The Professional Counselor | Volume 14, Issue 1 115 they want your support—this is how we advocate with. Many groups that have been historically marginalized in the United States were done so under the guise of helping. One example of this relates to the Indian boarding schools. From the beginning of the formation of the United States into the 19th century, a central agenda for many government officials was to acquire Indigenous lands (e.g., Indian Removal Act of 1830). By 1876, the majority of lands had been seized, and native people were forced to either relocate or live on reservations. Captain Richard H. Pratt believed that this segregation was wrong and supported better treatment for the native people. He delivered a speech at the Nineteenth Annual Conference of Charities and Correction regarding how to reeducate Native Americans/American Indians, where he proclaimed the only course was to “Kill the Indian, and Save the Man.” In that, to save the Indian, full assimilation into White European culture was required. Thereafter, the government and religious organizations established boarding schools (for more information, see this article). General Platt would have seen himself as an advocate. However, his actions led to the abuse of many children under the care of these schools, loss of cultural identity, and disruption of the parental relationship, and are seen as the prominent predecessor to many of the existing problems for some American Indians/Native Americans. Advocacy is crucial in the counseling profession. However, it needs to be done in a culturally competent and collaborative manner. I have been approached by researchers to ask for my assistance working in the Indigenous populations. However, when I ask them if they reached out to the community they want to research in, they most often say “no.” I believe it is crucial to be part of the community before you engage in research with the community. Learn what would be beneficial to the community, not just what will get the researcher published and/or grant funding. 3. As a follow-up to the previous questions, where did this passion and pursuit originate for you? For me, it has a both personal and professional origination and intersection. I am a linear descendent of the Chickasaw tribe. I grew up not knowing a lot about my heritage because my father was trying to protect our family. His lived experience was that it was not safe to let people know. So, our heritage remained closeted the majority of my life. For almost 20 years I worked as a paralegal. The majority of my work supported lawyers focusing on criminal and family law, which included federal law related to reservation crimes. I saw so many judicial problems occurring with many American Indian/Native American individuals, which made me curious about the reasons. I was repeatedly told “that is just how those people are.” Now, I knew that was not true because I was one of those people. I got frustrated with the pattern of what I was seeing and felt I was more part of the problem than the solution. At the age of 39, I decided to go back to school to pursue a different career. During my undergraduate studies, I chose to take an American Indian/Native American history class to understand more. My father supported my quest for knowledge and started to share our heritage with me. This class helped me understand more about the historical components of the why. During my master’s studies, I first heard the term historical trauma. I began to research this concept and more parts of the why were answered for me. For my doctoral studies, I sought a program that specialized in multicultural competency to assist me in gaining more knowledge. However, I was still struggling with truly embracing my biracial identity—then fate interceded. I was the director of clinical experiences at the university where I was working. I received an email from a local reservation that they lost funding and had to let some counselors go and they wondered if we had any interns. No interns were available, so I said I would go. I was assigned a supervisor and during our first supervision session she said to me, “So, when are you going to tell me you’re Indian?”
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