The Southern Ute Indian Tribe’s Permanent Fund has been successfully mentoring Southern Ute tribal members through their apprenticeship program for nearly 20 years. The program, which is tailored to the needs of individuals, focuses on training and career advancement. While many participants opt to gain experience through the mentorship component, others use this program as an opportunity to reach their career goals. Successful candidates can and often do find themselves filling the exact roles that they trained for within the tribal organization.
Southern Ute tribal member, Morgann Graham, successfully completed her apprenticeship in 2018, where she stepped into the role of Shining Mountain Health and Wellness Program Manager under the Tribal Health Department. Graham dedicated herself to the apprenticeship program and the training aspects, fresh out of college; that commitment has come full circle in her leadership role with Shining Mountain Health and Wellness Program.
“It is a great opportunity for development, for the career that you want to go into, or even to dip your toes into something you might want to try,” Morgann Graham emphasized. “To be trained by someone who knows that role.”
“My experience was consistent, the [Apprenticeship] Committee always gave me feedback…especially on what I needed to work on — and that helped me when I did take the job.”
“They had set quarterly reviews of me, and I got to give a review of my supervisor as well,” she stated. “It was very communication and feedback orientated, so that I could better improve what I needed to improve. And so that my supervisor could see where we needed to improve. It was comforting to me to know what was happening, and that shows the dedication of the Committee.”
The Apprenticeship Committee also aided Graham with her online and in-person training programs along the way, helping to guide the process, and ensure that she was receiving the support she needed to succeed in her role.
“It’s really eye opening to see that the Tribe really cares about its people,” Graham said. “When I look back at me trying to get a job straight out of college, versus some of my classmates — I was able to do that far more quickly than they were able to.”
The Apprenticeship Committee is comprised of a group of dedicated tribal employees — Hilda Burch, Andrew Gallegos, Lindsay Box, Mikki Naranjo, Robin Duffy-Wirth; Brian Sheffield represents the Human Resources Dept. and James “Mike” Olguin represents the Executive Office.
The purpose of the program is not to find direct replacements for upper management positions, but rather to share skills and knowledge through focused mentorship; help prepare someone for future opportunities, or even job placement within their own department. In some cases, the apprentice will take over for an employee who plans to retire or change jobs — but that’s not the intent of the program.
After successfully completing the apprenticeship program, the learned skills and in-depth training can be applied virtually anywhere, for some it may be a career path that leads them to work off reservation, or even out of state. For others it is a way to level up their skill sets and specific job knowledge, to step into larger roles within their chosen field, or existing departments.
“Sheila [Nanaeto] Ryder was an apprentice; she came on when KSUT was looking for somebody,” said long time committee member, Hilda Burch. “She applied and started working with KSUT back in 2007 — I think she found her passion, because you can see it and hear it on KSUT radio.”
Burch is one of the longest serving members of the Apprenticeship Committee, having been a member since 2007. Mikki Naranjo and Buch each worked at the Sky Ute Casino Resort, both were previous CDP (Career Development Program) recipients, which helped them better understand the apprenticeship aspects. Each of the three tribal entities — Sky Ute Casino Resort, Southern Ute Growth Fund and Southern Ute Permanent Fund, have their own versions of apprenticeship training programs through their respective Human Resources Departments.
“You have to be dedicated,” SunUte Director Robin Duffy-Wirth emphasized. “It’s a gift from the Tribe to its tribal members, allowing them to grow, and gain experience under a mentor. But you have to put the work in.”
“We [the committee] all believe so strongly in membership growth and opportunity, but we have to find people that are willing to mentor, and tribal members that are willing to be mentored,” Duffy-Wirth said. “Ian Thompson was a really good example of someone who had the passion and completed the program. It should really pull on you… like, ‘this is what I want to do, this is a career that I’m passionate about’”