Woman helps Native Americans in NYC
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
From the time she was
young, Sutton Cole King was
very connected to her Native
American culture.
King was born in Wisconsin
and is descended from the
Menominee and Oneida Nations
of Wisconsin. King is
a descendent of Menominee
Chief Oshkosh, who was instrumental
in making sure
that the Menominee tribe
wasn’t forced to leave their
land in Wisconsin.
While King was put into
predominantly white schools
growing up (“My mom wanted
me in the best schools for more
opportunities,” says King),
King was highly involved in
her Native American culture,
particularly hoop dancing.
At 18 years old, King moved
to New York and attended the
College of Mount Saint Vincent,
earning her Bachelor
of Arts degree in psychology
with a minor in sociology.
“I went to New York for better
opportunities, but I also
wanted to connect more with
my Oneida heritage, which
is based in New York and has
tribes in Wisconsin and Canada,”
said King. “I’ve been in
the Bronx the entire time.”
King recently earned her
Master’s Degree in Public
Health from the NYU School
of Global Public Health this
year.
“I thought it was pretty
ironic that I got my masters
in public health during a pandemic,”
said King, laughing.
However, prior to graduating
with a master’s in public
health, King found herself
becoming more immersed in
health for indigenous people.
Six months after fi nishing
her undergrad degree, King
was approached by a tech company
and she began to develop
training that would help tribal
youth without traumatizing
them, including creating
trauma-informed and suicide
prevention programs within
80+ tribes.
“I did that for about three
years, and found out that I had
a connection to healthcare,
and it lit a fi re under me,” said
King. “After that, I served as
the Director of Wellness for the
Urban Indian Health Institute.
I did that for about a year, and
I found that what they were doing
BRONX TIMES R 26 EPORTER, JULY 17-23, 2020 BTR
wasn’t good for indigenous
youth.”
In August 2019, King starting
the Urban Indigenous Collective
(UIC), a health and
wellness nonprofi t for urban
Native Americans. New York
City has the largest population
of indigenous peoples in the
United States, with more than
112,000 Native Americans living
across the fi ve boroughs.
UIC devotes its advocacy to
healthcare services, as well as
creating a connection for the
urban Native American youth
to their heritage for the tristate
area. As an Afro-Indigenous
woman, King recognizes
how crucial it is for Indigenous
youth to have access to these
kinds of services.
“71% of Native Americans
are urban. We were pushed off
of our land with the promise
of healthcare and jobs, but it
wasn’t there for us. The safety
net was gone,” said King. “Natives
are born with a legal
right to healthcare, but it is severely
underfunded.”
UIC is currently working
with the DOE to help make
their programming more visible
within the education community,
with hopes to eventually
move into the healthcare
system and start their own
clinic. The nonprofi t is also
in the process of developing
a new app called ShockTalk,
which would give a chance
to connect with other indigenous
youth, access resources
such as Native American therapists,
and share critical data
and information, like a murder/
missing women database.
UIC was given $5,000 from
a tech starter company to get
the work going on ShockTalk,
there is more to get the job
done. Recently, King was recognized
as a fi nalist for the David
Prize, which awards money
to New Yorkers who are looking
to change their communities
for the good. If selected,
King will receive $200,000 to
go towards UIC’s projects.
“I had seen something online
about the David Prize and
didn’t really think much of it
at the time,” said King. “But
later I was talking to one of
my professors at NYU, Cheryl
Merzel, and she asked me if
I had heard of it. She told me
to do it, saying that I was a
visionary with everything I
wanted to do with UIC. It gave
me the little kick in the butt
that I needed.”
King hopes that UIC can
help spread the word that
there are services available
to those who are urban native
youth who need it.
“It’s disheartening to see
the lack of response from federal
programs,” said King. “I
hope we can increase awareness
and create a safety net so
our people can thrive.”
For more information
about UIC, visit www.urbanindigenouscollective.
org.
Photo courtesy of Sutton Cole
King
/www.urban-indigenouscollective.org
/www.urban-indigenouscollective.org
/www.urban-indigenouscollective.org
