Every morning at sunrise, New Mexico State University student Brad Louis pays tribute to his home, the Pueblo of Acoma in New Mexico, the oldest continuously inhabited community in North America.

In a daily ritual practiced by many of Acoma’s citizens, “we get to give thanks to the sun and Creator for giving us life and opportunities to grow and learn,” says the incoming first-year student.

This summer, Louis (far right, rear row in group photo) was one of 16 scholars selected by teachers and community leaders to attend the Santa Fe Indian School Leadership Institute’s annual Summer Policy Academy, held on the Princeton campus, where visiting high school students and recent graduates study how government policies affect tribal communities.

This year’s students represented the Navajo Nation and six Pueblo Nations in New Mexico.

Working in a small group led by academy faculty mentor Rebecca Rae (Jicarilla Apache) of the University of New Mexico College of Population Health, Louis developed a policy proposal to coordinate the services for hospitals, public transportation and other critical infrastructure within the Acoma Pueblo and nearby communities.

Rather than operating as disparate bureaucracies, his proposal suggested, they could better serve residents using an interconnected community services model that would also align with a more holistic Indigenous approach to governance.