Tamara Fore-Ravelo was raised on the Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Reservation in Yuma, Arizona. In an interview with The Covenant Companion, she described growing up in a context marked by poverty, trauma, and limited opportunities. As a teenager, she helped support her family—sometimes going without so that others could eat—while holding on to the hope of the gospel.
When Tamara reached eleventh grade, she had only the equivalent of ninth-grade credits. She struggled to focus on school while caring for family members and trying to earn money so they could eat. “I would literally go dumpster diving in the middle of the night so we could have toiletries. I would steal food so my sisters and my cousins, who in the Native way of understanding are my siblings, could eat. I would steal clothes so they could go to school clean.”
She was sent to a continuation school, where she studied at her own pace while continuing to support her family. She quickly completed the requirements for her diploma, though she was not allowed to graduate early. Instead, she was hired to answer phones at the school to gain job skills. She began taking classes at San Diego Mesa College. “All this time, I was holding on to the good news of the gospel. I was holding to the word that had been preached to me,” she said.
It was during this season—while working, studying, and remaining rooted in her faith—that she became involved in youth ministry where her sense of calling began to take form.
She went on to complete her bachelor’s degree and enroll in an MBA program. Later, she applied to Yale Divinity School to pursue an MDiv. People around her tried to dissuade her, saying, “Look, people prepare for years to go to Ivy League schools. Let’s consider some opportunities that might be more appropriate for you.” But Tamara said, “If it is for me, God will open the door.”
She was accepted.
Now Tamara is pursuing doctoral studies with NAIITS, an Indigenous learning community focused on Indigenous theology and leadership. She serves as president of the Covenant Indigenous Ministers Association and is the first Indigenous woman with documented lineal heritage to be ordained in the Evangelical Covenant Church. In 2025, she received the She Preaches award from the Advocates for Covenant Clergy Women.
“I really believe in the power of the gospel and that God can do absolutely anything,” she says. “I’ve seen it in my life. A person on the reservation has a lot stacked against them. I’ve been abused in every single way you could possibly think of. I endured all I had to go through because of the hope of the good news. I live that out for my people. I live it out for my family. I live it out for myself, and I believe it with everything within me.”
