Skawenniio Barnes ’10 at Berkeley College

Student Profile: Skawenniio Barnes ’10

Skawenniio Barnes ’10 is a sophomore and a political science major in Berkeley College. She came to Yale from Canada's Kahnawake Mohawk Territory, where she is a citizen of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, also known as the Six Nations or Iroquois Confederacy.

In May 2007, she traveled with the delegation of 100 Yale students, faculty, and administrators to China, where she met with students and government leaders and toured historical and cultural sites in Beijing, Shanghai, and the ancient city of Xi’an. She is an active member of the Association of Native Americans at Yale, and she is a student coordinator at Yale’s Native American Cultural Center.  Following graduation and then law school, she plans to return to the Mohawk Nation and to the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.

As a student here, Skawenniio has received the Ardon L. Judd Scholarship, and she says that without financial aid, attending Yale would not have been possible.  Below she shares impressions of her Yale experience so far:

I chose to come to Yale because:

Yale was an attractive choice for me because in addition to the great faculty, resources, facilities, and invited speakers, I really enjoyed the social atmosphere. The students at Yale seemed—and are—genuinely happy, friendly, and laid-back.   

My favorite class:

It’s so difficult to choose. But if I had to narrow it down, I would say that my favorites have been two seminars that I took in American Indian history. One seminar was called Northeastern Native America:  1850 to present; the other Land, Homelands, and American Indian Histories. I really enjoyed them because they gave me the opportunity to study, research, and write about an area that I am deeply interested and invested in, one that is very close to heart.  Furthermore, because of the seminar setting, there was a lot of meaningful discussion between peers, as well as the opportunity to work closely with the professor.

The professor who has taught me the most: 

Professor Alyssa Mt. Pleasant (American Studies and History). She teaches courses that I am interested in, and she has been a source of support and a mentor to me.

The greatest book I’ve read at Yale: 

My favorites have been Don Quixote, Herodotus’ The History, and a book called Like a Hurricane: The Indian Movement from Alcatraz to Wounded Knee.

My favorite place to study:

Bass Library.

My favorite extracurricular activities:

I am currently the Treasurer of the Association of Native Americans at Yale.  I am also a chapter member of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) at Yale.  I am also a contributing writer and help with the layout for Indigenous Voices at Yale (IVY) Newsletter (formerly known as Red Ink.)

After graduation, I plan to:

After graduation, I hope to attend law school and then eventually return home to the Mohawk Nation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy to do what I can to ensure a bright future for the coming generations.

Something that I learned at Yale that I will always remember:

I’ve learned that an undergraduate education is about more than what we learn in the classroom. Our experiences and social interactions are just as important.

(May 13, 2008)