From Invisibility To Belonging: When Indigenous Students Finally Feel Seen with Mikala Chee, Sanoe Rapozo, and Abbey Woldt

About this episode

The episode features Indigenous scholars discussing their experiences in higher education and the impact of their work on academia.

In episode 273 of Behaviour Speak, we’re joined by Mikala Chee of the Diné (Navajo) Nation, Sanoe Rapozo, a Native Hawaiian, and Abbey Woldt of the Ho-Chunk Nation—three Indigenous undergraduate scholars whose work spans nursing, psychology, and neuroscience. Together, they share their journeys into higher education, the challenges of navigating predominantly Western academic systems, and their collaboration on a community research team (CRT) mentored by Dr. Anna Fetter and focused on developing culturally grounded measures of stress and mental health for Indigenous college students. This conversation explores what happens when Indigenous students not only enter academia—but begin to reshape it. Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/r4guaLEQhi0 Follow us! Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/behaviourspeak/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/behaviourspeak TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@behaviorspeak Connect with Mikala LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikala-chee-14b36b387/ Links: All Our Kin https://www.instagram.com/allourkincollective/ SPEx Lab at Fort Lewis College https://faculty.fortlewis.edu/amborgella/SPExLab/ Dr. Melissa Teehee's Tohi Lab https://www.tohilab.org/…

People in this episode

Host: Ben Reiman

Guests: Mikala Chee, Sanoe Rapozo, Abbey Woldt

Topics covered

• Indigenous education
• mental health
• cultural measures
• academic challenges
• community research

Keywords

• Indigenous students
• higher education
• culturally grounded measures
• mental health
• academic systems

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Diné (Navajo) Nation, Ho-Chunk Nation, All Our Kin, SPEx Lab at Fort Lewis College, Dr. Melissa Teehee's Tohi Lab, Native American Indigenous Student Alliance

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