Category: WIGA

Mackenzie Crow is a member of the Suquamish Tribe, a zoology student at Washington State University, and a two-time recipient of the Washington Indian Gaming Association (WIGA) scholarship. In a conversation earlier this month, we asked Mackenzie about the importance of education, her career goals and what it means to be a WIGA Scholarship recipient.

Q: You’re in your junior year at WSU, studying zoology. Can you tell us why you chose this major?
I have known since I was a kid that I wanted a career where I can help and make a difference. I was lucky to grow up in an area where we could take field trips to nearby zoos and I think that’s where my initial love for zoology came from. I’ve always been fascinated by exotic animals like sloths and red pandas, so when it came time to pick a major, I knew zoology was for me.

Q: What are your career goals?
My main career goal is to become a zookeeper at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, Washington. That’s where my initial love for this work began. I hope to one day work with large exotic animals like cheetahs, elephants and red pandas. I want to learn everything there is to know about these animals and use my knowledge to educate others. I want to make a difference by teaching people how threats like climate change and unlawful hunting practices are affecting wild animals, and what we can to do help protect them.

Q: How do you hope your work in conservation will benefit your community or the environment?
Once I have been a zookeeper for a while, I would like to transition into wildlife conservation and research. I grew up on a coastal reservation, where I went crabbing with my family. Over time, I have seen the crab population decrease, and I know it’s not just crabs, and it’s not just happening here in Washington. Certain animal populations are decreasing all over the world, on land and in the ocean. Research into why and what can be done is critical, especially to tribes that rely on them for a large portion of either income or diet.

Q: Why is higher education important to you? How has your heritage and culture has influenced your educational goals?
I come from a place where not many people in the past had the opportunity to get a higher education. I was surrounded by amazing, loving people who told me to dream big and taught me how important it is for there to be more Native American representation, especially in places where historically there hasn’t been much at all. By getting my degree, I’m honoring those who encouraged me to achieve what they didn’t get to.

I was fortunate to have some amazing role models growing up—my mom and sister both have higher education degrees. I want to continue that legacy and be a good role model for my younger sister, cousins and other kids in my community. I think it is important to be a good leader to show those younger than me that getting a higher education and achieving your dreams is possible.

Q: What role has the WIGA Scholarship played in your educational journey?
The WIGA scholarship has played a huge role in my educational journey. Because the funds are unrestricted, I can use them to pay my rent or purchase textbooks and school supplies. It is no secret that college is hard and stressful, so I am grateful to not have to stress about money on top of that.

I was fortunate to study abroad with a program called Semester at Sea, taking college classes on a ship with over 500 other students and traveling to ten different countries. The WIGA Scholarship Program helped make that possible. I will be forever grateful to WIGA and everyone who helped me continue my education while being able to see the world and experience different cultures.

Q: Lastly, what has been one of the highlights of your zoology education so far?
During my second year at WSU, I took an animal science class in which I learned about and then worked with animals like cows, sheep, horses and deer. It was my first real, hands-on experience, and it solidified that zoology is what I want to do.

Then, during my study abroad on Semester at Sea,  I went on two safaris in Kenya and South Africa and I  got to see real, wild, exotic animals. Seeing elephants, lions, giraffes and rhinos  was an eye-opening experience—I was even given the most amazing opportunity to pet a cheetah! It has easily become the top highlight of my zoology education and really showed me that I am exactly where I am supposed to be.

WIGA Scholarship recipient Cheebo Frazier is Vice Chairwoman of the Nisqually Tribe, former Chief Human Resources Officer, Casino Manager and longest-serving GM for the Tribe’s Tribal gaming enterprise, and prior COO and CEO of the tribe’s corporate arm Medicine Creek Enterprise Corporation. She has a master’s degree in business administration and is pursuing her doctoral degree in education as an Indigenous Community Leader at the University of Washington/Muckleshoot Indian College. We recently asked Cheebo about her educational pursuits, career mission, and the role the WIGA scholarship has played in helping her achieve her goals.

Q: What inspired you to pursue a doctoral degree in educational leadership at the University of Washington Tacoma as part of the Muckleshoot Tribal Cohort? How does the program support your goals?
This program has taken me full circle. I participated in travel abroad as an undergrad at Dartmouth College, studying Brazilian Culture and Literacy in Brazil.  I was introduced to Paolo Freire’s teachings about critical consciousness and liberation of oppressed peoples. This doctoral program allowed me to remember those teachings and to think about its application to growing healthy communities.  What I particularly enjoy about Indigenous programs and this degree in specific are the integration of who we are as Tribal leaders in our community and the intersection between cultural continuity and growing leadership capacity through praxis. Moving from theory, or what some call “book knowledge”, to community practice and engagement helps us truly identify the wants and needs within our community and work to address them.  Having this progress in how we contribute to positive changes throughout our Indian nations is very fulfilling to me and I can see how our heartwork is truly making a difference.

That is “what” inspired me. As to “who” inspired me, that is my late Grandmother Frankie (Kautz) McCloud and Aunt Georgianna “Porgie” Kautz, both honorary doctorates from University of Puget Sound.  They set the bar very high in community work for Tribes and earned prestigious recognition, paving critical pathways.  I aspire to be as impactful toward meaningful change. Additionally, this program was different in that aspect in that it is instructed by Indigenous professors.  They are all doctorates, role models who have moved through this journey and are reaching back to pull us forward.

Q: You’ve already accomplished a great deal in your career. What goals are you focused on for the future and how has your tribal heritage and culture influenced you?
My experience in economic development was about creating opportunities for self-sufficiency for the Tribe. Presently, as an elected leader, the scope is much broader and although Tribal Council was not on my radar as a target, I was called forward and asked to step into this role and contribute. I am continually focusing on our Traditional values system and how we use it to guide our Indigenous communities.  Healing communities and reconciliation is how I’m moving forward as a Tribal leader. My goals are to find ways to bring our people back to community. This includes re-entry, recovery, intergenerational traumas, school challenges and using our traditional ways to be healthy and successful as a people. I have had wonderful guidance and mentors in my life who showed me how to have hope and to imagine new possibilities. I cannot be thankful enough to those ancestors and those Elders who keep encouraging and supporting us in this growth.

Q: What advice would you give Native students who are considering higher education or leadership roles?
There are technical tools that could prepare you, which are related to things like being skilled in APA, references and citations.  That was a learning curve for many of us. I’d also like to recommend you look at Indigenous authors, scholars and activists in academic areas that you are interested in. Attend some presentations and/or get to know others, friends and family, that have perhaps gone through graduate schools or are degreed in your area of interest. The thing is, there are now a lot of us who can help you navigate these unfamiliar environments. If you are wondering if you can do it, we know you can! We were also not sure if we could chew this big bite we bit off – a doctorate program – but with encouragement and support, we hold each other up.

Q: How has the WIGA Scholarship supported your educational journey?
There was a tremendous amount of worry and concern about affording the program. Many of us hold jobs, and we also have families and homes to provide for. It has been very motivating to be recognized as a student who is striving and working hard to give back to our Tribal communities. WIGA acknowledges this work and is helping in concrete ways to be sure that students are supported. Also, as I expressed to our Tribe, it’s important for Tribes to support their students too. There are some students who left the program specifically because they could not get financial support to offset the total cost of the program and they were absolutely brilliant, wonderful humans that were seeking to improve education for our Native nations. Their heartwork and degrees would have gone on to make immense and critical changes in the educational landscape and future outcomes for many generations beyond just their own. We must work to exponentially increase our space and place in higher education. I’m so glad that WIGA sees how these individual successes increase our collective abilities as Tribes.

Q: What has been one of the highlights of your doctoral program so far?
The span of incredible Native educators, scholars and authors is expansive and growing. I have absolutely loved reading and learning from Indigenous experts and researchers in their field and then having the opportunity to actually meet them and take part in programs or teachings with them. Many of our professors are published authors and they have created opportunities for us to write and contribute to Indigenous literature.  The circle is growing and as native people we are not outside of the circle we become part of this circle. I have met and worked with sensational and prolific educators and we’re so grateful for their teachings. It’s been an amazing experience.

Q: Lastly, when you’re not working or studying, what’s your favorite way to recharge or have fun?
Sharing what I love to do most is an easy answer! The pinnacle of my life has been becoming a kayəʔ.  I’m a “pre-elder” and grandmother. Although I love my job and love the doctoral program, I love spending time with my Grandson and Children the most. The wholesome family time during breaks is both healing and celebratory. The future generation are who we do this heartwork for, it is our most fundamental “why”.