As a lifelong learner, Jaime Gloshay has pursued curiosity in her education and her work and it’s taught her so many lessons along the way.  She grew up in the desert on the White Mountain Apache Reservation and the Navajo reservation in Arizona and New Mexico. She went to public school for her elementary, middle school and high school years. She went to school in California for part of a year and had culture shock after growing up with Apache and Navajo kids. She went to live with her grandmother after that experience which she found uncomfortable, dealing with insensitive and ignorant questions about life as an Indigenous person.

Gloshay graduated and went on to enjoy her undergraduate studies at the University of New Mexico. Her Bachelor’s degree was in Native American Studies and Political Science, hoping she would go into federal Indian law. She took time off to raise her kids and returned to graduate school a decade later at the University of New Mexico for a Masters in Public administration with a focus on nonprofit management.

Her advice for a youth considering leaving their home community recognizes the courage and vulnerability of the decision. “I would just say cultivate community and be connected to your community as much as possible,” Gloshay urges, recommending regular visits and maintaining kinship ties.

Growing up raised by a single mom, Gloshay knew if she wanted to go to college she would need a scholarship or to work for it. She got a job right out of high school and learned to be independent. She has had a strong work ethic ever since. Now in her forties, she’s more aware of how capitalism has impacted her life and is more focussed on quality of life, learning to rest. She has been trying to make her children’s life less difficult and to create pathways of opportunity.

Her advice to somebody who's struggling or feeling disconnected from community or from culture is to establish connection to themselves and others. Gloshay recommends connecting to values, visions, sources of joy and love and places where there is freedom to be oneself. Connection to self is what she sees as the first step and connection to others flows naturally.

To take care of herself, she taps into her ancestral wisdom. Returning to prayer, listening to her peoples’ songs, and things her grandmother taught her has felt good for her. She’s learned about stress and burnout, eats well, spends time in the mountains, spends time with music, dance, writing, developing programs and being creative. Stepping out of her comfort zone, engaging in somatic practices and spending time in community with people who resonate with her have also been helpful ways to feel good.

If Gloshay could share a message with her younger self it would be to just enjoy the moment. Growing up she was always looking to the future and didn’t get to enjoy adolescence. “The value of being fully present in the moment is just so eye opening, because I think it increases your sense of joy and gratitude and awareness for our precious lives and existence and how precious our time is,”she offers.

Gloshay would also tell herself it’s okay to prioritize herself. “There's so much in our cultures and our communities that are so beautiful around the roles that Indigenous women play and how much we carry and how much we do and how critical we are to our families and our nations, and my learning has been you can't do that at an expense of yourself and your well being,” she explains.

“It's okay to prioritize yourself in your life, because you are deserving of that.”

Breaking cycles is something she’s been really aware of. “I think breaking patterns and cycles, it takes a lot of work, takes a lot of self awareness, and it also takes a lot of radical acceptance of what is and what isn't,” Gloshay muses, thinking of how this is a practice her ancestors have taken on for generations.

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“I think we're magical people, for lack of a better word, and I've witnessed in whether it's ceremony or just the fortitude and the resilience and the pain and the beauty of Indigenous people and my family, my culture, and everybody that I've come to know and connect with across Turtle Island… We can transform pain into passion and trauma into healing, and all of the things that our people have experienced for 500 plus years since colonization, I think it is possible to transmute that energy into something bigger than ourselves, and something that can support in supporting the world and the now that we find ourselves in,” Gloshay dreams aloud.

Her advice to somebody who's really struggling on their path would be that she’s been there too and they are not alone in feeling that way. Gloshay would say that it’s okay to put yourself first and to give grace and space to feel those feelings. She says as hard as things might look, going through it is one of the bravest things you can go through and you will grow. “As scary as it is, you are deserving of life and of love and protection and peace and care and nourishment. You were brought here for a reason. We may not fully understand those reasons, but you're a miracle. You were meant to be here in this moment and in this world at this time,” she affirms.

Gloshay also encourages youth to find work that they are aligned with. “I've always just tried to encourage folks to try to find the work that brings you joy, the work that ignites your spirit and your passion, your curiosity and interest, and try to try to merge that in work or your livelihood as you continue on your path, because then it doesn't feel so much like work. It feels like purpose. It feels like your personal mission,” she recommends. She also encourages maintaining enough distance to have good boundaries for self-care and balance.

Always curious, Jamie Gloshay is a life-long learner who has been taught so many lessons along the way. Raised in the desert, she has been thirsty for both knowledge and wisdom. In university and from her ancestral teachings, she has acquired both. After learning to prioritize herself, cultivate community, find her purpose and give back while preserving her wellness, she’s got a wealth of experiences to share.

Thank you to Alison Tedford for writing this article.