better things we can do than having a European white-centric focus. I think this is one great way of bringing a group that’s underrepresented into the light and giving them the respect that they deserve.”

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CEO Olenka Villarreal emphasizes the importance of considering di erent perspectives on career paths. “I was hoping to shift (student) expectation of what it means to be part of a nonpro t, and that it can be fun, engaging and challenging,” Villareal said.

“ e pressure of pursuing the right track can cause pain,” Lythcott-Haims said. “A successful, meaningful, rewarding life actually comes from guring out both what you’re good at and what you love and then giving yourself permission to be that person.”

Giang said he eventually hopes to expand the career speaker events to bring an even wider variety of speakers.

“I would love to get more speakers to give more opportunities for students to listen to people who have gotten into careers that maybe they want to go into,” Giang said. “I know we had the speakers come in during PRIME, so I hope that in the future, we can bring this to more students and do more big events like this to make it fun and inclusive to everyone.”