March 22
A Native High Tea Indigenous Knowledge
Joanelle Romero
Host
Founder of NWIFTV in All Media
Mescalero-Chiricahua Apache and SpanishSephardic. A relative of Pawnee Pojoaque Southern Ute Lakota and Haudenosaunee.
Oyate Wayanaka Po Win / People Who See This Woman.
Humanitarian, Producer, Director, Actress, Founder NWIFTV in All Media. A Member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. Short-Listed for an Academy Award
Romero received the Armin T. Wegner Humanitarian Award for “the vision to see the truth…and the courage to speak it” (Arpa International Film Festival)
Tipiziwin Tolman
Winter Count Keeper
Lakota Nation
Lakota/Dakota Language Lover. Soap+Medicine Plant Magic. Thiwahe/Tiospaye/Oyate
Linda Black Elk
Food Sovereignty Educator
Korean Mongolian and Catawba
Food Sovereignty Educator at United Tribes Technical College.
Studied Ecology and Environmental Sciences at Montana State University.
Lori New Breast
Storyteller
Amskapipikuni Blackeet Nation
Lori New Breast is a member of the AmskaWpi Pikuni (Blackfeet) Nation and lives on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Montana. Lori is a storyteller, traditional artist, creative expression consultant and graduate of the Centre of Indigenous TheWatre Professional training program in Toronto, Canada. Lori has been dedicated to professional collaborative engagement with tribal, indigenous, multicultural communities and federal, national, state, international entities, public and private foundations in the worldwide Indigenous wellness movement to honor the strengths of cultural practices. promoting self-determined optimum cultural wellness. She has experience providing culturally based services and performances for American Indian, Alaskan Native, First Nations, and other indigenous communities in the U.S., Canada, Italy, New Zealand, Australia and Poland.
Melaw Nakenhk'o
Traditional Moose Hide Tanner
Dehcho and Denesuline Dene
Actress, artist, traditional moose hide tanner, and co-founder of the First Nations organization Dene Nahjo. She is primarily known for her role as the kidnapped Arikarawoman Powaqa in the 2015 film The Revenant.
The Revenant was Nakehk’o’s first film role.
Nakehk’o is a visual artist who paints, sews and beads, as well as a traditional moose hide tanner based out of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. She has taught moosehide tanning at the Dechinta Bush University Center for Research and Learning. In 2012, she received a Minister’s Cultural Award for “sharing the knowledge of her elders and for bringing a renewed interest to the art of moose hide tanning.”
She is a co-founder of Dene Nahjo, an organization that promotes leadership and social and environmental justice for indigenous people of the northern territories.
Alex Rose Holiday
Dinétah Navajo Nation and Slovakian
Traditional Singer – Model
I grew up on the Navajo Nation, near Shiprock, NM. I’m 24 years old and I’m a singer, motivational speaker, and artist. I am Tóáheedlíinii (water flows together clan). I compose songs in my Diné language to inspire all generations of native people to learn their culture & language. Music is our universal language, it will speak to you even when you don’t understand the words through the melodies and the beat. My goal is to share what I’ve learned from my time on Mother Earth to inspire my people to connect with their roots. I give presentations on traditional stories, traditional foods & utensils, mental health, & balancing tradition with modern society. My ultimate goal is to spark interest in all people to learn about their culture as well as others, to plant the seed & let their curiosity lead them back to their roots.