Electa Hare RedCorn

Football in Oklahoma and the Buder Center in St. Louis don’t seem to have much in common. But my interest in football led me to a relationship with Dr. Gary Dan Davis, who first spoke to me about the Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies. I was attending a small state school in Lawton, Oklahoma, and finishing a degree in Sociology and Child and Family Studies. I met Gary Dan by getting to know a Creek relative of his who coached my college ball team. We discussed possibilities for my future while watching Sooner football quite often. His encouragement, along with the help of
Stephanie Gutierrez, was crucial in the admission and retention of many of us Native scholars during the years that I attended Washington University in St. Louis from 2007-2009.

Presently I am working to complete my social work licensure in the state of Oklahoma, home to 39 tribes. I am within 176 hours of taking the American Social Work Boards. Dr. Davis recently shared knowledge of a position with the Department of the Interior as a social worker focused on domestic violence support for the 18 tribes in the Eastern OK region. I have served Osage and Pawnee populations in children’s mental health services as well as two years on tobacco control policy. We are saving lives and making social change as specially-trained Native social workers.

It is a valuable thing to understand ethics and how previous research has impacted Native populations. While at the Buder Center, I had some great mentors doing amazing things in serving children with special health care needs as well as serving veterans.

Those with whom I worked and those who trained me knew that I was the next generation of social change and leadership. They believed in me in my own moments of self-doubt. They introduced me to opportunities I never dreamed that I would have.

I especially remember a conversation with Dean Lawlor at a dinner in his home for Buder Scholars. I mentioned my concern about diabetes and the habitual consumption of unhealthy foods. He sparked my interest in making positive change and getting involved in something greater than myself. I still think of myself as having so much potential to grow, network, and do good work. It is great to see other Buder students doing great work and working through all the challenges life gives us.