Philosophy
Creating dialogue is a critical first step and Faith sees opportunity in every encounter.
Faith approaches every situation as an opportunity to teach and promote cross-cultural understanding. In those spaces, she knows the starting point is from a place of respect and willingness to work together as a means toward just and equitable solutions that take all voices into account. This is why Faith sees teaching and service as an investment that will reap benefits by building allies and partners for Indian country.
Faith is on a mission to ensure that Indian children, families, and communities have the quality of life and opportunities that all Americans are entitled to reach their full potential.
Biography
Faith Roessel is Navajo and was born and raised in the Navajo Nation. Because her parents were teachers and educators, Faith lived in many Navajo communities. Her family’s traditional home is Round Rock, Arizona, a place she calls “the center of the universe.”
Faith was raised by parents who were leaders in Indian education and innovators who challenged the conventional wisdom of the time that Indians could not control their own education. Faith grew up in a household that cultivated a positive self identity and the core belief that dreams were meant to be realized. Faith was celebrated as a young Navajo girl and raised to believe that “no” was not the end but just the beginning. Faith took on the family tradition of service to others and knew early on that to be an advocate and create positive change, she must learn the rules of the game. She set out to pursue her dream of becoming a lawyer, and returning home to set up her law office in Round Rock.
Faith became a lawyer and graduated from the University of New Mexico School of Law. She became licensed in New Mexico and then later in the District of Columbia. Her first law job was as an associate in a law firm that was then the general counsel for the Navajo Nation. Over the next few years, she immersed herself in all aspects of her tribe’s issues and litigation – a true “dream job.” Then she seized a serendipitous opportunity to relocate to Washington, D.C. to work for a newly elected U.S. Senator. From that launching point, Faith established a career that has spanned law, policy, litigation, tribal and federal government service, and activism in education, children, youth and family and justice issues. Her work has focused on the constellation of tribes’ interactions with all branches of the federal government. Faith is struck by how important it is for tribes to voice their concerns and have a seat at the table. Despite Faith’s promise to her parents to return to the reservation, one opportunity has led to another and she has raised her family between the Washington, D.C area and family home in Round Rock.
With her grounding in legislation, policy and work with constituents in the Senator’s office, Faith missed the “traditional” practice of law and found the perfect opportunity as a senior staff attorney for the Washington office of the Native American Rights Fund. In that capacity, she represented Indian tribes and communities before Congress, government agencies, and the courts. Faith was honored to serve the Navajo Nation as an appointee to direct the Navajo Nation Washington Office, where she trained and oversaw an office and developed the tribe’s legislative strategy and budget and appropriations priorities. Faith had the extraordinary opportunity to serve in the federal government and held positions as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs and Special Assistant to the Secretary, both presidential appointments within the Department of the Interior. The Secretary of the Interior appointed Faith to the Indian Arts & Crafts board where she served as a member and then later as chair of the Board.
Faith’s personal priorities are American Indian education, child welfare, youth empowerment, and teaching. She believes in the work of nonprofits and has served on the boards of the Association on American Indian Affairs, Child Welfare League of America, White House Presidential Advisory Board on Tribal Colleges and Universities, and the Arizona State University School of Law Indian Advisory board. She currently serves on the boards for Americans for Indian Opportunity, Leadership Council of Convergence – Center for Policy Resolution, and the Fort Lewis College Foundation Board.
All of this experience has given Faith a well-rounded view of the myriad of issues facing American Indians. The fundamental starting point is the recognition of American Indian nations as having the power of self-government and authority over their land and people. The federal framework of laws and policy do little to reinforce and support Indian tribes as self-sufficient and self-determining, which leads to results that stifle motivation, problem solving, and a better future. Faith knows firsthand that far too many non-Indians are uninformed about the important role that tribes play in their communities and in their state, as well as the enormous contributions they make on behalf of their own people and all residents.
