Sandra Hernandez didn’t set out to become a leader. Instead, she said, leadership found her. In a reflection shared during Women’s History Month, Hernandez shared how a simple goal of learning her Native language led her to Tribal Council during a critical time in her tribe’s history.

When her aunt first asked her to run, Hernandez resisted.

“I don’t want to do that at all,” she recalled thinking.

But her aunt insisted, “You told me if I ever needed your help to ask you. I’m telling you that I need your help.”

That moment became the start of a leadership journey Hernandez never planned.

“Very few people arrive at leadership saying, ‘I want to be in charge,’” Hernandez said. “Leadership isn’t about pleasing everyone. It’s about carrying the prayers and hopes of your ancestors into everything you do today.”

She added that leadership also means staying true to your values, even when it feels lonely.

“The more you refuse to compromise who you are, the lonelier it can get,” Hernandez said. “But I’d rather be lonely than compromised.”

Her path began in 2010, before her tribe received federal recognition. At the time, the Tejon Tribe functioned as a community but had been left off the federal list of recognized tribes because of a clerical error. Without recognition, members were cut off from promised resources such as education and health care.

Hernandez said the experience was like living in between.

“Neither belonging nor not belonging,” she said.

She initially became involved for cultural reasons, not political ones.

“I wanted my kids to learn our language,” she said. “That was my marker, the reason I began attending.”

As her involvement grew, so did the tribe’s efforts to regain recognition. For nearly two decades, elders gathered records and lobbied Congress to prove the tribe’s continuous existence.

Hernandez said boxes of documents filled entire rooms, showing generations of effort to get recognition. 

“Our families went hundreds of years without the things that were promised: education, health care, resources,” she said. 

In 2012, the tribe was officially reaffirmed. But recognition brought new pressures. Longtime leaders stepped down, creating space for others.

That was when Hernandez was asked to step in.

Her time on Tribal Council coincided with major efforts to build a stable future for the tribe, including securing land and creating economic opportunities. She traveled to Washington, D.C., several times a year, often meeting with lawmakers for only minutes at a time.

At the same time, she balanced work, family, and leadership. Hernandez said she would leave her job at 5 p.m., go to the tribal office until 2 a.m., and sometimes sleep there before early meetings.

“You’re doing all this for your community and your family, and you barely get a break,” Hernandez said. “I had never known what a break was. But I learned it was necessary for myself and for those I serve.”

For Hernandez, leadership has always meant service and making sure people are supported in real, tangible ways.

She carried a simple rule into her work: no one should leave empty-handed.

“If somebody calls, if somebody comes through that door, they’re going to be left with a resource, a phone number,” she said.

That approach also shaped how she saw community work. Many efforts once depended on volunteers, but over time, Hernandez helped create programs where people, including language teachers, are now paid for their time and knowledge.

“It’s never just you,” she said. “It’s the people around you. You rely on each other to make things happen.”

She often reflects on how women in her tribe led in the past, caring for others, sharing knowledge, gathering food, and keeping family histories.

She left the tribal council in 2023, but today, Hernandez continues that work as a language and culture program coordinator in Kern and Fresno counties. She organizes Native language classes and cultural programs, including ribbon skirt sewing and building traditional war shields.

“The most meaningful moments are when someone says, ‘This is how my grandma did it,’” she said. “We’re bringing ancestors into the room, even in contemporary times.”

She said language can change how people see the world. Learning the word for “snail” translates to “the little animal with the house on its back.” This changed how she viewed nature. 

Despite the challenges, she encourages others to see leadership in their everyday lives.

“All of you are leaders,” she said. “Whether you see it or not.”

Hernandez said her story is not about ambition, but about answering a call to serve and honoring those who came before.

“Sometimes we forget the face of our grandmothers and grandfathers,” she said. “But they are a part of everything we do. They guide us if we are willing to listen.”

Through it all, she holds to a simple principle.

“Leadership is never about you,” Hernandez said. “It’s about helping your people, honoring your ancestors, and creating something that lasts beyond your own lifetime.”