Keynote Speaker:

Cheyenne Kippenberger (Seminole)

Cheyenne is a former Miss Florida Seminole, and uniquely the first Seminole woman to hold the prestigious title of Miss Indian World. She is passionate about sustaining Indigenous culture and healing her community. After an intense struggle with her own identity, mental health issues and the continuous battle against the public prejudice of those conditions, she now openly speaks about her experience with radical acceptance, depression, struggling in school, seeking help, and proudly embracing the challenges of her life. Through her platform, she aspires to break down the stigmas of mental health conversations, empower and encourage her people, and share her experiences as a young, mixed, Indigenous woman. As the founder and Co-Chairwoman of the "Healing The Circle In Our Tribal Communities," a trauma-focused healing symposium, she sought out to create a safe space to discuss the many common traumas present in our Tribal communities. She was also chosen to serve as a Peer Guide for UNITY’s (United National Indian Tribal Youth) Healing Indigenous Lives Initiative program, which supports and enhances Native youth engagement with a focus on juvenile justice and delinquency prevention in Indian Country. Cheyenne strives for authenticity and to live a healthy life physically, mentally and spiritually through her culture and teachings. She plans to continue her advocacy work in wellness, healing and empowerment for Indian Country and pursue her higher education in communications and public health.

Plenary Session: Towards Building Chicago's American Indians' Futures: CAICC Report on Education and COVID-19 Data

Moderator: Samantha Selby (Mississippi Choctaw)
Carrie Stallings (Mescalero Apache)
Jasmine Gurneau (Oneida/Menominee)
Roxanne LaVallie- Unabia (Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians)

Join CAICC leaders and researcher Carrie Stallings (Mescalero Apache) as they introduce and discuss CAICC's recent report on Education and COVID-19. Ultimately, CAICC sees this report as one way to disrupt the far too common deficit narratives related to community organizations serving American Indians. In doing so, we hope to paint not only a more remarkably beautiful but also a more accurate portrayal of the ways in which urban American Indian focused organizations, particularly in Chicago, work successfully to nurture its resilient community. The report highlights the importance of data and data-driven decision making for American Indian community organizations. Our own communities are a rich source of information that can inform new, more precise interventions and encourage community collaboration.

Session A: Healing Our Heritage Through Birth

Robin Ross (Seneca-Cayuga and Chickasaw)

Session Description: Build excitement and understanding of the birthing process through this informative and motivating session. Reclaim your birth right! Have a more positive pregnancy, labor, and post birth experience.

Session B: My Family and Spirituality is my Strength

Maria DesJarlait (Arikara and Ojibwe)

Session Description: My journey through racism, poverty, cultural appropriation, early childhood educator cancer and heart disease. I am overcoming this through the guidance of my elders from Anawim community and through spiritual healing now.

Session C: Being a Better Relative

Pamala Silas (Menominee Nation)
Beatriz Reyes (Diné/Tepehuán)
Mel Masquat (Navajo/Winnebago, Kickapoo of Kansas)
Megan Bang (Ojibwe and Italian descent)

Session Description: Kinship and belonging are fundamental concepts in our Native Nations. Through these distinct traditional values, we are challenged to hold space for our relatives. This should always include our 2SLGBTQIA+ relatives. This moderated panel discussion will offer some basic information for those seeking to be better relatives such as challenging our assumptions, using more inclusive language and images, supporting culturally responsive practices, and amplifying the voices of our 2SLGBTQIA+ relatives.

Session D: Using SOAR to Access Social Security Disability Benefits for Children in Native Communities

Abigail Kirkman
Kim Vigue (Menominee/Oneida)

Session Description: SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery (SOAR) is a specialized, culturally appropriate training and technical assistance initiative designed to increase access to Social Security Disability Benefits for eligible Native adults and children. Children with disabilities and their families who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness often struggle to access resources. Approval rates for benefits among children can be very low, however SOAR assisted applications have an average approval rate of 72% in 109 days!

Session E: Indigenous STEAM: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Resources for families, teachers, and communities

Forrest Bruce (Ojibwe)
Nikki McDaid-Morgan (Shoshone-Bannock, Paiute)
Megan Bang (Ojibwe and Italian descent)

Session Description: The Indigenous STEAM Collaborative is a group of researchers and educators that engage in cognitive and community co-design research to advance general knowledge, develop pedagogical approaches for engaging youth in land- and water-based learning, and provide learning materials to Indigenous families. In addition to reviewing the ISTEAM Summer Program we will share family learning materials that can be downloaded for free from our website (https://indigenoussteam.org/learning-activities/). These learning materials are based on ISTEAM activities and were developed in collaboration with community co-designers so that families can facilitate land-based learning at home.

Session F: College and Beyond, Chicago Native and Indigenous Students

Presenter: Tol Foster (Mvskoke)
Moderator: Jacob Adams (Colville)
Student Panelists: Camille Billie (Oneida Nation), Noemy Sandoval-Skeet (Diné [Navajo]), and Izayotilmahtzin (Izayo) Mazehualli

Session Description: This workshop will have an open panel discussion with American Indian/Alaska Native and Indigenous college students from different universities in the greater Chicagoland area. Each student will share current or previous obstacles that they experienced and community support resources that have assisted them in overcoming these obstacles or influenced their professional journey. This workshop is for prospective, continuing, and recently graduated students and educational and community professionals who want to better support AI/AN and Indigenous students in their college to career journey.