Revitalized ASU program helps prepare Indigenous students for postgrad success

In 2020, a program at Arizona State University was established to expand the tradition of storytelling in Native American culture. Native Narratives set out to use that tradition as a tool to prepare its participants for success after graduation. Now, the revitalized initiative has new goals in mind: setting students up to thrive in graduate school.

Over the past year, Native Narratives has embraced this focus, with an emphasis on creating a personal statement and working on writing samples. It also has students taking a deeper look into Native American literature and poetry.

The program was originally founded through a three-year grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Its newest cohort over the past year features eight students who were chosen through recommendations from their professors.

“We focused on having our students explore native storytelling through workshops with ASU professors and professors of practice such as Larissa FastHorse, John Michael Garcés, Ty Defoe and Madeline Sayet,” said Sam Winans, a project coordinator for the program. “These workshops served to broaden our students’ current concepts of storytelling methods.”

Winans helps organize monthly group meetings and one-on-ones with the students. They were brought onto the team when the program was reframed. Above all, Winans wants students to emerge from the experience with greater assurance, not only in academic settings but also in themselves.

“Although 2020 had a heavy research focus with the mentors, this time around we focused on students building a relationship with ASU professors, which in turn helped strengthen our students’ confidence and reassurance about their place here at ASU and that they deserve to pursue the opportunities in front of them,” said Winans. “The openness and insightfulness from these mentorships helped ground our students and get them into a practice of looking to faculty here for guidance and support.”

Jeffrey Cohen, The College’s dean of humanities, offered to work with Natalie Diaz to ensure the Native Narratives program shows students a variety of experiences across the disciplines, including the addition of increased academic mentorship opportunities.

“Collaborating with Natalie Diaz to ensure that the Native Narratives program effectively prepares our students for future success, especially as they contemplate graduate study, has been an unalloyed joy,” said Cohen. “The students are wonderful, and the newly invigorated program gives them everything they need to thrive here at ASU and well into the future.”

One example of how the program is expanding its mentorship opportunities is through the addition of professionals such as Tammy Eagle Bull, the first Native American woman in the United States to become a licensed architect.

“What we realized is that we needed to give our students different pathways of story. If we have a freshman student coming in who wants to be an architect, for example, who's coming from a reservation community and might normally feel like there's a gap between what they know and what they don't, that chasm can be so great for a lot of our students, our native students in particular,” said Diaz, professor of English and co-principle investigator for Native Narratives. “This program is exposing our students to all of the different ways we think.”

The program’s new mission is already coming to fruition.

Program alum Bethany Boyd (Navajo) began graduate school earlier this fall. Studying environmental law at Texas A&M, Boyd credits Native Narratives for preparing her for academic success beyond ASU.

“I was able to make a really great friend out of my mentor professor, and he helped me with my statement of interest, application, what I should and shouldn’t put in, and I got into environmental law school,” said Boyd. “I wouldn't have gotten in if it weren't for him, and it wouldn't have happened if it weren't for Native Narratives, so I'm extremely and eternally grateful for them.”

One of Boyd’s favorite aspects of the program was the ability to be creative through literature and the arts. She enjoyed participating in the group’s book clubs and listening to guest authors.

“Creativity is embedded in Native American culture, and usually with creativity and the arts, some people downplay that and say you won't really make a job or a living out of it, but I think the best part about Native Narratives was showing that you can do something with your creativity,” said Boyd. “It's something that our people have been doing for generations, and you can go far in life if you just follow your dreams, and that's what I really liked about Native Narratives — coming back to your culture and spreading the creativity, not only on campus but throughout your own day-to-day life.”

Angelina Mann (Cherokee) is still in the program after starting her first semester at ASU’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law to study tribal law as an O’Connor Honors Fellow and a Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community Scholar.

“I want to practice American Indian law, specifically working with tribal nations on matters of sovereignty and issues with jurisdiction of crimes,” said Mann.

Mann graduated with degrees in Spanish literature and culture and English with a concentration in creative writing, as well as a minor in American Indian studies, in 2025. She credited Native Narratives for helping her through the law school application process.

“I wouldn't be in ASU law if it weren't for Native Narratives. They provided me with an LSAT prep book and they paid for me to take the test,” said Mann. “I didn't decide to go to law school until November of last year, and I studied for the entirety of winter break. I wouldn't have been able to do it without everyone's encouragement, cheering me on and their faith that I could do it.”

Mann’s favorite aspect of the program was the community she found amongst her peers and the safe space it provided for students to relax and meet with others. Her advice to future participants is to embrace the experience with an open mind.

“Another thing that Native Narratives has provided is funding this past summer. I got grant funding from them to write, so I didn't have to try to juggle working a separate job,” Mann said.

Rose Jacket (Navajo, Hopi and Ute from Shiprock, New Mexico) is studying English (linguistics) with a minor in American Indian studies while also working on her Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) certificate so she can pursue a career in teaching abroad. After hearing others’ experiences and participating in several conferences that provided her with more insight into the programs she might pursue, Jacket hopes to apply to graduate school this academic year.

With the help of Native Narratives, she was able to find financial resources as well as internship opportunities to enhance her education.

“I've been through financial troubles since becoming independent at a very young age. It's hard to depend on anyone except for myself to figure out everything from scratch,” said Jacket. “But they, and among others, have given me so much support, and they've found ways of connecting me through different people within the university to help me find housing or scholarships.”

She emphasized how the program has provided immense support both academically and socially, giving her the chance to brainstorm with other students about current projects, life goals or to discuss plans with one another, which in turn brings motivation to continue the work they put into their journeys.

“The program will help you in any way to ensure that you're OK, not just academically but in professional ways. You can come up to them for anything, even if it's personal,” said Jacket. “It makes me feel seen and gives me the chance to be vulnerable and true to myself.”

Diaz hopes Native Narratives can serve as a model of providing support systems to students looking to expand their education.

“It’s having the space where they can come and study, to meet with their mentor, where they're invited to see artists and scholars talking across numerous fields. They're native students living in Arizona — there's this multiplicity in the past that I think has been denied to them, but they're really beginning to thrive in this situation. We hope this is a model that we can amplify and that we can grow, which is just a really beautiful thing,” said Diaz.