Natives to Know: Dr. Amanda Cheromiah

Laguna Pueblo

Dr. Amanda (Mandy) Cheromiah entered college with an advantage that lots of Native students don’t have. While most Native students (54%) are the first in their families to attend university, she was not. Her mother was just a teenager when Mandy was born, but she went on to become a cultural psychologist. And many of Dr. Cheromiah’s relatives have attained advanced degrees as well. But even growing up with some context about the importance of higher education, Dr. Cheromiah still didn’t have it easy. 

As Cheromiah discussed on the Grounded Podcast, she went through a difficult time adjusting to life as a university student without the comforts of her community and sports teams. Like many students, she went through a “dark time” and wondered if she could persist in her education. But then she took a course on Indigenous Wellbeing Through Education that changed her perspective.

Through the course, Cheremiah learned about the life of Carlisle Indian Boarding School survivor, Tewanima (Hopi). He was a runner who used his sport to support his own healing and inspire others. Dr. Cheromiah was a runner herself and closely identified with Tewanima’s story. It became her inspiration to keep going. 

That persistence, coupled with her long standing desire to motivate others, led to Cheromiah serving 11 years as the Director of her University’s Native Student Outreach Access, and Resiliency (SOAR) program. Tewanima’s story also became the inspiration for a film she produced in 2020, and the dissertation that earned Dr. Cheromiah her PhD in Higher Education in 2021. 

Today, Dr. Cheromiah runs popular social media channels that help Native students succeed in college and works to strengthen the self-determination of Indigenous people through storytelling, digital media, and advocacy.