Finding a Calling in Cultural Resources
Finding a Calling in Cultural Resources
As a young man growing up in Grand Ronde I wanted to grow up and do everything… and anything… as a career path… how did I stumble upon this one pathway? A pathway that fulfilled me, challenged me, impassioned me, and inspired me to advocate for my family and my people. This has been a question that I have reflected on often as I continue to navigate and grow in my career in Cultural Resources work. I am going to share an abridged version of my perspectives on what has led me on my path.
“How do I even pick a lane?” “What does the world expect of me?”
I constantly grappled with questions like this as a teenager, an overwhelming concept to steer as a youth raised more within the ICWA (Indian Child Welfare Act) system then out. I struggled with the idea of independence because of the fear that at any given moment the other shoe could drop and turn life upside down. I am fortunate to say despite that internalized conflict I had many people in my life that encouraged, supported, and gave me the room to figure out paths for myself. The first step and most important one I always look back on, led me on this path began with traditional teachings. I was always being exposed to these lifeways in some capacity since childhood, but did not seek it on my own until I experienced my first Tribal Canoe Journey to Muckleshoot in 2006. This led to me learning chinuk wawa, traditional songs, and participating in ceremonies.
This new found passion for thriving in my cultural identity led to my first encounter with the Tribe’s Cultural Resources Department. I as an intern at 17 years old, in what would later become the current Historic Preservation Office. I took advantage of this opportunity to learn
as much as I could about who I came from as a People, and learned invaluable skills that continue to be assets in my work. That’s also when I first learned just how much more there was to cultural resources work than simply the practice of traditional gathering and arts. It also was managing an archive of historical documents and other sources of knowledge; it was supporting our community in continuing its cultural practices; and it was learning how historic preservation laws can advocate for our cultural resources throughout our ceded lands. The stakes were shown to be much higher. This work was fighting to protect places, resources, items, and ancestors that have been sacred to my people since time immemorial. This also showed me that sometimes fighting for our resources was done with introductions, smiles, and discussions from across a table.
That experience lingered with me, even if I didn’t fully realize it at the time. I had found an underlying passion for this work, and as I approached my 20’s I would periodically find myself seeking out limited term positions as a cultural site monitor with the department. I would then enter that time of life we all have to experience “figuring out” how to be an adult on my own, exploring higher education and working different jobs. Some good, some bad, but nothing that inspired a career path and many years passed. That is when I found myself coming back into the department in a temporary position.
Seeing how much things had grown and changed I was reminded of just how much I cared about the work, and I recall thinking to myself this is what I want to do, I need to find a way to keep doing this. So I worked and gave my effort to support the department as best I could and I began connecting with old and new faces in the department. My experience in site monitoring next led to me working with the Historic Preservation Office and learning ArcGIS, an invaluable tool for managing spatial data. Having ArcGIS as a tool at my disposal I now found the opportunity I had been waiting for, a position was open and I was qualified to apply so I threw my hat in the ring and found myself successful.
I am now happily in my current position as Historic Preservation Technician for the Tribe for the past 6 years, where I continue to learn, overcome challenges, and grow in the work I do. It may be obvious, but along the way there were many moments that were not as simple and straightforward as it may seem now, this transition was over the span of 17 years. I was still living and changing as a person and I think that same passion I have in Cultural Resources now is directly related to what connected me with it to begin with - traditional teachings. I had to learn why this was important for my people and it opened me up to how I could contribute to that. If anything I hope this leaves you with a small glimpse of what it can look like to find your calling in Cultural Resources, I didn’t always know I would love this but I’m happy for all the little things that brought me back.
hayu masi,
-Nic