Notes from the Field: Sadie Red Eagle '19

Sadie Red Eagle '19 worked as a legislative intern in the office of U.S. Representative Duncan D. Hunter (R-CA 50th District) during the Winter 2018 term. The following is an excerpt from her internship report.

Representative Hunter currently serves on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, House Armed Services Committee, Education and the Workforce Committee, and serves as the chairman on the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation subcommittee. In his office, I was able to work on projects with the nine legislative assistants, the Deputy Legislative Director, and the Chief of Staff. 

As a legislative intern, my daily tasks included writing letters to constituents, conducting research for other staff members, and attending hearings. In my free time, I would give tours of the Capitol to visiting constituents and go to one-on-one lunch meetings with other Native Americans working on the Hill. The issues I researched for other staffers included education, gun violence, tax reforms, transportation, immigration, Native American issues, and sexual violence. I was fortunate enough to create a portfolio with a coworker over Native American issues that were vital to the tribal nations within Representative Hunter’s district.  

I hope to use this experience as a way to explore new career paths and to implement the knowledge I gained into my Government and Native American Studies classes at Dartmouth. I am grateful to have worked with a wonderful group of people this winter and their support has led me to consider taking a break in between Dartmouth and law school to explore other career opportunities. Through my internship, I now have firsthand experience with the legislative process, and I am thankful to have had the opportunity to be in Washington when there were highly controversial debates happening within Congress. 

The Rockefeller Center’s staff and public policy classes have helped me tremendously throughout this experience by gearing me with the essentials to succeed in an internship as well as providing methods to take on difficult challenges that may happen in the workplace. I’m thankful for my public policy professors for providing the essential background knowledge on the legislative process and for addressing policy debates through case studies. I am truly grateful for this opportunity and it wouldn’t have been possible without the financial assistance from the Native American Program and the Rockefeller Center. Pidamaya (thank you)!