Shannon Keller O’Loughlin describes herself as a citizen of the Choctaw Nation, first and foremost.
Beyond that, she is a mom, an attorney, and a protector of Native American interests across the country.
Serving as the Executive Director of the Association on American Indian Affairs, the oldest non-profit organization serving Indian Country, she takes the responsibility of protecting sovereignty, preserving culture, educating youth and building capacity seriously.
Between growing up hearing stories from her grandmother about her family’s hardships during the dustbowl and knowing the Choctaw history of struggle and survival during the Trail of Tears, it is no surprise that she was drawn to serve in such a way.
O’Loughlin has served Indian Country in various capacities for almost 20 years, a role that may have been foretold when she was a young college student.
When O’Loughlin was in college a Choctaw elder was explaining the symbology of the ribbon work on her skirt and how it represented a rattlesnake.
The elder then went on to tell a story of how a rattlesnake brought medicine to a little girl to help make her people healthy. The elder then said that it was O’Loughlin’s job, to make [Choctaws] healthy.
O’Loughlin said, “What struck me about that interaction is this Choctaw elder telling me that I had a job to do and it was to make sure that that we were all doing well and that we’re all healthy.”
“I do not take my position for granted. There is so much work to do and I’m so grateful to be in the position I am in to hopefully do good work. It’s not about me, it really is about building community and building strength.”
Standing up for Indian Country and making sure their interests are protected is not a job a single person can do. It takes a team of people working together and that is how O’Loughlin approaches the job. She goes on to say, “What I’m here to do is help bring people together and move us forward, together.”
O’Loughlin has taken the interaction she had with the elder and gone a step beyond, working not just for the wellbeing of the Choctaw people, but also for the well-being of Native Americans as a whole.
She has taken the lessons she learned from her grandmother about her Choctaw heritage and their struggles and applied them on a national level to help Indian Country grow and heal.