Kyla Williams (Sac & Fox of Oklahoma, Muscogee Creek, Absentee Shawnee)
Aho, Kyla Williams neteshith. Owîkiwa Okonohômîheki, othâkîwa kêhi kepâtethiwa thâkiwâtowêweni.
Hello, my name is Kyla Williams. I live in Oklahoma City, am Sac and Fox of Oklahoma, Muscogee Creek, and Absentee Shawnee, and am slowly learning the Sauk language. I am 23 years old and attending Haskell Indian Nations University to gain my Associate’s degree in Media Communications, specifically to gain in-depth experience in Journalism. I plan to bring back the Indigenous knowledge I have learned here and build a relationship with the Western world of media, while I pursue my Bachelor’s degree in the future.
Joining the Indian Leader has helped build my resume, sharpen my writing skills, and form connections with other Native students and the community of Lawrence, Kansas. It has also broadened my experience with broadcasting as we host a weekly radio show called “The Haskell Hour”. Being able to learn from others and use our voices to draw attention to what we find important or interesting. Whether it’s through articles, videos, radio, etc, is an opportunity of a lifetime and I am grateful.
When I am not hammering away at school work or coming up with new ideas for articles, I decompress by drawing or working on a new painting. I come from a family of artists from pottery, painting, beading, sewing, photography, you name it, so it is important to me to be able to express myself through visuals.
I am fortunate enough to have people around me who want to see me thrive and help me along the way. I still have much to learn from this lifetime as I go through my journey of self-discovery while reconnecting with my heritage and learning from my Grandparents and from my time here at Haskell. It has opened my mind to things that I would have otherwise never gotten to experience. That is why I would like to grow and learn so that I can be that guide in the future for those wanting to learn and for the newer generations.
