Her star quilt was her buffalo robe
VERMILLION – This is a post Chantelle Blue Arm shared on Facebook after her graduation from the University of South Dakota at Vermillion on Saturday May 4 with a Masters in Social Work. Chantelle received her Bachelor’s Degree from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.
The post received over 3,100 likes, 259 comments and was shared over 1,100 times. Comedian Tonia Jo Hall read her post and did a segment on her post which was watched by over 10,000 people.
Many Native American graduates stated they were inspired by what Chantelle shared.
Chantelle is the daughter of Ernestine Chasing Hawk and Norman Blue Arm. She is a direct descendant of Atola Blue Arm who was as survivor of Wounded Knee. She is also the great-great granddaughter of Wiyaka Waste Win, Good Feather Woman, who was the sister of Hunkpapa Chief Sitting Bull.
Following is her post:
“I thought about not going to my Master of Social Work hooding ceremony or the graduate commencement at the University of South Dakota, because I was utterly exhausted. And it was giving me anxiety to think about traveling and sitting through hours of ceremonies with the 3 kids and the baby. Luckily, we worked it out. The main reason I felt it was important to go, was because I needed people to see that Native Americans are rising and we are resilient. I needed people who are not familiar with us to know we are proud of who we are and where we come from. Slowly but surely, we are making ourselves more visible, and this was my chance to do my part. As I listened at our hooding ceremony to the introduction of the white student speaker and she was introduced as receiving multiple scholarships and had a 4.0, I thought, I bet she isn’t raising 4 children, and I bet she didn’t take care of her sibling until the moment she died while still doing coursework. And I bet a close friend of hers didn’t pass away in a similar way in the past few months and she doesn’t experience the deep sorrow of losing loved ones so tragically. I bet she doesn’t know what addiction, mental illness and trauma is REALLY like. I bet she didn’t have to work 60-plus hours to make ends meet and was so sleep-deprived at times she worried she’d have a heart attack.
I bet her scholarship and loan money didn’t go towards paying for the bills or buying mobile homes or vehicles for loved ones (because if your loved ones at least have a car and they are homeless, they can at least sleep in the car) to keep them from experiencing the deeper effects of poverty. I bet she hasn’t screamed in the middle of the night or in the shower on multiple occasions, begging the Creator to give her more strength for herself, her loved ones and her people. And yet, I also had nearly a 4.0 (I took 24 courses and received one B ) and multiple scholarships. But who tells and listens to our stories? People don’t understand how much more of a struggle we face to be on the same level. Wearing a cap and gown makes us look like the rest of them. I was SO PROUD to see other Natives at the hooding ceremony and Graduate commencement and that they stood out. There were maybe 5-6 of us among the 300 graduates in attendance. Although hundreds of graduates didn’t attend, I bet all of us showed up. One Native woman was wearing beaded moccasins. I saw beaded caps, eagle feathers and plumes, a turquoise necklace, ribbon skirts, a beautiful beaded medallion. I saw a large Native family who all came out to support a graduate and they shouted and hollered with pride when their graduate crossed the stage. It meant so much to see them all and know how proud they were. They should be. It means so much more when we can accomplish our goals.
NATIVE SUN NEWS TODAY
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