Rebekah Dunlap (Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior) is determined to reclaim and revitalize traditional Ojibwe practices related to parent and child health. She seeks to integrate what she has learned as a certified nurse midwife with her Anishinaabe
Peter Hill is determined to revitalize Indigenous languages. Over the past 20 years living on the Pine Ridge Reservation, he has observed the rapid decline of Lakota speakers from 6,000 to fewer than 2,000 today. Nine years ago, he launched a Lakota
Erik Bringswhite wants his community to raise healthy, ethical Native children. As a long-time foster parent and juvenile justice worker, he is a role model to many on the Pine Ridge Reservation and in the state of South Dakota. Now, he wants to
Chef Sean Sherman, Oglala Lakota Sioux, knows that food is the heart of every culture. He also understands that his fellow Native Americans were stripped of their connections to Indigenous food systems and practices. To build his community's physical
Nick Tilsen creates pathways out of poverty for people on Pine Ridge Reservation. As the founding executive director of Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation, he has led large-scale efforts to build hope and prosperity for his fellow
Rhiana Yazzie uses storytelling to create original work that reveals the complex, beautiful reality of Native Americans. She wants to help Native people reclaim their narrative and to change the way they view themselves. She believes that the self
Melissa Boyd wants to help lead the movement to re-stabilize and renew the Ojibwe language in the homelands of her people, starting in the classrooms of youngest learners. Her goal is to create Ojibwe schools recognized for both cultural and academic
Heather Dawn Thompson wants to engage the private sector to assist the Great Plains Tribes in their efforts to build their strength and self-sufficiency. She is a national expert in Indian law and economic development who seeks greater expertise to
Susan Beaulieu teaches about adverse childhood experiences — ACEs — in Native American communities. Defined as traumatic events, ACEs can negatively impact child health and development and have long-term effects into adulthood. Susan is inspired by
According to her friends, Eileen Briggs is a “galvanizer of people and of change.” She leads the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribal Ventures, a comprehensive project aimed at reducing poverty. She believes in the importance of being rooted in traditional
As executive director of Sacred Spirits First Nations Coalition, a program serving Native women, Lisa Brunner advocates for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and sex trafficking. She wants to learn more about how other indigenous
Julie Garreau has been the driving force behind the Cheyenne River Youth Project (CRYP), developing it from a fledgling experiment to one of the nation’s most successful Native youth development programs. After years of leading CRYP, she now wants to
