Celebrating grads, including an American Indian Studies major


Graduating student poses with family on ASU's Tempe campus

Coral Tachine is Diné from Ganado, Arizona, and is part of the Náneesht’ézhí Táchii’nii (Zuni Red Running into Water) clan and Tódich’ii’nii (Bitter Water) clan. Pictured above: The Tachine family of Brian, Amanda, graduate Coral, Noelle and BJ. Coral says her family’s reassurance, support and love helped her through college. Photo by Sabira Madady

Editor's note: This story originally appeared in the summer 2024 issue of ASU Thrive magazine.

Coral Tachine, ’24 BA in American Indian studies, graduates this spring along with an estimated 20,300 other ASU students.

Tachine chose to attend ASU instead of another university because of the American Indian Studies program. 

“I like the way that the AIS major looked, all the different courses that are part of it and the people involved,” she says. “I felt taken care of and nourished.”

She says the program taught her ways to bring past perspectives into today’s world — of how to think about Earth, land and human and non-human relatives. 

“Hearing other students’ perspectives and our faculty members’ perspectives on things within my community or within their communities was really eye-opening.

“The program showed me how to merge these two different viewpoints of Native American and Western. I never thought that was possible before,” she says.

Tachine also earned a minor in film and media production. Her big dream is to someday start a production company that also teaches and supports Indigenous filmmakers.

Learn more at americanindian.asu.edu.

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