Shane L. Windmeyer, a member of the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, founder and executive director of Campus Pride (a leading national nonprofit organization for student leaders and campus groups working to create a safer college environment for LGBTQ+ students), and author and editor of numerous LGBTQ+ college related books discusses his formative years in Hiawatha, Kansas, and his undergraduate experiences at Emporia State University where he was a first generation college student. [All times are approximate]. [02:05] Mr. Windmeyer describes his intersectional family background, his Indian grandmother who lived on the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska Indian Reservation, his Mexican grandfather, who worked on the railways, and his mother Diane, a single parent until Shane was a year old who worked as a bookkeeper and grant writer for the Indian Reservation and had an interest in assisting young mothers. [04:31] He addresses the social pressure to assimilate due to entrenched racism, the compounding impact of class discrimination, and his family's closeness to African American neighbors. [08:21] He talks about his mother and other strong women in his life who helped to shape his interest in social justice. [10:13] He discusses the difficulties that prevented him from coming out as a gay young person in Hiawatha, but also his success and level of comfort in high school where he was on the yearbook staff and in the choir, and his decision to stay with his grandmother rather than go to Texas with his parents in his senior year. [14:31] He talks about working for the Hiawatha Daily World in high school, the inappropriateness of the school mascot (the Redskins--later changed to the Redhawks), his many part-time jobs from an early age, and the changes there have been to small rural towns since his formative years. [18:21] Describes his visits to the Indian Reservation, how the reservation has changed, the indigenous diaspora, social justice issues related to Indigenous Americans, and his mother's work to improve services on the reservation. [22:03] Describes how tribal affiliation relies on a certain blood quantum, how this slowly eradicates tribes, and the lack of understanding about tribal communities. [23:39] He talks about his own efforts to educate people about indigenous tribes, his continued connection to his tribe and with the Catawba Tribe in the Carolinas, his interest in introducing LGBTQ+ perspectives into tribal life, his intention to write his autobiography, and how this will combine his many identities. [27:07] He discusses the history of assimilation, and how tribal history was distorted and discouraged. [29:43] He reflects on his same sex attraction as a teen, his growing awareness of his sexuality, the emergence and impact of AIDS and HIV, conflict with his father, and turning his energy to overachieving and a focus on college with the Upward Bound program. [36:58] He gives details about the Upward Bound Program held at Emporia State University, how it expanded his perspective, gave him confidence to apply to college and the tools to overcome his challenges as a minority LGBTQ+ person. [40:45] He explains his choice to attend Emporia State University (ESU) as a theater and communication major, the importance to him of summer theater, current efforts to create an archive at ESU to document LGBTQ+ history, and acceptance at ESU when he arrived. [45:48] He describes involvement in student government as a senator; his role as the co-founder of the Native American Student Association; his participation in the Order of Omega and the opera and choir; writing for the student newspaper, The Bulletin; being a member of Phi Delta Theta; and continuing the characteristic of being an overachiever to gain respect and avoid facing his sexuality. [48:07] He give detail about the gay and lesbian organization GLARE, (Gay, Lesbian Alliance for Resource and Education), the influence of various individuals involved with the organization, and the first Safe Space Zone at Emporia. [51.35] He talks about feeling that voices were being heard in the early 1990s, but also the negative influence of "don't ask don't tell" on LGBTQ+ people, and the impact of the HIV- AIDS pandemic. [53:31] He laments a lack of resources and institutional responsibility on campuses. [56:23] He describes coming out in 1994 after attending the 1993 March on Washington, the emotional impact of the Names Project AIDS quilt which was on display on the National Mall, and the power of being with so many gay people, realizing that he could have a life with a partner, and how he came out publicly in the Topeka Capital Journal. [1:04:04] He discusses joining a fraternity to find brotherhood, the support of his fraternity brothers when he came out, his leadership within the fraternity, and the significance of Greek Life for his subsequent work. [1:13:08] He concludes by expressing the need for alternative family support for LGBTQ+ people.