VDS | Presenter Info

Direlle R. Calica, J.D.

Direlle Calica is a citizen of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, and is of Warm Springs, Wasco, Yakama, Molalla and Snoqualamie tribal descent. Ms. Calica has over 25-years of experience as a field, legislative, policy, planning, and regulatory advisor with the U.S. Attorney’s Office-District of Oregon, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and various Indian Tribes and Tribal Organizations. Ms. Calica has extensive professional experience in intergovernmental affairs, hydrosystem planning, resource conservation, and tribal energy policy. She has also served as a Mark O. Hatfield Congressional Fellow in the U.S. Senate. Direlle currently serves as the Director of Portland State University's Institute for Tribal Government and as ATNI’s Energy & Water Program. She is the co-founder and coordinator of the Changing Currents: Tribal Water Summit program for tribal leaders and youth. She is the Managing Partner of Kanim Associates, LLC a Native American owned professional consulting firm. She serves on the Oregon Native American Chamber of Commerce, Board of Directors. Direlle lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and two dachshunds.

Harvest Moon Howell

Klahowyah, hello I am Harvest Moon this morning a sent a great bio and PROMISE OF THE WHALE.  Happy Earth Day!  So honored to share a deep and meaningful story next month for the symposium called OTTER BROUGHT THE WATER.  Hope you are safe and sound .   Any questions let me know.  Prayers and blessings Harvest

Yakaiyistai Gorman

Yakaiyastai is a faculty member at NWIC in the Bachelor of Science in Native Environmental Science Department and a Northwest Indian College Wellness Advocate for students/staff/faculty. 

Tada Vargas

Tada Vargas is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe and also a descendent Oglala Sioux Tribe.  She was born and raised in Rapid City, South Dakota.  Last spring, she graduated from Oglala Lakota College.  She double majored with a Bachelors’ degree in Natural Science with a Conservation Biology emphasis, and a Bachelor’s in Native American Studies with an emphasis in Tribal Law.  Currently, she is a biological laboratory technician, at the National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation (NLGRP), through the USDA Agricultural Resource Service (ARS).  In this position, she works towards identifying the needs of Indigenous communities in their efforts to become food sovereign, specifically in promoting seed sovereignty. 

Prior to this, Tada has contributed the STEM community, specifically in genetics, through a variety of scientific projects.  Her research ranged from studying effects of cattle introgression in bison; to analyzing gene expression, in vitamin B12 deficient mice; to evaluating the cause of ultra – mutated colorectal tumors, in yeast models.  Tada utilizes her education and experience, to be an advocate for Indigenous Nations in areas of scientific research, Indigenous knowledge, policy building, and academia. 

David E. Wilkins

Wilkins is the E. Claiborne Robins Distinguished Professor in Leadership Studies at the University of Richmond. He is the author and editor of numerous books on Indigenous governments and politics and federal Indian law and policy. He is a citizen of the Lumbee Nation of North Carolina.

Oomagelees, Cynthia Wilson

Now Si’am, U’ ey’ e sxw ol, Suit sen ohileqw kwenes ena tachel Si’am

My name is Cynthia Wilson; I carry the Indian name of Oomagelees from my maternal side of the family. My father's name is Culaxten, James H. Wilson from Lummi, and my mother's name is Roberta Hunt Wilson, from the most northern island of Vancouver. I am the 3rd oldest in my immediate family; I have four sisters and three brothers. I have worked in the Education field for 30 years, and I truly enjoy working with children from the smallest to the oldest. I worked at our own Lummi Nation School on the reservation for many years and worked in our public schools for a few years.  I am so fortunate to have learned our Lummi Language from my mentors, and I am proud to share it with our children and my family.  I love to share stories with great lessons to live by and see the expression on listeners' faces as they listen and learn the many values.  Having a foundational belief in our way of life is essential to living in two worlds that we have to be competent and productive in both. I received my Master's Degree from Grand Canyon University in curriculum instruction and technology. I love to learn, and we must continue to stay highly qualified in any profession.  I will continue my journey in education and continue to learn. My philosophy is, in short, to help our children, strengthen the educational experience of all, and increase understanding of who they are, and stand proud.  I enjoy working with others in this area. I believe it is one way to keep everyone going in the same direction; no canoes overturn in the waters as we move forward together for our children's main resource.

Hy'sh'qe

Laural Ballew, Ses yehomia/tsi kat but soot

Laural Ballew, Ses yehomia/tsi kuts bat soot, graduated from Western in 2002 and is the first Executive Director of American Indian/Alaska Native and First Nation Relations/Tribal Liaison to the President.   The Office of Tribal Relations, established in 2019, functions as support for fostering working relationships with the 29 federally recognized tribes across the State of Washington. Furthermore, the office works to encourage the development of programs, events, and activities designed to educate the Western community and increase capacity to serve Native students.  Since she was hired in January 2019, her work plan included five goals to fulfill the Native American Student Union 2016 formal request advocating for action by the University President and Trustees.   

1.      Tribal Liaison position

2.      Traditional Coast Salish Longhouse

3.      Certification of Native tribal enrollment or descendancy

4.      Funding for NASU’s annual powwow

5.      Government-to-government training

All five requests have been met through support of the Tribal Liaison.   Most noteworthy is progress made for a Coast Salish-style longhouse with a formal request of $4.9 million to the 2021-2023 state capital budget.  The proposed longhouse will reflect traditional coast Salish architecture and design and will provide a gathering and ceremonial space to promote cultural exchange and understanding.

Michael Williams, Sr.

Chief Mike Williams, Sr., Yupiaq, is a longtime Tribal Leader from Akiak, Alaska. He is the son of the late Tim and Helena Williams. He was raised in a very traditional home, only spoke in the Yupiaq language. He was raised primarily in hunting and fishing camps. But a way of life was disrupted by attending BIA boarding schools where he received western education. Served in the US Army stationed overseas, then back to Akiak Honorably discharged. Then took advantage of the GI Bill to further his education. He got married to Maggie and had 5 children and then 16 grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. Served on NARF board of directors; Area Vice President NCAI; Chairman, AVCP; President, Rural CAP; President, YSD; Vice-Chair, Alaska State Board of Education; Chief, Akiak Native Community; Iditarod Dog Musher and longtime Tribal Sovereignty advocate! Behavioral Health Counselor, Sobriety advocate! Outright troublemaker.

Althea Wilson

My name is Tli’nuk’dzwidzi it means “she who hosts” my name originates from the KwaKwaKawak people of Northern Vancouver Island British Columbia. My father is the late Cluxten, James Wilson a Hereditary Chief from the L’amalche First Nations Band in British Columbia. My father’s mother was Margaret Solomon of the Lummi Nation. My mother is the late Roberta Hunt Wilson she is the direct descendant of Anislaga, Mary Ebbetts who was Tlingit from the Double Headed Raven Clan originally from Wrangell Alaska, and the daughter of Chief Shakes.

Born of matriarchs my natural traits carry certain amount of responsibility in my traditions.

Anna Lees

Anna Lees Ed.D. (Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, descendant) began her career as an early childhood classroom teacher in rural northern Michigan. Now, an Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education at Western Washington University, she partners with schools and communities to prepare teachers for the holistic needs of children, families, and communities. Anna is committed to developing and sustaining reciprocal relationships with Indigenous communities to engage community leaders as co-teacher educators, opening spaces for Indigenous values and ways of knowing and being in early childhood settings and higher education. She is currently engaged in research around a land education professional development model led by tribal nations and a relationship-based site embedded professional development model with tribal early learning programs.

Dolores Calderon

Dolores Calderón is an associate professor of youth, society, and justice at Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies at Western Washington University. As a researcher who embodies the complicated subjectivities of the U.S./Mexico border—Mexican (settler/arrivant), Indigenous (Pueblo), and U.S. citizen—she is interested in researching and participating in work that untangles and unpacks the complicated way multiple colonialisms impact decolonial thinking and practices, in education. As a former social studies teacher and educational outreach worker, she is interested in exposing problematics often overlooked in larger educational research. Areas of study include critical Indigenous studies in education, curriculum, multicultural education, epistemology and education, and teacher education and professional development.

Cynthia Lindquist

Cynthia Lindquist, PhD, has been president of Cankdeska Cikana (Little Hoop) Community College (CCCC) since 2003.  CCCC serves the Spirit Lake Dakota reservation community, employs about 120 people, averages 200 students per semester with a general fund budget of approximately $12 million.  Dr. Lindquist is a member, Spirit Lake Dakota Nation, Fort Totten, ND and her Dakota name is Star Horse Woman (Ta’Sunka Wicahpi Win).  As a Bush Foundation Leadership Fellow, Dr. Lindquist earned a PhD in educational leadership from the University of North Dakota; a Master’s in Public Administration with an emphasis on tribal health systems from the University of South Dakota; and a bachelor’s in Indian Studies/English from the University of North Dakota.  Dr. Lindquist serves on the Executive Committee for the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC); is a Board member for the American Indian College Fund; and is a member of the North Dakota Ethics Commission.

Cheryl Crazy Bull

Cheryl Crazy Bull, Wacinyanpi Win (They Depend on Her), Sicangu Lakota, is President & CEO of the American Indian College Fund, serving since 2012. A lifelong educator and community activist, Cheryl is an advocate for self-determination. Cheryl’s experience includes serving Sinte Gleska University in various academic and administrative positions, St. Francis Indian School as Chief Educational Officer and 10 years as President of Northwest Indian College. She is on the board of IllumiNative, an organization that focuses on a widespread accurate narrative about Indigenous people, and Native Ways Federation, a national association of Native non-profits. In 2015 she was named by Indian Country Today magazine as one of the 50 most influential people in Indian Country. In 2017 she was honored by National Indian Women’s “Supporting Each Other” group. The Native American Finance Officers Association honored her with a Lifetime Achievement Award in October 2019. In March of 2020, CBS paid tribute to Crazy Bull, along with six other women, as an example of what it means to challenge and overcome stereotypes and biases in their industries as part of a series of CBS CARES public service announcements in primetime on the CBS Television Network. Working Mother Media named her their Legacy Awardee at their Multicultural Women’s Conference in July of 2020.

Justin Guillory, PhD

Waylon Ballew

Waylon Ballew, has worked for the Lummi Early Learning Programs since the fall of 2016. Working as an administrative assistant, he quickly learned the education realm in birth to five. In 2017 Waylon applied to be Cultural and Language Coordinator at Lummi Early Learning Programs organizing language and cultural classroom activities with ages 0 to 5. Using his experiences in Tribal Canoe Journey, harvesting from nature, storytelling and traditional arts, he provides the children with opportunities to experience culture in the classroom while re-enforcing already learned language use

Dr. Daniel Wildcat

Daniel Wildcat, Ph.D., is a professor at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas, and an accomplished scholar who writes on Indigenous knowledge, technology, environment, and education. He is also director of the Haskell Environmental Research Studies Center, which he founded with colleagues from the Center for Hazardous Substance Research at Kansas State University. Wildcat helped design a four-part video series entitled All Things Are Connected: The Circle of Life (1997), which dealt with the land, air, water, biological, and policy issues facing Native nations. A Yuchi member of the Muscogee Nation of Oklahoma, Wildcat formed 2006 the American Indian and Alaska Native Climate Change Working Group, aka Indigenous Peoples Climate Change Working Group, a tribal-college-centered network of individuals and organizations working on climate change issues. In 2008, he helped organize the Planning for Seven Generations climate change conference sponsored by the National Center for Atmospheric Research. He has authored and co-authored Power and Place: Indian Education In America, with Vine Deloria, Jr.; Destroying Dogma: Vine Deloria’s Legacy on Intellectual America, with Steve Pavlik. His most recent book, Red Alert: Saving the Planet with Indigenous Knowledge. He is our featured speaker this year on Power and Place Indian Education in America: Exercises of Indigenuity.

Dominic Higheagle

My name is Dominic Higheagle, I am a member of the Nez Perce tribe, and I live in Lapwai, Idaho. I have always been connected to the natural environment and worked in many areas with my tribes’ natural resource and fisheries program. After constantly being furloughed due to a lack of work or budget cuts for technician workers, I decided to enroll at NWIC. I did this to further my education and pursue a Bachelor of Science in Native Environmental Science program to have better opportunities to work within my tribal natural resources or fisheries department. The BSNES program is an excellent way to help me in my academic journey to create more opportunities to succeed in my educational career. Being a participant in two Vine Deloria Jr. Indigenous Studies Symposiums has positively affected my NWIC interdisciplinary concentration option Capstone Research Project, which inspired me to be creative in my research and educational endeavors.

Renée L. Roman Nose

Renée Roman Nose, MAIS, is an enrolled member of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma. She is an activist, artist, actor, poet, painter, photographer, and cultural anthropologist. Her book, Sweet Grass Talking (2017), was published by Uttered Chaos Press and nominated for the Oregon Book of the Year Award. Her paintings and photography have been featured in Oneida, NY, and in Tacoma and Everett, Washington. Her second book, Have War Paint, Will Travel, is currently with the publisher, and her third book, as yet untitled, is a collaborative book of poetry with Suzan Harjo.

Peter Ali

In 2009, Peter Ali was diagnosed with cancer, he was able to overcome this and continue to share his music and stories for all ages and people. Listen to the sounds of eagle, running river, nature and spirit in the flute’s song. A talented, self-taught Native American flutist, Peter’s music is not played from sheet music from the spirit within, so each performance is unique and special. Playing a variety of styles, he demonstrates the music of various plains and woodland Tribes, as well as traditional flute styles from Norway and Egypt. Ali plays throughout the Pacific Northwest, from the Skagit River Salmon Festival, to ceremonies and small gatherings.

William A. Wilson III

I come from the Northern Cheyenne Nation in Southeastern, Montana. My Cheyenne name is Ma'oeme which translates to Ice-Man and English name is William Wilson III. I was raised by my grandmother Inez Spotted Elk-Wilson since infancy and grew to learn my Cheyenne culture, Language and learn about my homelands. I live in Lummi on campus and will be graduating in June with my Native Studies Leadership Bachelor of Arts Degree. Cornell is my graduate school choice with my Master Program in Public Administration. I need to go home to help my Cheyenne people with the education from Northwest Indian College.

Victoria Walsey-Honanie, PhD

Victoria Walsey-Honanie is a member of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation and descendent of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs. She is an alumnus of Northwest Indian College and earned her PhD at the University of Kansas in Geography and Atmospheric Science. Her research focuses on how policy and transboundary water governance of river systems affects intergenerational traditional knowledge transfer systems, connections, and the consequences for cultural values. She is currently faculty in the Bachelors of Science Native Environmental Science department at Northwest Indian College. She is the Vine Deloria Jr., Indigenous Studies Symposium co-coordinator since 2018.

Dr. Emma S. Norman

Dr. Emma S. Norman serves as the Department Chair of the Native Environmental Science program at Northwest Indian College, where she has been on faculty since 2002. Emma comes to this work as a guest to the Lummi Nation, with an Italian-American/ Welsh heritage. She is humbled and honored to live and work on the traditional territory of the Lhaq'temish People, promoting student success and serving tribal communities throughout Coast Salish territory and beyond. Her writing and teaching engage with critical geographies of space, specifically decolonizing borderlands and the role of Indigenous-led activism in environmental and social justice movements. She is the author of Governing Transboundary Water: Canada, the United States and Indigenous communities, which won the Julian Minghi award for best book in Political Geography in 2015. In her position, Emma works alongside and with Indigenous communities to protect sacred waterways, uphold treaty trust responsibilities and open up space for multiple ways of knowing.