Christina Feuger is an administrative support assistant at the ATF National Academy. She’s been with the bureau for over 20 years and was previously an investigative analyst with the Charlotte Field Division. She is a veteran and her desire to continue serving her country led her to apply to ATF.
Appreciating Her Upbringing
Feuger is Navajo and grew up in a traditional household on the reservation. She spent summers with her grandmother who only spoke Navajo. This helped her learn the language and communicate with her grandmother. She grew up without electricity, running water and other modern conveniences. This upbringing, along with teachings she received from her grandmother and parents, helped shape her as a person and her perspective towards life. This is why she never takes things for granted.
The teachings she grew up with are a big part of her life today. Feuger still greets the sun every morning and blesses herself to have a great day. She continues to speak the Navajo language and practice tribal traditions with her children. Reflecting on her upbringing inspires her to continually pursue a better life for herself, family, and career.
Native Americans in Law Enforcement
Feuger believes it’s necessary for Native Americans to recruit other Native Americans to law enforcement because seeing people who look like them will make a huge impact in their communities. This allows agencies to work closer with reservations and local tribal police while helping communities feel at ease when seeing one of their own.
There are many ethnic backgrounds in the world, and she believes it’s necessary that they are reflected in law enforcement. Feuger feels that Native Americans should attend recruitment events to help encourage more Native American applicants because seeing someone of the same background would go a long way in building that trust. She enjoys working at ATF and would love to see more Native Americans join the bureau.
Recognizing National Native American Heritage Month
National Native American Heritage Month was created to celebrate the contribution that those with Native American heritage have made to the United States. Feuger appreciates being celebrated – especially as Native Americans have suffered a lack of recognition for so long throughout history. “It’s nice to be recognized, even though every day is Native American Day for me”, she said.
