Region 1 Student Representative

Marshand Vasquez - Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation

Email: Region1@aises.org

Twitter: @AISES_Region_01

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Way’ x̌ašt šx̌l̓x̌əl̓t, išc̓q̓ʷn̓čút Marshand.

Kk̓ít̓aʔ kn ʔačwáx n̓l xʷeyʔilqsálqʷ.

In̓ƛ̓əx̌ƛ̓ə́x̌əx̌pm tl̓ šn̓p̓šqwaw̓šmxw kwaʔ šḥáptnxw.

N̓xaʔm̓xčín (Wenatchi-Columbian Salish Language)

Hello, Good day! My name is Marshand Vasquez. I live near the area “where it is forested and tapers to a point” or present-day, Pablo, Montana, within the borders of the Flathead Reservation. I come from the Wenatchi Band of the Colville Confederated Tribes and descend from the Yakama Nation. I was born in Seattle, Washington and grew up in Nespelem, Washington on the Colville Indian Reservation. My Qán̓aʔ, paternal grandmother’s name was Lorraine Atkins Sam and my šx̌x̌ápaʔ, paternal grandfather’s name was Joe Atkins. My father’s name was Tony Atkins. My mother’s name is Mary Vasquez and she currently resides in Nespelem, Washington.

I aspire to live my life each day as our Creator has instructed us in our teachings. I am a lifelong learner of our way of life on the Columbia Plateau. It is with great honor and respect I continue to live and learn our traditions and gather our First Foods. The time I spend with my family digging roots in the hills, fishing Nch'iwána (Columbia River) and its tributaries, and picking berries and hunting in the mountains are blessings immeasurable. These teachings have been passed down by our ancestors and are what continue to help guide me in becoming a better person each day. These teachings give me strength in leading a healthy, balanced way of life as an indigenous scholar.

I am a husband of eleven years and have four children. My wife and I met during my first enlistment in the US Marine Corps and have been married since 2009. I served 9 years enlisted active duty prior to honorably discharging to pursue higher education. While I was enlisted, I attended classes part-time online with Northwest Indian College where I established a strong foundation for my following years in academics. Following discharge in 2014, I briefly attended Gonzaga University before transferring to Little Big Horn College in Crow Agency, Montana. I graduated in 2017 with an Associates of Science in Science with Biology Option. After graduation at LBHC, I worked at the Crow/Northern Cheyenne Indian Health Service Hospital for nine months until I moved to Pablo, Montana to attend Salish Kootenai College Fall 2018.

I am currently attending Salish Kootenai College pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Life Sciences and will be entering my senior year with an anticipated graduation of June 2021. Winter quarter 2019, a group of students and I successfully revitalized the AISES SKC Student Chapter. I was elected Student Chapter President for the remainder of the 2018-19 term. Fall 2019, I was re-elected Chapter President for the 2019-20 term. During this time, the SKC Student Chapter held numerous Bison Burger BBQ’s for the SKC Student Body, participated in a few local school district Family Science Nights, and hosted the AISES, AICF, Cobell, and UNITY “Native Scholarship Forum” on SKC Campus with numerous students, college and high school, in attendance.

My goals have evolved over my lifetime into a passion for which I am humbly grateful for. The primary focus of mine has developed into learning our traditional knowledge and our Indigenous languages and integrating them with western science and education to become part of a space that has been long overdue for indigenous scientists, native perspectives, and cultural methods. This space is accelerating and gaining progress towards fulfilling the demand for more Indigenous scientists in STEM fields across Indian Country today.

I look forward to representing Region One this coming year as the newly elected Student Representative. Since my time with AISES I have met numerous talented, highly respectable, and prodigious people at heart from across Indian Country and beyond. I am motivated to continue this great networking that AISES has established over the past 40+ years. My hopes are that we can all utilize today’s technology to meet each other in real-time, while decreasing our carbon trails accrued in today’s traveling ways.

With this much I say, I am very honored to accept the opportunity to represent the Students and Student Chapters within AISES Region One. Moreover, I am quite eager to build and strengthen our friendships, networking, and our camaraderie within Region One.

Kw’alanúushamash!

Thank you!

Pamísh pamísh nash pinasápsik’asha sínwit chíishkin.

Yakama Ichiishkíin (Yakama Sahaptin Language)