United Tribes student body president, aka Mr. AIHEC, set to graduate after overcoming life adversities

Environmental science major directs attention to Indian Country’s pollution problems

Four years ago, Tanner Veo felt like he was in darkness. He was living in a motel room, going to work every day, not making enough to pay rent. He had accepted that he would work labor-intensive jobs for the rest of his life.

Fast-forward to 2024, and the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe citizen is preparing to receive his degree at United Tribes Technical College, where he has served as president of the Student Government Association since spring of 2022. He’s been unanimously elected for the position two years in a row by other SGA members and the UTTC community. He’ll be crossing the stage to receive his degree with 134 classmates at the May 10 commencement at the Bismarck campus.

Looking back, he could hardly believe how he overcame those tough times. He told himself, “I’ll be okay, I’m strong.”

The now 35-year-old was in survival mode for years. He had trouble finding stable work on the Crow Creek Indian Reservation, where he spent most of his time living in South Dakota. He eventually moved in with his brother in Rapid City and was hired to become a janitor at the YMCA within three days.

After he and his brother got into a fight, he became homeless. Veo checked into a homeless shelter for a few weeks. Once he saved up enough money, he lived in a motel room. It wasn’t until a year later he found an affordable apartment he could move into. With the help of Section 8 housing, he could keep that apartment for himself and his family for two years, though he still felt like he was in a rut.

“I had family and friends who had always considered me intelligent and smart, and they thought I was kind of wasting my life not going to college,” he said.

What really gave him the hard push he needed to do something with his life was when his friend Ricky passed away from an overdose in 2019. “Before he passed away, he told me that I was the one who needed to go to school,” said Veo. “His words always stuck with me.”

Veo chose to major in environmental science and research because he recalls always being curious about the world. As a child, he took long hikes alone, exploring and walking for miles in the countryside on the Crow Creek Reservation.

“I saw a lot of wildlife, snakes, porcupines, foxes,” said Veo. “I also saw the grasses, insects and the locations where plants grew. The Big Bend Dam on the Crow Creek Indian Reservation was something I saw every day and wondered why and how hydroelectric dams worked.”

Known for his inclusive and approachable leadership style, Veo has remained passionate about being involved and creating positive change in any way he can. Despite pressure to succeed in his role, he’s been dedicated to assisting those at United Tribes.

“When you have so many eyes on you, it is stressful sometimes, but it also allows me to remember why I’m in this position,” said Veo. “It’s to help others and to serve my community –– it’s not for myself.”

Veo worked to overcome several obstacles to get to where he is today. Growing up, his parents separated, and his family lacked stability. By the time he was in eighth grade, he had attended seven different schools across South Dakota. He attended St. Joseph Indian School, and schools at Fort Thompson, Eagle Butte, Chamberlain, and Pine Ridge—one of the poorest reservations in the United States. 

Though he only came from the neighboring state, Veo went through a brief, tough transition period when he first came to UTTC in the fall of 2021. “This looked like a strange campus to me and I was like, I’ve never seen a structure like this, so I was intimidated at first,” said Veo. “It very quickly disappeared because I met friends here, and I got to meet family here as well. It became its own community and I kind of just fit in.”

Paige Jensen, UTTC’s student activities coordinator, first met Veo two years ago when he began getting involved on campus. “When Tanner first started attending our Student Government Association meetings, he was at first a quiet observer, but over time he gained confidence to start sharing his views and his voice,” said Jensen. “He not only attended our SGA meetings, but other club meetings around campus where he started recognizing strengths in others and encouraged other students to share their voices as well.”

Veo eventually started presenting in front of crowds at local conferences, which Jensen said was where his personality began to shine. In addition to SGA, he joined the Wildlife Society, Thunder Society, Sustainable Agriculture, Gathering and Eating Club, and several other extracurriculars.

Jensen’s favorite memory of Veo is from March, when he won the title Mr. AIHEC at the American Indian Higher Education Consortium student conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota. “Seeing how proud he was of that achievement really warmed my heart,” Jensen said.

Since becoming SGA president, Veo has been working hard to get more students involved in the community. One of his goals is to enable more friendships on campus. He’s contributed to organizing several events throughout the school year, including the Human Trafficking Awareness Walk, which took place in November 2023. He held a staff for a mile and a half during the walk from Sacred Pipe Resource Center to campus to honor missing and murdered Indigenous peoples.

Though he’s helped plan many successful events, he’s also rolled with the punches when things didn’t work out. At one point, no one attended an event he and SGA organized. From then on, he learned not to hold events on weekends and when other events, such as basketball games, occur.

“There is a lot of growth that happens in this position,” said Veo. “I would say the biggest thing is that there’s going to be failures along the way, and I’ve just accepted that it’s something that’s going to happen. But I learn from those, pick myself back up and keep going.”

While Veo is looking forward to the next stage of his life, he also has been taking the time to acknowledge how far he has come. “It feels sometimes surreal,” he said.

Once Veo graduates this spring with his bachelor’s in environmental science and research, his plan is to go to Sitting Bull College in Fort Yates for a master’s degree in environmental science and research to focus on air quality and pollution. “I love that program just because it allows you flexibility in what you want to study,” Veo said.

After Veo gets his master’s degree, he wants to pursue a doctoral degree at a university on the West Coast. His dream job is to become the director of the Environmental Protection Agency of Region 8, which encompasses the Midwestern states.

“I would change the level of priority with which Indian Tribes are treated,” said Veo in an email.

“There’s too many unseen issues in Indian Country, a lot of pollution that I know is lowering IQ’s, leading to poorer lived experiences. Neurological disorders from pollution, increase in cancer rates, and because we’re so small in population numbers, we get overlooked.”

In addition, Veo is also interested in public relations work to increase awareness of why environmental regulations matter how they protect the environment and Native communities. He wishes to participate in this campaign across Indian Country and rural communities in the United States.

If he ever works at the EPA, he wants to contribute to amending and strengthening the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts and work to implement responses to climate change. Family, friends and the UTTC community continue to cheer Veo on.

“My hope for Tanner is that he continues to work towards his dreams,” said Jensen. “He has shown tremendous growth in the last few years as a student and person and I hope he carries those skills with him in every avenue of life he pursues.”

As for Tanner, he realizes the teachings go beyond those he receives in his classes. Life itself has been his greatest teacher.

“People, they like to see strong characters,” he said. “But sometimes people can only be strong when it comes to their grief or their sadness.”

Dateline:

BISMARCK, N.D.