caught in 2007.<\/a><\/p>\nBefore arriving to prison, Stroud always saw officers as allies, but he quickly understood this image was a facade. Stroud\u2019s 13-year sentence showed him how officers work to deprive prisoners\u2019 rights, rather than uphold them.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/opb2021.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2021\/07\/Stroud_Timeline.png” title_text=”Stroud_Timeline” admin_label=”Image: Timeline” _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _module_preset=”default”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_testimonial _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _module_preset=”default” body_font_size=”24px” body_line_height=”1.8em”]<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe that my rights as an American didn’t exist inside prison. The people wearing these badges and American flags on their arms, [who] were looked at as heroes, were the same people that were now being brutal and oppressive behind walls and couldn’t be seen.\u201d<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_testimonial][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/opb2021.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2021\/07\/Charlotte01.jpg” alt=”\u00d2The American dream is not my Indigenous dream. It’s so different than that,\u00d3 Jolie Varela said. \u00d2As an Indigenous woman, I would like to see our ceremonies restored, our traditions restored, our homelands restored, and our land back. When people come from other places and they come in the name of this American dream or in pursuit of this American dream, I don’t think they realize how that American dream erases Indigenous people, and further infringes upon our rights as Native people.\u00d3 (Photo by Jarrette Werk)” title_text=”Charlotte01″ align_tablet=”center” align_phone=”” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”Image 1: Portrait” _builder_version=”4.7.7″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 1″ _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _module_preset=”default”]<\/p>\n
Steven Stroud sits at the kitchen table at his in-laws house. Stroud recently got engaged to his fiancee, Donna, following his release from Columbia River Correctional Institute. (Photo by Meerah Powell)<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text 6″ _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”18px” text_line_height=”1.8em”]<\/p>\n
Upon his release in June 2020, Columbia River Correctional Institute neglected to give Stroud an I.D., food stamps and the money he saved while working in prison.<\/p>\n
After leaving the jail, Stroud noticed tents and garbage in the street, which is something he was not used to seeing before his incarceration. He said he realized there was no assistance available for him or these other people.<\/p>\n
\u201cSure COVID may have been affecting some things and obviously was. But I became very aware that the country I had left was not the same America I was walking back into and oppressive forces were more in control now than they had been before,\u201d Stroud said.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text 7″ _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”18px” text_line_height=”1.8em”]<\/p>\n
Still, Stroud said he is proud to be an American because of self-determination, an intrinsic American quality.<\/p>\n
In just a year after his release, Stroud is now employed, has remained sober and is engaged to his fiancee, Donna.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text 8″ _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”18px” text_line_height=”1.8em”]<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the things that I found in freedom was acceptance and love from a family, which is something I have never had. And I had the freedom to do that as an American,\u201d Stroud said. \u201cYou just have to realize that that power lies within you. Our country provides a nice backdrop for that, but it’s not the end-all be-all of life. I believe that everybody can do what I did and experience the happiness that I currently experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _module_preset=”default”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/opb2021.nextgenradio.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/45\/2021\/07\/Charlotte02.jpg” alt=”\u00d2The American dream is not my Indigenous dream. It’s so different than that,\u00d3 Jolie Varela said. \u00d2As an Indigenous woman, I would like to see our ceremonies restored, our traditions restored, our homelands restored, and our land back. When people come from other places and they come in the name of this American dream or in pursuit of this American dream, I don’t think they realize how that American dream erases Indigenous people, and further infringes upon our rights as Native people.\u00d3 (Photo by Jarrette Werk)” title_text=”Charlotte02″ align_tablet=”center” align_phone=”” align_last_edited=”on|desktop” admin_label=”Image 2: Group” _builder_version=”4.7.7″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 2″ _builder_version=”4.7.7″ _module_preset=”default”]<\/p>\n
Wearing a black sweatshirt, Steven Stroud poses with his fiancee, in-laws and two Beagles in their backyard. Stroud remarks on his love for his newfound family and how they welcomed him into their home. (Photo by Meerah Powell)<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
What does it mean to be an American? We are finding, coaching and training public media\u2019s next generation. This #nprnextgenradio project is created in Oregon, where four talented reporters are participating in a week-long state-of-the-art training program. In this project we are speaking to people from various walks of life\u2014whether they are Indigenous, native born, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":439,"featured_media":247,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"coauthors":[20],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/opb2021.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/55"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/opb2021.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/opb2021.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opb2021.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/439"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opb2021.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/opb2021.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/55\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opb2021.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/opb2021.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/opb2021.nextgenradio.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=55"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}