In many Native American families, elders tell children detailed stories about the history of their lands and wildlife. Having grown up with these stories, native students come to the university with unique knowledge about wildlife management and conservation. We had the pleasure of hearing about the journeys of three native students, Sattie Whitefoot-Fisher, Ken Edmo, and Xavier Lovato, in the first cohort of a new program at the University of Montana funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Science Applications Program and Sloan Indigenous Graduate Fellowship Program and designed to better support Native American graduate students.