by: TAYLOR NOTAH NAVAJO Major: Journalism
The journey toward purpose:
LEVERAGE OUR ANCESTRAL PLACE & KNOWLEDGE
Turning Points in Lopez’s life
Jameson Lopez is a rising advocate and role model for Native education: he is a member of the Quechan tribe, a PhD candidate at ASU, a father and husband, a decorated military veteran, and a 2015 Pat Tillman scholar. Most notable for being a magnetic figure for his involvement in education, it is surprising to learn that Lopez had a dislike for school growing up. “I hated school,” Lopez, 33, said. “I hated going from kindergarten all the way to 12th grade. For whatever reason, I didn’t fit in.” Born and raised in Phoenix, Lopez grew up in a predominantly white neighborhood and had difficulties acclimating in school where peers taunted him for being Native. “I got some slur likes... dirty Indian or a drunk, or that we got lice or ashy elbows. The last two are kind of true,” Lopez said, laughing. “I’ve got lice. I don’t have it anymore, though, or I hope not anyways.” Although he disliked his schooling as an urban Native, it was his parents’ profession as American Indian College faculty members that inspired his life trajectory. Accompanying his parents as they traveled to a myriad of reservations and reserves across Turtle Island to recruit Native students, Lopez felt connected to every community. “I love being around Native people,” Lopez said. “That’s where I knew my home was, not just on my own reservation but on reservations all around.” Riveted by the unique adventures that rez life offered and the people he encountered, Lopez says his memorable childhood moments include meeting a Kiowa activist in Oklahoma who shared
his accounts of the 1973 Wounded Knee takeover, jumping off waterfalls with playmates on the White Mountain Apache reservation, and meeting now Vice President of the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation Paul Russell who was his dorm counselor at a Native camp years ago. “My mom is my inspiration, my dad is my teacher,” Lopez said. “When I think about the persistence of higher education, that’s where a lot of the work that I do stems from. My parents gave me an example. They gave me how you should be interacting with Native students. My dad built relationships and trust with a lot of students. My mom trained maybe thousands of teachers to go back and teach in their own communities and I think, ‘Wow, what a legacy to follow.’” At 18, Lopez embarked on his college journey by enrolling at American Indian College where he, like his parents, traveled to reservations to speak with Native youth. Loving college, he graduated with his bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education in 2008. With numerous veterans in his family, Lopez decided to carry on this tradition and enlisted in the United States Army. “I knew that veterans within the Quechan community, as well as a lot of Native communities, hold a really high regard when it comes to leadership,” Lopez said, “and I knew in some ways that I was meant for leadership, so that was a path that I wanted to take.” After being away from home for a year of training, Lopez’s life had a turning point when he met his future wife. “In 2009, my training ended in August, then that’s when I met my wife in true army fashion,” Lopez said.
“What matters is that you keep in your heart the people and why you’re doing it... You can’t forget the need of our community."
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