What it's really like to be a native american teen today

Like a lot of recent American high school graduates, I spend way too much time on Twitter, I'm a huge Lady Gaga fan, and I can't wait to go to college in the fall. But instead of spending my first few days of summer break going to the beach or partying with my friends, I'm in the midst of taking part in a Bear Dance, a four-day-long healing ceremony where we sing in our traditional Athabaskan language and dance in a wild, heavily wooded part of New Mexico. It's an amazing time to get away from the burdens of technology and actually have a conversation with our elders about the history of our people.

The Bear Dance is one of the sacred ceremonies of my Native American tribe, the Jicarilla Apache Nation. I am from Dulce, New Mexico, the most populous town on our reservation, where I lived until I went to the Santa Fe Indian School in seventh grade. A Native American boarding school, the institution was thrust onto the national stage this year when Michelle Obama spoke at our commencement. As the valedictorian, I had the honor of introducing the First Lady, which was extremely surreal. The salutatorian and I found out during practice the day before graduation that we were going to be sitting next to Ms. Obama during the ceremony. We were sworn to secrecy until the actual day of graduation.

https://i-d.vice.com/en_us/article/what-its-really-like-to-be-a-native-american-teen-today