Claire E. Alford, Absentee-Shawnee Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma
Santa Clara University
Health Care
Claire is a descendant of the Absentee Shawnee Tribe, and she wants to make health care more accessible for Native people. She is a public health science major at Santa Clara University and the Chair of the Santa Clara Pow Wow. As the president of the Native American Coalition for Change, she founded a program that provides free hygiene items for Native communities. She led the push for her university to recognize Indigenous Peoples' Day as an academic holiday and enjoys volunteering at an Indian Health Service clinic. Claire is also an EMT and works in the Wheeler biochemistry research laboratory.