In honor of Native American Heritage Month, we recognize some of the new Native faculty, staff, and student employees who contribute to the University of Utah in various ways. Through their work, they provide mentorship to students formally and informally. Through their exceptional experiences and expertise, they continue to contribute to campus and community transformation. Keep reading to see who we’ve highlighted. View last year’s list here.
Aaron Bia was raised in Canyon De Chelly, Arizona on the Navajo Nation. He completed medical school at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Now he is a third year chief resident at the U in the Family Medicine Residency. He plans to return home to his Navajo community as a primary care provider.
“Always plan ahead for future plans, enjoy your free time, and school is a marathon and not a sprint,” Bia said.
A first-year student majoring in Social Work, Alyssa Pretty On Top is from Ronan, Montana located on the Flathead Indian Reservation. After she graduates, Pretty On Top plans on going back home to be a social worker for her tribe.
As a third-generation urban Maya, Arcia Tecun descends from various highland Maya lineages in what is currently known as Guatemala and embodies many worlds. Tecun was raised in the Rose Park neighborhood in Soonkahni (Salt Lake Valley) on the west side of the train tracks. He recently moved back after living for eight matariki (Māori lunar calendar rounds) in Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland).
“As an urban and mobile Indigenous person, one of my passions is studying and working through collaborations and tensions with both the temporal and spatial relational points between local-global Indigenous peoples, thoughts, and issues, as well as their intersections with gender, race, and class.,” Tecun said. “I enjoy doing this in the realms of organic intellectual undercurrents/under commons while preparing and sharing staple or ritual foods in common or ceremonial contexts.”
Tecun earned a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Waipapa Taumata Rau in Aotearoa (University of Auckland, New Zealand) and eventually held an appointment there as Pouako (Lecturer) until the end of 2022. He has since been the Director of Culture at Tracy Aviary and The Nature Center at Pia Okwai (Jordan River Nature Center) and is also the community practitioner in residence for the Environmental Humanities during the fall 2023 semester. Tecun also taught Eco-Justice Education as an Adjunct Professor for the Department of Education, Culture and Society at the University of Utah during the summer semester of 2023.
Ariel Richer’s research focuses on collaboratively building interventions and programs with communities that are affected by the partner violence, substance use, and HIV/STI risk (SAVA) syndemic. Richer serves as the Co-Founder and Co-Director of Urban Indigenous Collective, an Indigenous-led non-profit that supports the health and wellbeing of urban-living Indigenous people in NYC, and ensures access to culturally-tailored programs. Richer also serves as a board member for The Cupcake Girls which provides confidential support to those involved in the sex industry, as well as trauma-informed outreach, advocacy, & holistic resources. In her spare time, she enjoys DIY projects around the house, dancing, and roller skating.
“I’m truly looking forward to joining The U Social Work faculty,” Richer said. “I hope to highlight Indigenous research methods and ways of knowing in my classes so students will understand that, we, as Indigenous people, have always been scientists.”
Dalaki J. Livingston grew up in Milford, Utah as the sixth child of nine. He was incredibly active in his high school and carried this into his collegiate studies. He attended Southern Utah University for his bachelor’s and master’s degrees where he met his spouse country swing dancing. He completed his doctorate program at the University of Oklahoma in Communication studies with an emphasis in Indigenous Methods, Health Communication, Deliberation, and Pop Culture Communication. During this time, he worked with the Center for the Ethics of Indigenous Genomic Research, and the Genomics and Ethics Program for Native Students.
“It is hard trying to exist in places where historically I would be ignored, disenfranchised, or sometimes irradicated. I hope my place in research, the university, and my community shows others that we do belong. We do exist. We do matter. We are meant to be in these spaces,” Livingston said.
Livingston strives for his research to be equitable and relational with the communities he partners with. He is driven to reverse the power dynamic in favor of tribal communities and help create spaces and places for all Indigenous peoples.
Outside of work, he enjoys walking his two dogs, hiking and is even part of a development team working on a new tabletop roleplaying game called Crest Saga.
Darren Parry is the former chairman of the Shoshone Nation. He serves on the board of directors for Utah Humanities and PBS Utah. He is the author of the “Bear River Massacre, A Shoshone history.” Perry is a storyteller and tribal elder.
Jessica Nichole Begay is a Diné woman from the Navajo Nation (Gallup, New Mexico). She earned a bachelor’s of art in writing in rhetoric studies from the University of Utah. Currently, she is a graduate student at the U in the Writing and Rhetoric Studies department. In addition to pursuing her degree, she is creative at heart. She enjoys creating art whether it is on a canvas or on paper through words or through the motions she creates with her hands. Writing gives her the power to share her story and the stories of her ancestors and people who came before her. She strives to pursue what is on her mind and what means the most in her heart.
Jessica Holiday is from Monument Valley, Utah, which is located in the Utah portion of the Navajo Nation. Her maternal clan is Táchii’nii (Red Running into the Water People). She is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation. She graduated from Arizona State University in 2011 with a Bachelor’s degree in Family and Human Development and a Minor in American Indian Studies. She also graduated with a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from the Institute of American Indian Arts in 2021.
Holiday is the Native American Outreach and Community Engagement Coordinator for Southeastern Utah. She loves to read, write, run, take photos, and spend time with her furbabies. Holiday is passionate about animal rescue in the Four Corners region and volunteers in helping rescue cats on dogs on the Navajo Nation.
Nakisha Mart is a first-generation college student of a single mother, born in Northeast Utah and raised in Maui, Hawaii, for 12 years of her childhood. Through different state cultures and communities, she has developed skills to adapt, problem-solve, and gain independence that she uses in her everyday studies, work, and social life.
Mart is a second-year undergraduate student majoring in marketing and management at the David Eccles School of Business. Since December of last year, she has been an intern with Student Development and Inclusion within Student Affairs. This internship is her first office job, where she has gained professional competencies and learned the importance of networking and software expertise. This year, she has worked on projects such as Native American Heritage Month, the Ute Proud game, and the Indigenous Peoples’ Day Gallery Walk.
During the spring semester of her first year of college, she had the chance to participate in an alternative break in Portland, highlighting the topic of urban environmentalism, which drastically altered her perspective of climate change and business companies partnering together. With this newfound interest, she strives to connect both sides of the spectrum in her professional growth and to advocate the importance of action over words. In the next few years, her goals consist of doing a semester study abroad during her junior year in Australia, graduating in the class of 2026, and enjoying the possibilities of her career as an Indigenous woman in business.
Leslie Rodrigez is a senior at the University of Utah in her final year studying honors Criminology and Ethnic Studies with a minor in sociology. She is the president of the Inter-Tribal Student Association and a member of Kappa Delta Chi. She grew up in West Valley City and Whiteriver. She has worked in the Center for Equity and Student Belonging for three years in various roles. The latest role is an Early Belonging Ambassador which helps with college outreach with high school students in her community. She hopes to attend graduate school in the fall to obtain her master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Policy.
“I grew up with few great expectations of me as a child. I was considered underperforming and a troubled student due to my learning disability and behaviors. Many teachers and leaders did not know how to turn around my academic performance. It wasn’t until I gained important role models and figures gave me hope that my life changed for the better. Their valued efforts brought me to where I am today. I have reached the dean’s list for every semester at the University of Utah and got involved in multiple student involvement initiatives. This is in part because of much-needed care and a push to be my best by the cherished role models and leaders in my life,” Rodriguez said.
Yá’át’ééh shí’ké dóó shidiné. Shídezhí eí Nathan Nez yiníshyé. Tsé Nakandí déé nashą́. Tó’ahaní nishłį́, Tódík’ózhi bashichíín, Kinłichííní eí dá shícheíí, Máʼii deeshgííshní dá shínalí. Nathan Nez comes from Round Rock, Arizona and is of the Near The Water People, born for the Saltwater People. His maternal grandparents are the Red House People and his paternal grandparents are the Coyote Pass People. Navajo is his first language followed by English and Spanish. He is in his third year at the U and double majoring in nursing and health and kinesiology with an emphasis in emergency medical service and minor in Navajo language. He is a Two-Spirit being, and enjoys beading, crocheting, pow wow dancing, and traditional singing.
