After growing up in a Pueblo community and with the Tewa Women United organization, Corrine Sanchez said her decision to pursue a degree in ASU's Native American Doctorate Program was about the integration of schooling and her own experiences.
Tewa Women United is a New Mexico-based organization that serves as a voice for the Native American community. Corrine Sanchez's mother founded the organization, which she now oversees.
“The (Native American Doctorate Program) allowed me to reflect on the community-based knowledge building that we were doing," Corrine Sanchez said. "I feel like that pushed indigenous knowledge and academia in general around the strength of communities to find a solution and answers to the problems that exist."
When Kathy Sanchez, Corrine Sanchez's mother, founded Tewa Women United, she said the group wanted to ensure the perspective of Native American women was heard and make it clear to Native children that the problems they face are neither their fault nor that of their ancestors.
“We were a gathering of tribal women that were concerned about the impacts of colonialism and what was happening to us," Kathy Sanchez, who is now the Environmental Health and Justice Program Manager for the organization, said. "We want to take away that stigma that happens to us in a oppressive society."
She said that some of the problems they face are other people blaming natives for alcoholism and suicide rates.
The group tackles a number of issues including women’s health, environmental justice, community health and family and community violence.
“It’s that integrating of making sure that we’re connecting all our ancestor’s guidance into the work that we do at present," Kathy Sanchez said. "Also financially, we’re doing our strategic planning so that we can be able to talk about the economic literacy that goes with cultural competency."
Although the organization has many goals, Corrine Sanchez said a recurring one is teaching the next generation.
“Having the young people recognize that ... there is a bigger context to family and community and, if we want to really impact social change on the scale of our community ... that part of this process is learning these different pieces, coming into critical dialogue and then pushing out that knowledge in the different ways,” Corrine Sanchez said.
Tewa Women United also conducts a program called A’Gin, which provides sexuality and body sovereignty education in the local public and tribal schools in northern New Mexico.
Nathana Bird, program manager of the women’s leadership and economic freedom program, said the program, which is named A'Gin after the Tewa word for respect, focuses on the different things our bodies engage with.
“Corrine’s been a major key player in this program," Bird said. "From the beginning, they really have to develop relationships with different community members, educators, healthcare professionals to really figure out what kind of content they wanted in the curriculum."
The Native American Doctorate Program allowed her to continue her work with Tewa Women United, while working toward a doctoral degree at ASU.
“We could apply the work that we were doing towards our academic achievements and that it would benefit the program, my organization and the community," Corrine Sanchez added. "The class scheduling was really conducive to being able to maintain my executive directorship [in] my organization and being able to take classes."
Due to her commute, Corrine Sanchez said the course was rigorous but that the support of her peers made the program successful.
"Having the support of my peers was a huge key to the success of the program, we were able to encourage each other, we were able to connect and relate to why we were in the program," she said. "When it got hard, (we drew) on our spiritual strength."
Related Links:
ASU scholar honored at the White House for her work with Native American students
ASU excels in educating, graduating American Indians
Reach the reporter at avcabral@asu.edu or follow @angeligagaa on Twitter.
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