Category Archive

Sara M. Battiest was raised in Bethel, Alaska. Her professional career has centered around equipping and working with Indigenous students in various educational settings. She worked for 15 years with Indigenous students at the post-secondary level with the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and seven years with the Kenaitze Indian Tribe’s Education department, most recently in the Tinitun College and Career …

Suhunep – Troy Olsen is a Lummi Nation community member, traditional leader, and co-founder of Whiteswan Environmental. He walked alongside the development of Whatcom Intergenerational High School through its two-year charter authorization process, supporting a vision to balance Indigenous and Western ways of knowing. His leadership is grounded in cultural teachings, reef-net fishing traditions, and the restoration of Indigenous governance …

Kwastlmut – Sadie Olsen is a Lummi Nation community member and co-founder of Whiteswan Environmental, where she leads 13 Moons: Knowing Who I Am and Where I Come From ©, an Indigenous classroom-to-place-based learning approach. She serves as an AmeriCorps member in a 900-hour position with Whiteswan Environmental at Whatcom Intergenerational High School and as a Strait Salish Language and …

Malachi Casimir is a Lummi Nation community member and resident who is eligible to enroll with Sealaska and has family ties to a Tlingit clan in Kake, Alaska. He serves as an AmeriCorps member in a 300-hour position with Whiteswan Environmental at Whatcom Intergenerational High School and is a member of the Class of 2026. As a student engaged in …

Irene Dundas is a Tlingit educator, cultural practitioner, and community leader from Ketchikan, Alaska. She is of the Ts’áagweidí (House that Anchored the Village) clan of Kake, Alaska, and is the daughter of the Neix.ádi of Cape Fox Village, now Saxman, Alaska. Irene serves as the Cultural Resources Director for Ketchikan Indian Community and has dedicated much of her career …

Dominique Casimir is a Lummi Nation community member and is also Tsimshian and Tlingit, and a Sealaska member. He attended Whatcom Intergenerational High School and recently earned his GED through Bellingham Technical College, with a goal of pursuing a degree in operational management. He serves as an AmeriCorps member in a 300-hour position with Whiteswan Environmental at Whatcom Intergenerational High …

Brandy Kalehua Kamohaliʻi Caceres is ʻŌiwi of Hawaiʻi from Ke One o Kākuhihewa, Waiʻanae, Māʻili and is the Chief Program Officer of the Institute for Native Pacific Education and Culture (INPEACE).  Her professional background has been in the normalization of ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi specifically in Hawaiian language immersion early education for more than two decades.  Within the context of service to …

Dr. Polly Hyslop, is of Upper Tanana River Athabascan Dineh and Scottish ancestry.  She is a member of the Neesüü clan. She was born at a fish camp near the village of Northway in Interior Alaska. She is a first-generation graduate and earned her undergraduate degree in journalism, a master’s degree in justice administration, and her doctorate in Indigenous Studies at …

Shannon Johnson is Tódichiinii (Bitter Water), Tsénjikiní (Honey-combed Rock/Cliff Dwellers Clan), Tótsohnii (Big Water) and Kinłichiinii (Red House). She taught for 22 years and works with Native language bilingual programming/mentoring. She trains prospective Diné language teachers on second language acquisition/immersion strategies and methodologies. She uses culturally sustaining/revitalizing pedagogies (CSRP) to facilitate student learning while understanding THEIR language and culture. She …

Ana McMenamin delivers renewable energy curriculum to diverse audiences and connects rural communities with the resources or training they need to improve their energy systems. She loves learning from the next generation of thinkers, striving to stoke their creative problem-solving skills. Over the past five years, she has built hands-on STEM curriculum at non-profits and government agencies, with a focus …