Southwest: Walker River Paiute Tribe, University of Arizona
Crystal Miller is a citizen of the Walker River Paiute Tribe and a PhD student in American Indian Studies at the University of Arizona. She focuses her studies on the Federal Indian Policies that govern and provide both the guidelines and restrictions on Native Nations ability to assert their own sovereignty. She has invested in the protection of tribal lands, resources and continues to fight legally and politically to ensure that the tribe’s interests are included in regard to lands directly impacted by outside agencies. Her commitment to understanding and disseminating knowledge to Native Nations is a high priority that is evidenced in the work she has done and continues to do. Crystal always returns back to the traditional knowledge that the land is inherently tied into our holistic being and the protection of it is an inherent responsibility to ensure balance in life remains.