My Park Story: Sofia V.

Agatha Armstrong, Sofia's grandmother and Tribal Council Vice Chair, is Sofia's inspiration, role model, and connection to the Grand Portage community.

Photo courtesy of Sofia Vanderlan

Confidence

Boozhoo! Sofia indizhinikaaz. Adik nindoodem.Gichi-onigamiing indoonjibaa. Gakaabikaang indaa. Miigwech. Mii iw.
Hello! My name is Sofia. My clan is caribou.I come from Grand Portage. I live in the Twin Cities. Thank you.

Sofia graduated from the largest high school in Minnesota, Wayzata, yet was one of only two Indigenous students in a class of over 900. At the encouragement of her grandmother, who lives in Grand Portage, Sofia has worked five summers at Grand Portage National Monument every year since the summer after her freshman year of high school.

When asked about her experience, Sofia says “The Teen Ranger Program is important for local kids to learn about their culture and is often their first job.” Sofia loves seeing photos of her family in the Monument’s Heritage Center because she feels a sense of belonging, to the land and community as well as to the National Park site (because the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa invited the National Park Service to co-manage the site).

During COVID restrictions, teen rangers learned some Anishinaabe lifeways people practiced for generations such as language, beadwork, lodge building, and harvesting canoe materials. Being a teen ranger gave Sofia confidence to create the Indigenous Student Alliance at Wayzata High School. Sofia is now a sophomore at Saint Catherine University, double majoring in English and Indigenous Studies, and minoring in music (her principal instrument is French Horn). This summer she completed an internship with the Minnesota governor’s Tribal State Relations Office.