Candice Craig

Destiny. That is what being a Buder Scholar was for me. In 2010, I was in the senior year of my undergraduate studies and attended the American Indian Women of Proud Nations (AIWPN) conference held in Cherokee, North Carolina. To my delight, my dear friend Patty Grant was also in attendance. She asked a simple but daunting question, “What’s next?” I can still feel the ghost of the anxiety that welled up inside me because at that point, I knew it had been my dream to get a Master’s degree since I was six years old, but the details of how to make that dream a reality had yet to be discovered.

As fate would have it, Patty had recently been on a similar journey that had led her to obtaining a Master’s of Social Work from Washington University as a Buder Scholar. Shortly after Patty planted a seed, I had the opportunity to interview another strong Native woman, Amy Locklear-Hertel. She had received her MSW and Justice degree and was currently pursuing a PhD in social work, her third degree from Washington University. The seed had been planted and watered, and strong roots were grounding my dreams in reality.

In the fall of 2011, I joined the Buder legacy in the sweltering St. Louis heat and humidity.
Exchanging gifts and stories with Natives from Michigan, South Dakota, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Illinois was invigorating. This environment cultivated by the Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies was exactly what I needed to grow my academic knowledge base and professional identity in Indian Country. Over the next two years, I put great effort into bringing American Indian issues to the forefront of the organizations I worked with. At the Department of Veteran Affairs, I assisted with Native American Heritage month programming by developing a presentation on “American Indians throughout Military History.” This sparked my interest to advocate for Affirmative Employment through another article, “Recruitment, Retention, and Advancement of Native Americans in the Veterans Health Administration.” My research earned me a spot as a presenter at the National Indian and Native American Employment and Training Conference in Acme, Michigan. In the spring of 2013, my article entitled “Serving American Indian and Alaska Native Service Members and Veterans in the Veterans Health Administration” was published in The American Indian Graduate magazine. Another teaching opportunity came when I brought the need for “Suicide Hotline Brief Intervention Therapy Techniques with Alaska Native Communities” to the attention of my practicum site, Life Crisis Services (LCS) national suicide prevention hotline. I held an in-service training in this area.

At every opportunity I volunteered to help with student research (Community Development Strategies for Quapaw Tribe Tribal Self Determination) and chose work study positions that allowed me to assist Dr. David Silver Wolf Patterson and Dr. Monica Matthieu with faculty research. Even though my schedule had very little down time, I felt it was imperative that I make time to practice servant leadership by participating in student organizations. This meant being elected Co-Chair for the American Indian Student Association and Volunteer Coordinator for our annual Pow Wow. In collaboration with other Native students, we developed educational presentations like “Pow Wow 101 for Volunteers” and “American Indian Student Association (A.I.S.A.).” Also as a Buder Scholar, I had the unique experience of contributing to HEC-TV’s interactive video conference panel discussion in a segment titled “Celebrating Native American Heritage Month: Sustaining Culture.” One of the more lighthearted initiatives I assisted with was the implementation of the Muscogee youth’s first Lacrosse Clinic in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

One of my greatest accomplishments was being selected as a Blue Ribbon Workgroup Consultant for the Bureau of Children Affairs Centennial Technical Workgroup. The group’s goal was to bring together a diverse group representing various perspectives and experiences related to child welfare and provide the Children’s Bureau with insightful, compelling ideas about a long-term vision for child welfare. I also enjoyed being a voice for Native people at the Washington University Center for Diabetes Translation Research and NCAI Scholar Conference. I also contributed in this capacity at the Washington University in St. Louis Interdisciplinary Leadership Summit and as a Buder Center
representative at the National Women’s and Men’s Wellness Conference.

After graduating in May 2013, I moved to Southeast Virginia and despite diligent efforts, I could not find a job in the social work field for fifteen months. I moved to the panhandle of Florida where I was quickly hired as a Master’s Level Therapist at a Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) residential treatment program specifically for adolescent males diagnosed with Borderline Intellectual Disability. Within a few months I was recruited by another DJJ residential treatment program. It was during this time that I began to feel the pressure of upholding my commitment to serve in Indian Country. As it turned out, the Eastern Band of Cherokee (EBCI) was experiencing a large amount of economic
growth. One of their endeavors was to assume full responsibility of social services that were traditionally administered by the state. I joined the tribe’s first team of social workers responsible for child and adult protective services, investigations, foster care licensure, and adoption services. Also, part of the Tribe’s vision for this social services team was to have integrated behavioral health specialists. I saw this as the perfect opportunity to apply my passion for behavioral health, and within two months, I accepted the Team Lead position for Child Welfare Behavioral Health. I had arrived at a place in my life were I had immense potential to blossom professionally.

I am proud to uphold the mission of the Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies to prepare future American Indian leaders to practice in social issues that directly impact Indian Country. I am forever grateful to have had the scholarship opportunity granted by the Buder Foundation that secured me on a path to making significant contributions to the health, wellness and the sustained future of Indian Country. The people I have been linked to through this scholarship are like family and I am excited each year to see it grow.