Staff Highlights: Alex Buffalohead

Describe yourself in one sentence.

I am a Libra, cat-obsessed person, who enjoys music, art, and being outside.

What is one thing in your professional history that you are proud of?

I am proud of playing a role in the continued building of NACDI. When I started about 7 years ago, we were about 5 full-time employees, and I advocated for a refreshed website early on, as well as other opportunities to strengthen our work. I thought this was something that would be completed right away, and I learned and am still learning, and reminded that some things need the time they need, and it’s important to prioritize relationships and foundation building.

What is something you are working on outside of NACDI that you are excited about?

I am excited about music and learning new songs. I have been playing keyboard and piano, but more going through the motions. With the passing of a few friends in the music community, I recently felt more inspired to try and relearn more foundational things. I am feeling inspired to create new music, while also learning some new cover songs that have been on my bucket list to learn, like Booker T and the MG’s “Green Onions” and Joe Cocker’s version of “Feeling Alright”.

What would you like your legacy to be?

I hope to leave things better than how I found them and to use what I have learned to pass on to others. One of our partners at Four Bands Community Loan Fund, Allisa Benoist, reminded me that traditionally, our “wealth” is in a non-scarcity mindset when everyone is fed and taken care of, and that is something that I have been reflecting on with our work and for our community, with artists, organizers, growers, and makers.

Which talent would you most like to have?

I would love to have a super memory mind to absorb information quickly than I currently can. Or to listen to any song and be able to play and memorize it from listening.

If you could choose one song to play every time you walked into a room, what would you choose and why?

It might sound corny, but I think I would pick Redbone’s “Come and Get Your Love”. I think it’s a song that everyone can sing along to, or pick up really quickly, and just has a positive vibe, and I love that it has 70s-style rock. The song also reminds me of when I was little, and my Grandpa Bud introduced me to Red Bone and would play their music in his big black pickup truck. I also think it’s a song that connects people together.