Author: Leen Samman | Major: Psychology and Biology | Semester: Fall 2025

Trying to be an elite warrior (I was very much not)

When I walked into the Human Rights Council committee room, I understood why the chairs faced away from the large glass window. The mountains were completely mesmerizing. Their vastness sublime, reminding you of your smallness, but also mirroring the problems we were there to discuss. We were in Banff, Canada, a Territory 7 land home to the Stoney Nakoda, Blackfoot, and Metis people, which was the perfect backdrop for the Fall 2025 Model United Nations (MUN) conference focusing on indigenous issues.

This conference was a culmination of countless hours of preparation since August. Preparation that consisted of researching, writing, and giving speeches in line with our assigned country’s stance on the committee topics. I was a codelegate representing Japan on the Human Rights Council where we addressed the indigenous right to their traditional economies and their participation in governance.

What was so unique about this conference being held in Banff was the ability to see both UN actions in real time and meaningfully engage in Indigenous practices. Banff is a United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization World Heritage site, meaning it is a landmark area possessing outstanding universal value that is to be protected for future generations. This designation arose from international law and actions in the UN aimed at identifying and preserving natural and cultural heritage. We were able to witness exactly why Banff earned this designation when we hiked Johnston’s Canyon and walked around Lake Louise. This also put into perspective the importance of the topics we were discussing, as many Indigenous traditional economies are reliant upon the environment; therefore, environmental protection is inextricably linked to upholding Indigenous rights.

Moreover, in our research coming into the conference, we found that a lot of educational initiatives aimed at informing the public about Indigenous Peoples are performative and sometimes disingenuous because they lack curation or input from the most important stakeholders, Indigenous People. However, at this conference, we were able to participate in many traditional practices led by knowledge keepers or members of the Indigenous community in Alberta. Of these was the smudging ceremony, where we were taught how to use the smoke from burning herbs to cleanse ourselves from negative energy. We also participated in elite warrior training where we had to complete an activity that required one to completely block out their surroundings and focus on the task at hand. We were given an approximately foot long rod with a string of heel bones attached to the end. In each heel bone was a hole, and you were supposed to swing the string in a way that allows you to put the rod through one of the holes. It was really hard, and I am not going to be an elite warrior.

Then there were the actual conference days. I won’t bore you with those details, but one of the biggest lessons I took away from those days was how much you can learn from other people. The whole point of MUN conferences is to be collaborative, but sometimes the competitive spirit can get in the way of that. When I grounded myself in the cultural experiences we had, I remembered the real reason we were all gathered: to come up with solutions for pressing issues. With that lens, I was able to better appreciate some of the things my peers were doing. For instance, bringing attention to some of the blind spots we hold as people with privilege. Can countries with low internet access use the technologies we want to implement? It was a reminder and lesson on critical thinking. Also, another delegate showed me that you don’t always have to create something new; you can just modify existing mechanisms to be better.

These interactions were the embodiment of the indigenous philosophy of Ubuntu: I am because we are. We are interconnected and have responsibilities to each other and the world. Ubuntu is the world I would use to describe the whole experience of MUN, from preparing during the semester to the actual week in Banff. And it is the word I would use when giving you advice for studying abroad. Studying abroad connects you to others in ways that will greatly expand your worldview. Embrace that. Embrace the discomfort. Be curious and open to learning new things, and if you ever feel out of place, remind yourself that this is a once in a lifetime change that will be over before you know it. Even if you study abroad again or travel, you won’t be with the same group of people or doing the same things. Approach your study abroad with openness and curiosity, and you’ll see that the world has so much more to teach you than any classroom.