Get a jump start on what you want do in college or test your interest before you get there by taking a class in political science! 

Education

Take a class in political science. 

Choose a cause you care about and then explore what different organizations in your community are doing to help. See if you can volunteer or organize donations from friends and family.

Make a difference in your community. 

It is important to learn about different cultures and educate others to facilitate understanding. Join the culture club on campus or at a local museum/organization! 

Skills

Learn about different cultures. 

Government Executives and Legislators

Develop, introduce or enact laws and statutes at the local, tribal, State, or Federal level. Includes only workers in elected positions.

Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

Enterprising

First Interest High-Point

Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

Social

Second Interest High-Point

Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

Investigative

Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.

Artistic

Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

Conventional

Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.

Realistic

Third Interest High-Point

Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed

Legislators

Management Occupations

Top Executives

Analyze and understand the local and national implications of proposed legislation.

Appoint nominees to leadership posts, or approve such appointments.

Confer with colleagues to formulate positions and strategies pertaining to pending issues.

Debate the merits of proposals and bill amendments during floor sessions, following the appropriate rules of procedure.

Develop expertise in subject matters related to committee assignments.

Hear testimony from constituents, representatives of interest groups, board and commission members, and others with an interest in bills or issues under consideration.

Keep abreast of the issues affecting constituents by making personal visits and phone calls, reading local newspapers, and viewing or listening to local broadcasts.

Maintain knowledge of relevant national and international current events.

Make decisions that balance the perspectives of private citizens, public officials, and party leaders.

Negotiate with colleagues or members of other political parties in order to reconcile differing interests, and to create policies and agreements.

Prepare drafts of amendments, government policies, laws, rules, regulations, budgets, programs and procedures.

Read and review concerns of constituents or the general public and determine if governmental action is necessary.

Represent their parties in negotiations with political executives or members of other parties, and when speaking with the media.

Review bills in committee, and make recommendations about their future.

Seek federal funding for local projects and programs.

Serve on commissions, investigative panels, study groups, and committees in order to examine specialized areas and recommend action.

Vote on motions, amendments, and decisions on whether or not to report a bill out from committee to the assembly floor.

Write, prepare, and deliver statements for the Congressional Record.

Alert constituents of government actions and programs by way of newsletters, personal appearances at town meetings, phone calls, and individual meetings.

Attend receptions, dinners, and conferences to meet people, exchange views and information, and develop working relationships.

Conduct "head counts" to help predict the outcome of upcoming votes.

Determine campaign strategies for media advertising, positions on issues, and public appearances.

Encourage and support party candidates for political office.

Establish personal offices in local districts or states, and manage office staff.

Evaluate the structure, efficiency, activities, and performance of government agencies.

Organize and maintain campaign organizations and fundraisers, in order to raise money for election or re-election.

Oversee expense allowances, ensuring that accounts are balanced at the end of each fiscal year.

Promote the industries and products of their electoral districts.

Represent their government at local, national, and international meetings and conferences.

Speak to students to encourage and support the development of future political leaders.

Computer laser printers

Laptop computers

Tablet computers

Wireless desktop printers

Adobe Systems Adobe Acrobat

Adobe Systems Adobe FrameMaker

Antenna House

Apple iWork Keynote

Apple Numbers for Mac

Apple Pages for Mac

Cisco AnyConnect

Cisco Systems WebEx

Citrix GoToMeeting

Corel WordPerfect Office Suite

GoodReader

iAnnotate

IBM Domino

Legislative Automative Workflow System LAWS

Mapping software

Meeting scheduling software

Microsoft Access

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Exchange Server

Microsoft Office

Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft SharePoint

Microsoft SQL Server

Microsoft Visual Basic

Microsoft Word

Penultimate

PTC Arbortext Editor

Rocket/Folio NXT

Structured query language SQL

Web browser software

Windows Media Player

XMetaL Author

I was afraid the reservation was gonna swallow me up. Growing up there was so much poverty and alcohol rate. For example three of classmates who were like brothers to me have since died in alcohol related accidents.

Tribal Chairman

 (female narrator)  Everywhere you turn,   people try to tell you  who to be and  what to do.  But what about deciding  for yourself?  Roadtrip Nation is a Movement  that empowers people  to define their  own roads in life.  This past summer, teams  of Roadtrippers crossed  the country, hoping to gain  insight into their lives.  On the road, they met all kind  of interesting people  to learn how they  found their way.  This is Roadtrip Nation. (Tina) I'm going to check  the oil. (Tina)  I can't believe  we still have under a month left. Every day on the road is like a week in real life. It's so jam-packed full of stuff and adventures and people that I just can't wait to see what the next few weeks have in store. ♪♪ ♪♪ (Calvin)  When I was  trying to find people to interview I was like, "What am I interested in?" Now I'm realizing everyone has a story, so I'm just going in, hoping that something really great comes out of it, and something that's also destabilizing to what I previously thought, and challenges me to think harder about where I'm going. [phone ringing] (woman on phone) Hello. Hi, may I please speak with Heather? (woman on phone)  Speaking. Hi, this is Vanessa from  Roadtrip Nation . We got off the 1 and we just passed McFrasier Highway. (Heather)  Okay, so you're close. I'll see you when you get here. (Vanessa) Alright.   Thank you so much. (Vanessa) Heather is a  prop stylist, so she is a story creator for a lot of editorials and country magazines. (Calvin) Cool. (Calvin)  Marigolds, tiger lilies, peonies, apples. (Vanessa) Llamas! [dog barking]  Hi, I'm  Heather. (Calvin)  Great meeting you,  Heather. Hi, I'm Vanessa. (Heather) Hi, Vanessa.  (Heather) This is the whole vegetable garden over here. So you did some styling, is that how you found me? (Vanessa) Well, yeah.  I'm an assistant... I'm a production assistant in Fort Lauderdale for a really small company that does infomercials. I was assisting the food stylist, which I really liked, but I also would watch the prop stylist, and I'm like, "I wanna do that!" Like, I like arranging things and shopping for things. (Vanessa) Do you want  some help? (Heather)  Sure, I'll give  you the glasses. (Vanessa) Okay. (Tina) Where were you at our age?   Like 22, 23 years old? I was working at a florist in Vancouver, because I didn't know what I wanted to do either. I wanted to be a photographer, but I didn't get the job and I got the job at the florist's. The lady who did all the floral work went away for a week, and I started tinkering and I ended up making better stuff than she did. I started doing all of their stuff, and from there they laid me off. I started my own business and I just did weddings and happy events. I wouldn't do anything sad like a funeral. I would do weddings and parties. And I was great at it and I did it for about ten years. And it was pretty fun.  So I sort of stumbled into that. And that's why we wanted land, I wanted to plant flowers, and be Martha Stewart back in the 90s.  [laughter] I wanted to plant  everything for weddings, but the reality is everything is full of bugs and it crawls out on the table, so we didn't do that. (Calvin) Where did you go when you decided you didn't want to do flower arranging anymore? What happened? Oh, I invited-- Victoria magazine used to be my favorite magazine when I was doing flowers. It was all very womanly and entrepreneurial and inspiring. I sent them an email and invited them for blueberry pie and tea, 'cause I thought it'd get promotion for my wedding business.  And they came!  So I was like, "Wow, they flew up from New York?" So I ran around like a maniac fixing the place up and making it look perfect, and doing all these little sets and things. And the lady who came...she was so nice. And she's like,  "You should be a stylist." And I said... "Well, what is that?" And she goes,  "Well, it's what you did. "You make these little scenes around your yard. And you've made pies and done all this little staging." She goes, "You'd get hired for that." And I was like, "That's a job?!" [laughter] That's awesome!" [laughs] 'Cause I had no idea. So yeah, I did it and I just got in touch with some Canadian magazines to start. It was an accident. I fell into it, I didn't know it was a job, making little vignettes and making pies and things like that. You never know where you're going to go, or what you're going to do. Your life just keeps getting taken in these different directions. I have one more question: Can we still have some blueberry pie? Oh, the raspberry pie? [laughter] [inaudible conversation] (Calvin) So, you invited  people from New York to come to your house for tea and pie? [laughter] (Heather) That's how it  all started. See, you never know. You invite somebody and you never know what's going to happen. " Be brave and do what  scares you most.  It makes you stronger. " Happy travels! (Tina) Thanks so much. ♪♪ (Vanessa)  I think I'm so  fearful of things because I've had a really easy life. Just, like, insanely easy. I mean, it's been great, but a bit debilitating to be strong when I really need to be strong. Calvin and I talked a lot on  the phone before the trip, and he's told me a lot about his life. And he'll tell me and I'll just be like... [making speechless sound] His past is just so different from mine. I've really never had to worry about much. So I'm just constantly reminded of how much I can and how much I should, and that creates confidence in myself. [Calvin singing Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing " ] (Calvin) Did you ever see, um...  Waiting to Exhale ? ♪♪ We don't really live in a culture that allows young people to explore it in a way that gives them more of an understanding of who they are. Our route to Jackson Hole includes passing through Yellowstone. I've never been to this part of the country before. (Calvin)  My thoughts are  just so expansive. And the world's stretched out forever on either side of us. All I wanted to do was just reflect on the time that I was having and how it was changing me. I realized that the road allows for that space so perfectly because you're just driving. You're just going forward. I don't really know what I want to get out of this because that's what I ask myself every time I look outside of the window. Every time I'm sitting in the driver's seat, taking us forward to our next destination, I think, "Who are you? What is it that you want? What do you want after this?" And I don't know but I keep going forward.  [cows mooing] (Vanessa) Oh my gosh. (Tina)  What? (Vanessa) We're surrounded  by cows. (Calvin)  I knew I heard  cows earlier. (Vanessa) Did you feel them? (Tina) Life was so  unpredictable. Opening up my blinds every morning to a new scene. I open up my window and I can see the Grand Teton Valley. (Calvin) This has been  the most surreal place I've  ever been to. [phone ringing] Hi, you've reached Grant Jake Golliher at Diamond Cross Ranch. Thanks for  your message. (Tina)  We were hoping  to get an interview with a horse whisperer named Grant here in the Grand Teton Valley, but we just keep on getting voicemails. This is where we started our trip. And now we are... Here. Right here. (Tina) It was really funny... we were sitting here after breakfast and a fellow with a cap came in. (Grant) What's your story? (Vanessa) He came into  our RV outside the cafe and was asking what we were all about. And he was like,  "I'm a horse whisperer" and we were like, "Are you Grant? Because we were trying to talk to a horse whisperer yesterday." (Grant) It must be God. [laughter] (Grant)  I'm going to have  some breakfast and if you want to come over any time... Go back out here to the main highway. Make a left, cross the bridge, and go about two miles, and you see that big red barn? (Tina) Yeah. (Grant) That's me. (Tina) Oh, wow. (Grant) That's  Diamond Cross Ranch. (Tina) Buffalo! So how can  I help you? [laughter] (Calvin) When you were 22, 23, what were you doing? I grew up in  Colorado on a farm. And, uh, I knew that's not where I wanted to stay. I was really easily influenced by my peers and then led down the road to doing things I knew were wrong, but I couldn't say no because I didn't have good boundaries 'cause I didn't want to be rejected. Because I had a tough childhood. My mother was mentally ill... went through several terrible depressions. Slashed her wrists ten times with a butcher knife and was bleeding to death  with four little kids-- And she just had a lot of problems, so I had problems. You know, when we as parents have problems our kids inherit those problems. Unfortunately. Until you break the cycle. We can't expect anybody to do that for us. We've gotta be the ones that say, "I'm gonna, you know, face this thing, and it's gonna stop with my generation." And so I worked for the railroad for a year, saved my money and bought a couple of mules, and rode one and packed one and went cross-country by myself and came up here to Wyoming, riding cross-country, 19 years old. Here I was, just this kid. I thought I was an adult, but I was  just a kid. And so I left and ran off by myself. Running from that, but really I was running from myself. I was running from my own problems. When you left Colorado, did you have any idea what was in store for you? No, I had no idea what was in store for me. I didn't even have a good map. I had a highway map, $500, and a pack full of food. And that was the toughest winter. I lived on beans and pancakes, and I was really lonely. It was terrible. But you know, that was just part of the journey. (Calvin) When you found  those hardships, what was it that kept you going forward? Was it the  people? No, it was just the dream of the adventure. You know, even my own dad didn't give me any encouragement in what I was doing. He thought I was crazy. And, you know, in many ways he was right. A young person...I could have died out there. You know, my dad...he was a great guy in many ways, but I saw him settle down to a job that he really hated. He had to work night shift in a power plant, and he lost his hearing because of it. There's a lot of people that work a job they don't like all their life so they can retire when they're old and do something they like. Well, I wanted to flip-flop that. I always wanted to make a living doing what I enjoyed doing, which was this. You know, punching cows... that's moving cows around in the country. Being a cowboy, training horses. (Vanessa)  When was that moment that you realized your relationship between horses and yourself was so special, and that you could  relate that to relationships with other people? People will reaffirm what your calling or your gift is. Like, "You're really good at photography. You're really good at writing or art" or whatever. you will hear that. They're not just flattering you, they're really speaking into your life, you know? People said, "Grant has a gift with horses, he can get along." And I could get along with horses. I didn't know much, but I had a way of getting along with them. So I developed that, and it made me feel good about myself. And so, having been through that, I just developed this passion to help other people through horses, see who they are. (Vanessa) What have you learned about yourself in working with horses? Lots of things. Certainly that we have things that we need to work on, personally. If we don't work on that personal growth stuff, then we'll never go forward in life. Because horses will humble you. You know, they'll show you eventually that you're not so great. Especially if you think you are. One time I was threatening to quit. I'd been training horses for a while, and I was frustrated. I didn't feel right about how I was treating the animals. Even though I was doing it like everybody else does it, and having some success. There was something in me that just wasn't right. The consequences were abusive. You know, I don't know how else to put it. I've seen a lot of abuse. I've done some things that were abusive...didn't mean to. I liked horses, but I've done some things to horses that I'm really ashamed of. The reason we abuse is because we're frustrated. Anger unchecked brings abuse. The times that I've abused horses was when I was frustrated 'cause I didn't understand what to do. I had a horse that just kept digging holes in the ground. You'd tie him up and he'd dig a hole in the ground. Paw, you know?  So our answer was to hobble him. You know, put hobbles on him. Which is okay, you know? They can't really dig. I left him tied up and went to lunch, and I came back and he was laying on the ground dead. It was a really good horse, and how I felt-- I knew I'd done that to the horse because I had to show that horse that he couldn't dig, but I didn't give him a safe place to learn it. If I'd have had my emotions under control instead of having to prove that-- You know, show that horse. What I like people to do is to see how it relates to their lives, you know? I challenge people when they see me work with a horse, to see where they see themselves. That we have things that we need to work on personally. And so I began to pray and ask God to show me a better way, or I was going to give it up. And about that time,  the guy I was working for took me to a clinic that Ray Hunt was doing. And when I saw what Ray could do with horses I knew that I had been missing it and I wanted that. (Grant)  Okay, well we're going to work with a colt now, so you'll kind of get to see what the whole horse whispering thing's about. I'm gonna drive these horses around a little bit. I'll show you how this really began. These are unbroke horses. (Grant) [laughing] Watch your camera. (Grant) It's so easy to get stuck along the way because you're afraid. And, like, fear will say, "I guess I just better settle for this, because I'd like to go there but I'm afraid." And I think our lives are always being challenged. Every time I step in that round pin, I'm facing my fear, believe me. I look confident on the outside. I'm screaming on the inside. (Grant)  See all the trouble? See the trouble in this horse?  He's afraid of me. (Grant) Life is all about facing your fear. I think that's the thing I've gained. This is what I've gained, and I've been thinking about this lately, a lot. When you step out there, even though you're afraid-- we're all afraid.  When you step out there, something's going to be there to hold you up, and you'll get through. And I mean even when you don't know what to say, you don't know the answer to the question, and you just feel this pressure around you and it's just almost overwhelming. Just hang in there and it'll come. 'Cause it always does.  The right words will come, the right movement with a horse. (Grant) I'm trying to  convince the horse that I'm okay, I'm not going to hurt him. I'd like him just to smell me... That's the first touch. That's the first smell right there, see? (Grant) I really was like you. I didn't know what I wanted to do. I wanted to be a mountain man, and that moved me into the horses that I found out was-- Really, my passion is training horses. And then, from years of training horses, I found that I was training the horses but the horses were training me to be a better person. And so the focus has gone from adventure, to finding my passion, which is horses, and training horses, and moved on into people. So now it's really all about people. And see... it was people I was running from when I ran away. Really, I was running from myself. I was running from my own problems. And you can't run from your own problems. We're on the planet here. It's round. You know, you can go 'round and 'round and 'round, but you can't get away from yourself. "Face your fear,  follow your dreams, and never, never give up. Trust God." (Tina) Thank you so much. (Grant) You're welcome. (Vanessa) I think I have to think about what just happened to me for, like, a little bit. (Calvin) It's amazing to  just hear so many people say, "Well, I just follow what I love to do and then something fell into my lap." And oftentimes they had to work really hard afterwards and they weren't sure what was going to happen. First of all, that's a little scary to me because I wonder, "When the going gets tough, can you hack it?" (Vanessa) When Grant talked  about fear, it wasn't like he's cured of fear. He still has to face his fear every time he goes out on his horse. (Calvin) Part of me says, like, "You can be afraid, Calvin, but you also have to have faith." Can you share with us some cowboy poetry? (Grant) Oh, cowboy poetry? Yeah, yeah, you bet. Well, one of my favorites...it's called The Man in the Glass . I think it's an unknown author.  "When you get what you want  in your struggle for self,  "the world makes you  king for a day.  "Go to the mirror and  look at yourself,  "see what that man  has to say.  "For it isn't your father  or mother or wife,  "whose judgment upon  you must pass.  "The fellow whose verdict  counts most in your life  "is the one staring  back in the glass.  "Oh you may be a Jack  Horner and chisel a plum,  "and think you're  a heck of guy.  "But the man in the glass  says you're only a bum,  "if you can't look him  straight in the eye.  "He's the fellow to please,  never mind all the rest,  "for he's with you right  down to the end.  "And you'll have accomplished  your most difficult task  "if the man in the  glass is your friend.  "Though we may fool the world  down our pathway of years  "and get pats on the  back as we pass,  "our final reward will  be heartache and tears  if we've cheated the  man in the glass." So be good to the man in the glass. (male announcer)  Roadtrip Nation extends beyond  the program you just watched.  It's a Movement that  empowers others  to create their own  Roadtrip Experiences.  Here's a quick snapshot  into that Movement. So this is Nathan Ma of team Breaking Back. I just graduated, actually, in June. (Nathan) My whole college career  did not go as planned. Before I went to college I was like, "Okay, I'm gonna do a double major in English and French, do this, do that.   Oh, get a girlfriend, you know, by junior year.   A steady one." (Nathan) I was hoping talking  to people would inspire me to go for what I want. I'm about to go to Brooklyn to interview a singer named Vienna Tang. She was a Stanford student who dropped computer science for Music. (Vienna) When I graduated I  had this plan of wanting to make a go at doing a music career. I didn't really know how that was going to happen. Music is this thing in my life that asked me to believe in it. So basically I close my eyes and just follow where it was going. (Calvin)  We've been on the road for 19 days. (Vanessa)  I've heard, just, different advice about should you make plans and should you not. (Jenn) Times of stress are  necessary for growth, but you also need that time of recovery. (Bryan) It would be great to  be in your position and have things just wide open. There's so much freedom in that. My mother would much rather me take a very conventional job. (Greg) A real job that is a  successful job is a job that's driven by their passion and their love. (Michelle) I'd rather sacrifice fancy toasters for doing what I want, when I want.  (female announcer)   To watch more interviews   from the road  and listen to the music that  keeps us driving,  visit www.roadtripnation.com.  Online you can learn more  about the Movement  and how to  bring the Experience  into your classroom. 

<p>The team drives into Canada to meet Heather Cameron, prop stylist and story producer, in Vancouver, British Columbia, to discover how she created her own path in life, combining nature, home, beauty, and photography. From there, they travel to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where they have a chance encounter with cowboy and horse trainer, Grant Golliher of the Diamond Cross Ranch, who challenges them to face their fears and discover more about themselves.</p>

Vancouver, Canada - Jackson Hole

What are you most proud about with your time as the chairman? >> What am I most proud of with the time as, there's three different things that I'm most proud of but I can't pinpoint it to one specific thing. But one of the biggest things I'm proud of is diversification. I wanted to make sure that if gaming went away tomorrow, if the state legislatures said no, gaming's illegal. We would still have other options to do and still continue to grow the way we've been growing. That's one of the big things I'm proud of. And also, another thing I've been proud of is that I try to build Tender Loving Homes prettier. We have a lot of government housing here, you know. And so I wanted to provide people with a home, actually a home that wasn't a government house. Doesn't look and smell like the government house that people can be proud of and have the American Dream I guess, you know? 

Goals

Accomplishments

How's it been back here, and working with the local community, but then also having to work with, I 'm guessing you work with the state and also nationally? How does that push-pull with the American government and dealing with issues that are important to you and your tribe? How has that been, I guess? >> It's actually been really good. I mean, before I got on the previous chairman, who was here a long time, well-respected, and he was didn't really like to be with some of these guys on a day to day basis all the time. And I think a lot of people were afraid. You know, just like anybody. Everybody's afraid of, I think that's what gets us in trouble in this country is we're afraid of one another. We're afraid of different cultures, we're afraid of meeting new people. And so the tribe is kind of out here on its own little island, and people are like, well, we don't want to do anything to get them mad or whatnot. And so what I did is, when I first came on, I just started going down to the meeting with State Legislators on a daily basis. Especially our local, the ones that represent our district. This kinda blossomed to that, and like I said, to break down those barriers, and just to educate one another so we don't have to be afraid them, they don't have to be afraid of us. So, I always believe we can learn from one another, and I think for example, when I went to college. I saw a lot of my native brothers and sisters who would only hang out at the Native American center. And that's all they did. That's their comfort zone. And so I was like, no, I hung out with everybody. I like going to everybody's, to kind of go ahead and, everything. And that was just to get myself and to be comfortable with people. I think I noticed that a lot of my people are uncomfortable. They get nervous around it. For example even here on the reservation system, a lot of our people are afraid to, that's all they know is the reservation. They're afraid to go out and see what's out there in the world. So that's why I commend you guys for driving the United States. I think that's pretty cool. 

Culture

Experience

Exposure To Different Ways of Life

(Roadtripper #1) First of all, when did you realize that you wanted to, to make a difference in your community? And then what were the concerns that you had? (Chief Allen) When I realized I wanted to go to college was probably around 12 or 13. I was afraid of just, my home really. It's kind of weird how I loved my home but I was afraid of it. I was afraid that the reservation was going to swallow me up. Growing up there was so much poverty and alcohol, right, that I didn't want. I mean I had buddies who, for example three of my classmates who were like brothers to me have all since died in, alcohol related accidents. And uh, yeah, right out of, right before high school, out of high school, I was definitely afraid of that. And i'm from a single family, single mother, um, I got one brother and five other sisters and I knew that nobody was pushing me to go to college. 'Cause I was the first one in my college to, first one in my family to go to college and graduate. And I wanted, I knew education was my key to help me and to help my people and to help my family make a better life for us. And plus, you know my mom she named me Chief when I was a baby so I think there's something, some connection that was always there, that some kind of calling for me to go. And so I got my degree in political science 'cause I knew I always wanted to help my people and my tribe to advance to that next step. The previous chairman who was here for 20-something years, he brought me on as a legislative assistant. Helping out with, keeping track of legislative bills and stuff that are effecting the tribe. And so he kind of mentioned me. Right after that the chairman came to me and said I should go to D.C. and um, get some more experience for the tribe and so I went and worked for the National Congress of American Indians, which is a non-profit, they uh, advocate for Native American issues on the hill. (Roadtripper #1) What was it in D.C. that you learned working with such a large organization that works for change for all tribes in the U.S.? (Chief Allen) What I learned was that the real work was back home on the battleground. What I learned back in D.C., there's a lot of Native people out back there who haven't really grew up on a reservation, don't get me wrong, they're really smart and they know what they're doing but you know, they take up issues that don't effect what's happening here. I don't think my cousin down the street is really worried about why the Washington Redskins logo is offensive to him. He's worried about how he's going to put food on the table. Why he's struggling with alcohol. Why, you know, why can't he kick meth? I was ready to come home. And so I ran for tribal council. And in my third year in council they elected me Chairman. (Roadtripper #2) What kind of things did you learn about yourself when you would leave home, whether it was to go to school in Washington or to work in D.C. Also what surfaced about yourself when you returned home? (Chief Allen) I think the thing that I learned about myself was that I could do it. Sometimes as a y-y-young adult, you're-you worry, you know. About what does tomorrow bring, about what's the future hold. And uh, I never really had any experience. When I came back from D.C. and they gave me the job to be executive director, if I would have applied for an executive director elsewhere, I wouldn't have meet the qualifications. And that's one thing I think are-- That you're home, they always look beyond the qualifications, they look at the person. I think uh, I had something to offer, and I think the council saw that. So I think that's what I learned about myself. That you can do anything if you really believe in it, your hearts in the right place. 

Community

Pride

Struggle

Interview

In the U.S., Native Americans lost so much, and they lost so much culture. Do you see part of the reason for being afraid of leaving, is being afraid of losing that culture and that identity? >> It's kinda weird how, it says, to be in this country, they really throw them up and put theory into pain. They want us all to, almost assimilate, into one culture, American culture. And I see the good from that. I really do. I see, we saw the last, this last election, change. But also, when we all become American, we also lose a part of ourselves. There's probably a handful of our elders that speak our language. And that's sad to me. That's really sad to me. But does that outweigh the good of this country, and that's something that, I guess, stuff to ponder. I ponder it as I, we can't live in a society, and say, oh, we're separate. We're a nation within a nation. Because I also see all the good that being in this country does. >> How do you address that issue? >> Right now, what we're trying to do is immersion. We're trying to get a lot of, record our elders, get them on CD, and get them on the computer, and trying to. But I also know that we can teach our young, but if we're not teaching our adults, cause you gotta, in any language, you gotta speak at all times. In the house, in the school, and if you're not speaking it all the time, you're gonna lose it. But there's also, we have more people going to college than ever before, and so that makes me happy. They're not speaking their language, but they're going on to become better human beings. A better member of society. It's give and take, like I said, it's tough. That's a tough one. That's a tough one to try to answer. 

Societal Pressures

Losing A Culture

So being young and being the chairman, I mean there are so many elders in your community as with any community. When you have an idea how do you approach your community and say I think this is gonna work? >> My strategy was when I was executive director for the tribe, I just did things. I just did, like the council gave me, I was the head of all the programs and stuff, so I was able to like do housing and do some office buildings and other things. So, word got around that I was the guy that got things done, and so now it's kind of easy for me. I can just go to council and say this is what I want to do. >> And they gave me the permission to move in that direction. 

Hard Work

Reputation For Getting Things Done

I was afraid of this, of my home, really. I was afraid that uh, that the reservation was gonna swallow me up. For example, three of my classmates who I've, who were like brothers to me, have all since died in, uh, alcohol-related accidents. And uh, I went and worked for National Congress of American Indians, which is a non-profit. They, uh, advocate for Native American issues on the Hill. I think sometimes as a, as a young adult, you worry about, "What does tomorrow bring? What does the future hold?" When I came back from D.C. and the guy gave me the job to be executive director, if I would have applied for an executive director elsewhere, I wouldn't meet the qualifications. And that's one thing I think are-are, that your home, they always look beyond the qualifications. They look at the person. 

Chief Allan

Tribal Chairman

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Chief Allan

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