It does not take long in a conversation with Sapsik’ʷałá alum Mich Sandoval, Diné, (MEd 17’ Elementary Education) to understand her impact on her Navajo community and students. Sandoval descends from a line of educators and is quick to recognize the benefits of a childhood growing up in a home where both parents were teachers and school administrators. She has fond memories of assisting her father during his summer school duties. Mich acknowledges her mother as being a prominent Indigenous educator in her life and recounts numerous stories of the influence her mother had on her as well as many other Navajo students as a school counselor. Mich is a quintessential example of an Indigenous teacher returning to their community to serve. 

Sandoval is a Kindergarten teacher at a school bordering the Navajo Nation that serves a Navajo student population. In addition to teaching, Mich is involved in a broad range of educational activities. She coaches track & field, cross country, is involved in afterschool activities like homework and gardening clubs and serves as an Education Justice Fellow for the National Education Association – New Mexico chapter (NEA-NM). Her fellowship work focuses on transportation issues students and families face while living in remote parts of the Navajo Nation.  

Mich led community efforts to revitalize the strong Navajo running tradition by organizing a cross country team for her school. She recounts, “When I first walked into our school, the trophy case was filled with running trophies from the past. I wanted to re-start a running program and it took off like a wildfire because the community went into action. They bulldozed tracks, picked-up trash, and sold burritos on race day as a fundraiser. We started the program with thirteen runners and last season we had forty-eight runners.”  One main cross country goal Mich has is building a memorial cross-country route in honor of Missing Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW).   

She is quick to give a first-hand account of how the high violence rates on American Indian reservations impacts teaching, classrooms, and schools. Mich is motivated through a social justice lens to improve transportation access for students and families living in remote parts of the Navajo Nation, centering LGBTQIA+ issues, and highlighting the effects of school violence on teachers. She credits her time at University of Oregon as being fundamental for developing her social justice perspectives and voice.  

Her time with Sapsik’ʷałá was important for her academic success because she felt supported by a community of people: “Sapsik’ʷałá was key to my success because it created connection… connection to Natives from other communities, connection to alumni who supported me… to Elders and their stories.” She says one valuable lesson she learned while at the University of Oregon was the power of Native voice and representation on campus. She credits this lesson as being another integral experience that informs her own voice.  

Mich defines Indigenous education through a community perspective. She always wanted to serve her Nation through teaching, “I always had a passion to teach on my reservation, my people, my community. I want to make a difference.”  Her connection to her family, community, and people inspires and exemplifies the power of Indigenous education: “On my journey, I can always go home, and arms are going to be open. I work to remember to embrace it, be gentle with it, respect it, and always remember to give my best and do my all.”