#INDIGENERDS4HOPE

Survival is our superpower, but I’ve learned that it is not enough to just keep breathing. You have to live with a purpose beyond surviving the day in front of you. You must always consider the extraordinary measures that you are willing to take or withhold in order to be well, to be happy; to not just survive, but thrive. We are THE DREAMS OF OUR ANCESTORS, We are what they sacrificed, hoped, and prayed for. We owe it to them, our future generations, and ourselves to live extraordinary, purpose driven lives. – Johnnie Jae

I founded A Tribe Called Geek because I felt it was important to create a platform that would allow us to celebrate our existence and contributions within Pop Culture and STEM. I wanted to create a community, a league of extraordinary Indigenerds, because as Indigenous geeks & nerds we tend to exist on the fringe on the Indigeneity. It’s normalized and acceptable to be an athlete or a scholar, but not so much to identify or be a part of thriving subcultures centered around comic books, gaming, cosplaying, technology and various fandoms.

As Indigenerds, goths….we all know what it is like to be bullied, outcast, or thought weird because of our interests or identification with geek or other subcultures. And regardless of whether or not you identify as an Indigenerd, we all know the struggle of finding our place in this world.

When I was 15 years old, my entire world was turned upside down. With a matter of weeks, my best friend died by suicide and then my grandmother passed away. I struggled with the loss and my grief became something more. A month after my best friend died, I tried to take my own life. I wish I could say that it was turning point and that things got better, but it didn’t and I continued to struggle with my mental health and suicide well into my 30’s.

But what kept me alive during my tumultuous teen years, was the Star Wars community and a summer program that I attended called Native Americans in Biological Studies. It was within these spaces where I felt comfortable with myself, where it was okay to be myself no matter how weird, how broken, or lost I felt. They allowed me to be surrounded by what I loved, to explore what I loved and to find my place within the worlds I loved….Star Wars and Sciences. Much to the chagrin of my parents, I was also very into the Goth scene at this time because no one judged me, no one thought I was weird and I think I was trying to hide my own darkness and insecurities beneath the layers of black clothing and makeup.

When I was in my 20’s, I was diagnosed with Bi-Polar Disorder and my journey to healing started. I learned to manage my mental health and while I will always have to face the realities of living with mental illness and suicide, I’ve learned to thrive. I learned that Surviving is our superpower, but it is not enough just to survive day to day. We have to live a life of purpose and that’s what I want to help our Youth find, their purpose.

Through #Indigenerds4Hope, we work to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental illness and suicide through social media campaigns and workshops designed to educate, encourage and empower our Native Youth. Our presentations and workshops are designed to introduce our Native youth to the opportunities that exist for them in the arts, media, STEM and Pop Culture while also teaching them about our ancestral knowledge and sciences.

We want to remind them that we are more than the stereotypes. We have always been and will always be creators, storytellers, technologists, scientists, and disruptors. We have everything we need to survive, to heal and to thrive within us. We want to remind them that there is always hope.