Tribal Relations Specialist
USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station and Forest Products Laboratory

Jennifer Saagajiwe-Gaabawiik Ballinger currently serves as the Tribal Relations Specialist for the USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station and Forest Products Laboratory. In this role, she works to enhance connections between Tribes, Indigenous communities, and Forest Service researchers to facilitate information exchanges in culturally relevant and respectful ways. Her previous roles included working as an Environmental Scientist on contract to NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management and as an Outreach Specialist at the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission. She holds a Master of Public Health in Public Health Administration and Policy from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health as well as a BS in Biology and BA in American Indian Studies from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities. Jen is also a direct descendant of the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe. 

Jen has over a decade of experience of working on a wide variety of natural resource management and research topics, including developing and implementing best practices for cross cultural resource stewardship, environmental health equity, and tribal collaboration. Her areas of technical expertise include documentation of Indigenous Knowledge and implementation into best management practices and research design, qualitative research methodology, program evaluation, and health impact assessments. Her graduate research focused on environmental policy impacts on American Indian health inequities in the Great Lakes region.

Board of Regents
Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College 

Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC) 

Bois Forte Band of Chippewa

Bebaawewitang indizhinakaaz – My name is Wolves howling all around you. My name is Donald Chosa. I am 65 years old. I am a lifelong harvester of manoomin. I was raised on the shores of Lake Vermilion and Nett Lake on the Bois Forte reservation in Northern Minnesota. My mother came from Keweenaw Bay reservation in the Upper Peninsula of Northern Michigan. My ancestry comes from Chief Maangusid/Loonsfoot on my mother’s side and Dufauld/Chosa on my father’s side. I am dual enrolled in both the Bois Forte Band of Minnesota Chippewa and the Keweenaw Bay Chippewa of Northern Michigan. My father is Donald Chosa, Sr. and my mother is Martha Durant. My father was a lifelong manoomin harvester and my mother came from a fishing village. I learned to harvest manoomin in the traditional ways and was taught the ceremonial uses of manoomin.

I currently reside with my wife Karlene Chosa on the Keweenaw Bay reservation. We have harvested rice every year for the past 36 years. I formerly taught Ojibwe language and culture K-12, and I taught Ojibwe language and culture for 20 years at various community colleges, Northern Michigan University, and Michigan Technological university of Michigan. I worked as an Alcohol and Drug counselor. My wife and I help KBIC with their wild rice restoration efforts. I served as the cultural advisor for a program out of Marquette Michigan titled “The Manoomin Project”, sponsored by the Cedar Tree Institute. In this program I taught Adjudicated Native adolescents how to seed manoomin in the water system in the Upper Peninsula to reintroduce historical wild rice beds. We have taught our 6 children to harvest rice and they are teaching our 9 grandchildren. Miigwech.

Traditional Harvester 

Bois Forte Band of Chippewa

Eshkweaashiik indizhinikaaz – My name is Last bird flying. My name is Karlene Chosa, my maiden name is Drift. I am 60 years old. I am a lifelong harvester of manoomin and a hard worker. While growing up I was taught to harvest and process manoomin in our traditional ways. My parents and grandparents stressed the importance of our ceremonial use of manoomin. My Father is Lester Drift, Sr. my mother is Karen Strong Drift. I am full-blooded Minnesota Chippewa, and I was raised on the shores of Nett Lake, a part of the Bois Forte Reservation. My ancestry comes from Chief Beargrease Band, Chief Ten Claws Drift Band and Chief Goodday Band-Geshick, Strong.  My parents and grandparents are lifelong harvesters of manoomin and taught me everything I know. I am a former Bois Forte Tribal Council Representative. I served from 2012-2016. I was a Correction Officer and Alcohol & Drug Counselor. I currently live on the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC) Reservation with my husband Donald L. Chosa. I am helping KBIC with their Wild Rice restoration efforts for my children and grandchildren. Donald and I have been married for 34 years. We have been hard working ricing partners for 36 years. We have 6 children and 9 grandchildren. Miigwech.

Trustlands and Natural Resources Administrator
Grand Portage Band of Ojibwe

Vallen Cook is an enrolled member of The Grand Portage Band of Ojibwe. He is the Trustlands and Natural Resources Administrator for Grand Portage; and oversees their Environmental, Biology, and Conservation Departments to maintain and protect the ecosystems within the Grand Portage reservation.  Before this position, Vallen worked as the Air Quality Specialist for the Grand Portage where he worked with EPA grants and run the Air Quality Program. He has also worked as youth worker for indigenous youth both in the United States and Canada, focusing on education and culture.

Vallen is a Ph.D. Candidate in Comparative International Development Education at the University of Minnesota, and holds a Master’s Degree (M.TAG) in Tribal Administration and Governance from the University of Minnesota Duluth and a Bachelor’s of Arts from Northwestern College IA in Youth Development and Cultural Studies.

Climate Change Program Coordinator
Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC)

Rob Croll is a policy analyst in the Division of Intergovernmental Affairs at the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC) where he coordinates the Climate Change Program. The GLIFWC Climate Change Program was created with the goal of integrating Scientific and Traditional Ecological Knowledges to provide a holistic and culturally appropriate approach to climate adaptation in the Ojibwe Ceded Territories in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. As Program Coordinator Rob oversees the activities of CCP staff, serves as liaison to tribal, state, federal, academic and NGO partners and works directly with counterparts at the eleven GLIFWC member tribes. Rob is a member of the Tribal Climate Adaptation Menu author team and the Midwest Climate Adaptation Science Center Consortium Leadership Team.

Prior to GLIFWC Rob spent 18 years as a Conservation Officer with the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission, Bureau of Law Enforcement. His educational background includes a BS in Environmental Studies from Northland College and a Master of Environmental Law and Policy from Vermont Law School. Rob is originally from Southeastern Pennsylvania and now resides in the 1842 Ojibwe Ceded Territory in Northern Wisconsin. 

Retired
Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission  (GLIFWC)

Peter grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin. After obtaining BS and Master Degree in Wildlife Ecology from UW-Madison, he headed north to work for the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission, which was only in its third year of existence at the time. There his next education began as Ojibwe elders and individuals shared their Traditional Ecological Knowledge and world view on waterfowl, wolves, manoomin, and the other more-than-human beings which his work was focused on. Peter retired a year and a half ago, after spending over 35 years with GLIFWC. Today his long relationship with manoomin as a steward, researcher, harvester, small time finisher, and dedicated consumer of wild rice continues to grow. When not in a rice bed, you might find him and his wife Lisa picking wild blueberries in the barrens, making a little maple syrup, or trying to find a few perch willing to offer themselves for the frying pan.

Anishinaabe Elder and Pipe Carrier

Enrolled Member of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa

Ricky is an Elder Member of Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe. He graduated from a federal boarding school called Flandreau Indian School in South Dakota, attending from 1973-76. Ricky served in the US Army National Guard. He is a retired union journeyman Ironworker. Ricky also served on the Duluth Indigenous Commission for 8 years. Ricky served as Co-chair of Annie E. Casey Foundations Oversight Committee to reduce racial disparities in Juvenile Detention in Minnesota. Ricky served on a Committee to ensure civilian oversight of law enforcement which later established the Duluth Civilian Review Board.  He later traveled to Honduras with Witnesses For Peace to observe firsthand the devastating impacts of US Foreign Policies on Indigenous Peoples and marginalized groups.

Ricky is a Pipe Carrier and Sweat Lodge Keeper. Ricky brings Ojibwe language and culture into those institutions that contribute to systemic oppression of Indigenous Peoples. Traveling to hospitals and hospices re-establishing relationships with culture and language! He now works with Fond du Lac Mino Aya Win as Cultural Counselor for Behavior Health.

Ambassador of Connection
Wild Rice Connections

Born and raised in Minnesota, I am a lifelong learner, teacher, and advocate for natural places. With my business, Wild Rice Connections, I work with others to educate and collaborate around wild rice and the habitats and spaces manoomin thrives. I have thirty years experience building programs and events with state agencies, schools, nonprofits, and Indigenous communities. Cross country skiing, paddling a canoe, and walking in the woods fill me with joy, as does time with my grandchildren.

PhD Candidate
University of Minnesota

Sean Dorr is a member of the Marten Clan and an enrolled citizen of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. On his mother’s side, he is connected to both the White Earth Nation and Red Lake Nation, with family roots in both Naytahwaush and Warroad, Minnesota. In the western context, he is a fourth-year PhD student in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, where he works out of the Interactive Visualization Lab (IV/LAB) under the direction of Dr. Daniel Keefe. Being deeply rooted in his Ojibwe lifeways and worldview are foundational to all aspects of his life, and this is notably reflected in his research. His mission is to enact tribal sovereignty, self-determination, and connection to Indigenous lifeways through the process of designing intergenerationally accessible computing solutions with and by Indigenous communities. From an Anishinaabe perspective and firmly grounded in Critical Indigenous Theory, Sean’s research agenda addresses the challenges of bringing together western environmental sciences and Indigenous approaches to relative caretaking to co-develop solutions in response to climate change. He was awarded the Interdisciplinary Doctoral Fellowship for the 2023/2024 academic year to advance his research agenda and forge deep relationships with other passionately applied thinkers at the Institute on the Environment.

Students at Fond du Lac Ojibwe School

Bella is affiliated with the Red Cliff, Fond du Lac, and Lower Sioux communities. Greenlee is from Fond du Lac. They love to go to powwows together and Greenlee likes to dance and sing while Bella is there to support! This was Greenlee’s first year ricing whereas Bella has been in her dad’s ricing canoe since she was 5, which is about 10 years ago. Bella and Greenlee went ricing for the first time together this past fall and they got stuck out in the rice lake because of the windy weather. They learned that they need to bring their canoe paddles next time instead of relying solely on the pole to get them back to shore.

Natural Resources Program Manager
Lac du Flambeau Tribal Natural Resources Department

Joe Graveen is the Wild Rice Program Manager at Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. In his free time, you can find Joe out trapping, harvesting rice, or taking care of his grandson.

Tribal Elder / Ricing Partner
Lac du Flambeau Band of Ojibwe

Deb and I have riced together for over 20 years. We’ve seen some good and bad things come out of ricing initiatives. We hope to put wild rice at the forefront of everyone’s attention and move beyond formalites. Politics don’t belong in the harvesting of wild rice but if that’s where action gets done, we’ll be there. We want decisionmakers present and see them take responsibility for their actions. We want to see a court-native effort that fights for and works for wild rice; a management plan that benefits Natives and improves wild rice.

Natural Resource Program Manager
Fond du Lac Resource Management

Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa 

Thomas Howes is a Fond du Lac Band member and manoomin harvester. He is also a Fond du Lac Resource Management employee since 1999 (Watershed Specialist 1999-2006, Natural Resources Program Manager 2006-present). Responsible for natural resource management on the Fond du Lac Reservation, Tom provides technical assistance to Fond du Lac Resource Management Biologists for tribal harvest management and associated biological surveys both on the Reservation and in the 1837, 1842, and 1854 Treaty Ceded Territories. He also secures funding for and coordinates manoomin management and restoration activities on both the Fond du Lac Reservation and the territories ceded under the Treaties of 1837,1842, and 1854. He further focuses on management of manoomin habitat on the Fond du Lac Reservation through water level management, vegetation management, and advocacy. Tom is a participant in state/tribal partnerships to restore and protect manoomin throughout Treaty Ceded Territories by providing planning, technical assistance, reseeding, and vegetation management.

Director of Fisheries
WSB

After growing up fishing the lakes and rivers of Northern WI, Tony attended the University of Wisconsin-River Falls where he learned to fish trout and earned a B.S. in Natural Resource Conservation. After graduation, Tony was hired as a LTE Wild Rice Technician which focused on inventorying and mapping wild rice beds across northwestern Wisconsin, which led to a full position as a fish and wildlife technician–his dream job!

Tony was privileged to spend the next 14 years working for and with the St Croix Chippewa and other Tribal Nations across the Great Lakes Region on wild rice, fisheries, and limnological restoration projects and policies. In 2014, Tony started with WSB as a Senior Ecologist. Since that time, Tony has been fortunate enough to still be part of multiple wild rice related projects with a variety of clients.  He resides in Osceola, WI where he still ventures out on wild rice waters in Minnesota and Wisconsin to experience and pass on the incredible gift of wild rice knowledge and harvest.

Red Lake Department of Natural Resources (Red Lake DNR)

Mitchell (Sonny) Johnson is a Red Lake Band of Ojibwe member, in his last year at the Red Lake Nation College. Outside of school Sonny works for the Red Lake DNR Water Resources program helping to monitor the health of various rivers and lakes. Additionally, his free time is spent playing music and hanging out with his wife, Jillian, and their cat.

Hydrologist
Red Lake Department of Natural Resources (Red Lake DNR)

Joshua Jones is the Hydrologist for the Red Lake DNR. He is a graduate of Bemidji State University and Tallahassee Community College. Joshua has been working with the Red Lake DNR since 2016 and works on many different projects. As a young man Joshua spent most of his formative years not forming and it really shows. He’s trying his best.

Aquatic Ecologist
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (Minnesota DNR)

Josh Knopik is an Aquatic Ecologist for the Minnesota DNR Division of Ecological and Water Resources. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Environmental Studies from Bemidji State University, and a Master’s in Water Resources Science from University of Minnesota. He has been working with the Minnesota DNR for the past 9 years doing a wide range of tasks from mapping and assessing aquatic vegetation, developing mobile field apps, custom GIS tools, database management and monitoring lake health by assessing non-game fishes (minnows) with the fisheries IBI program. When he is not pushing through wild rice stands, or counting minnows, he is pursuing his passion for travel, hunting, or exploring nature with his wife, two children, and dog.

Geospatial Analyst
NOAA Office for Coastal Management

Brandon Krumwiede is a Physical Scientist serving as the Great Lakes Regional Geospatial Coordinator at NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management. His work is primarily focused on utilizing remote sensing and geospatial data for analysis to address coastal and nearshore issues in the Great Lakes and provide meaningful and timely information to coastal partners. He is active on multiple projects in the Great Lakes region and also sits on NOAA’s Artificial Intelligence Executive Committee. Brandon has a Master of Science in geography from the University of Montana and a Bachelor of Science in geography with minors in geology and international studies from Bemidji State University. In his free time he enjoys traveling, fly fishing, hiking, diving, canoeing, and spending time with his family and friends.

Water Resource Technician
Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa

Roger LaBine is an enrolled member of the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (LVD) and employed in the Environmental and Planning Department as a Water Resource Technician.

He is the current tribal delegate on the Michigan Wild Rice Initiative, Co-Chairman of the Native Wild Rice Coalition, was a member of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) Wolf Advisory Committee and a member of the MDNR Moose Advisory Committee, and member of the U.S. Ottawa National Forest Interpretive Association Board. He also sat on the Voigt Task Force as a LVD Tribal Representative. He is the recipient of the “2019 Heritage Award” from the State of Michigan and the Michigan State University Museum Board of Directors for his work with Manoomin Restoration and Preservation. He is an active member of the Three Fires Midewiwin Lodge.

He is active in the preservation of Wild Rice through continued restoration efforts of rice beds for his community on traditional and historic tribal lands and in the surrounding area lakes and rivers. He shares his knowledge through conducting Manoomin Camps and workshops on his traditional homelands, Michigan, and throughout the Midwest. He was inspired by his Uncle Niigaanaash (knee-gone-nosh) who was also his teacher and Mentor.

District Ecologist
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (Wisconsin DNR)

Carly is the District Ecologist for Wisconsin DNR’s Bureau of Natural Heritage Conservation, based in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. She is responsible for the restoration and conservation of a number of State Natural Areas across north-central Wisconsin, as well as work involving the conservation, monitoring, and protection of rare and non-game species.

Advocacy Director and Counsel
WaterLegacy

Paula has 42 years of experience in public interest law and policy. She received her B.A. from Amherst College and graduated from Yale University Law School in 1981. Paula served as litigator for Dalkon Shield defective product cases, as a Minnesota Special Assistant Attorney General, and on the St. Paul City Council, where she chaired a committee on environmental protection and human rights. In 1994, Paula founded her public interest law firm, where she represented the Sierra Club, Environmental Justice Advocates of Minnesota, and the City of Minneapolis, as well as organic farmers, wind developers, and diverse citizens’ groups. Paula’s publications include the first published legal article explaining how tribes can object to federal permits under the Clean Water Act.

Paula was named one of Minnesota Lawyer’s Attorneys of the Year and was awarded the Harvey G. Rogers Environmental Health Leadership Award by the Minnesota Public Health Association. Paula has served as WaterLegacy’s advocacy director and counsel since 2009. In alliance with tribes, WaterLegacy has achieved many legal and advocacy victories including reversal of PolyMet/Glencore sulfide mine permits and preservation of the wild rice sulfate standard.

Project Coordinator
Finland Wild Rice Project

Megan lives seasonally and works in Finland, MN as the Project Coordinator for a grant-funded educational program called The Finland Wild Rice Project, and as Admin and Processing Assistant at Finland's nonprofit wild rice processor, the Wild Rice House. During this time, Meghan has been apprenticing under our lead processor, Blake Hawbaker, in preparation to step up to co-lead with him in the coming years. At the Wild Rice Project, Meghan works to create connections and facilitate the passing on of knowledge and skills around the responsible, sustainable, and respectful harvest of manoomin/psíŋ/wild rice: through harvesting mentorships, processing apprenticeships, webinars, workshops, and classes. Meghan has harvested wild rice for the last five years and learned a lot through this recent position. For the 15 years before this work, Meghan traveled, sailed, studied plants, and played music. Meghan was mostly raised in southern MN, which is where her family lives now.

Graduate Student
University of Minnesota Natural Resources Science and Management (NRSM) Program

Nisogaabokwe – Melonee Montano, is a mother, grandmother, and an enrolled member of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and is also a Grad Student at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities in the Natural Resources Science & Management (NRSM) Program under the Forestry Department. She has spent many years focusing her work on Climate Change, Traditional Ecological Knowledge, Health Care, and Environmental issues. Her current passion, advocacy work, and research focus is on the use of fire as a land management tool by the Anishinaabeg of the area and the many cultural connections to it. She has also contributed cultural support and guidance to various people of the Kawe Gidaa-naanaagadawendaamin Manoomin Collaborative, including the facilitation of Cultural Sensitivity Training in the early stages of the collaborative. Lastly and most importantly, she is a lifelong student of her cultural ways.

Fellow, Institute on the Environment 

Amiable Consulting

St. Croix Watershed Research Station

Amy Myrbo runs a small business in Minneapolis, Amiable Consulting, and works part-time at the St. Croix Watershed Research Station, which is part of the Science Museum of Minnesota. Amy has worked with Tribal resource managers in the western Great Lakes region since 2007 on wild rice, sulfate pollution, and environmental history using core samples. While at the University of Minnesota, she led the field portion of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s study for the Sulfate Standard to Protect Wild Rice, and co-authored several publications that show how damaging sulfate pollution is to the total environment. More recently she has supported the Fond du Lac Band and 1854 Treaty Authority to pilot a new method for monitoring wild rice in the present and past using environmental DNA, and hold listening sessions with Tribal resource managers from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan on how the technique should be used by non-Tribal researchers. Her business, Amiable Consulting, specializes in helping scientists, including Tribal scientists, get more grants and have more impact. She holds a BA in English Literature and a PhD in Geology from the University of Minnesota, where she is now a Fellow at its Institute on the Environment.

Extension Educator
White Earth Tribal and Community College (WETCC)

Born on the White Earth Indian Reservation, Robert Shimek (Zhaashiigid Nooding) has devoted his life to the protection and revitalization of the Anishinaabe people, land, and life ways. He calls Minnesota and the entire upper Midwest home. Currently, Robert serves as the Extension Educator for the White Earth Tribal and Community College on The White Earth Indian Reservation.

Robert’s previous opportunities have included serving as a Cultural Educator at the Circle of Life Academy, Executive Director of the White Earth Land Recovery Project, and as the Mining Projects Field Organizer for the Indigenous Environmental Network. His work has led him to communities throughout North and Central America as well as northern Europe. For much of his life, he has served as a tireless treaty reserved rights advocate for Indigenous People in numerous places in North America. He holds no degrees from any colleges or universities.

Whether planting a garden, harvesting berries and wild rice, protecting wolves, or teaching Anishinaabe games and harvesting techniques to Native Youth, Robert is steeped in traditional cultural knowledge and willingly shares it with anyone eager to learn. Raised at Mud Lake on the White Earth Indian Reservation in northwestern Minnesota, Robert still makes his home there in the White Earth community. Robert is the proud father of three sons and seven daughters.

Environmental Program Manager
Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa 

Arianna Northbird is a citizen of the Fond du lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. She pursued her AA at Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College (FDLTCC) where she found her passion for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) related fields. At FDLTCC, she was involved with her first community based participatory research project on water quality understanding the variability of mercury in the St. Louis River Watershed. After graduating with honors from FDLTCC, Arianna moved on to the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) where she graduated with her Bachelor of Arts degree in Environment, Sustainability, and Geography with a minor in Environmental Science. While attending UMD, she participated in several internships looking at wild rice sediment chemistry and assisted with work on invasive species. In May 2022, she graduated with her Masters in Tribal Resource and Environmental Stewardship at UMD focusing on Federal Indian Law, tribal sovereignty, and science. Currently, Arianna is the Environmental Program Manager working for her tribe at Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa where she is working towards sustaining the Bands Water Quality Standards research.

Visual Storyteller and Retired Wildland Firefighter
Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa

Vern Northrup is a visual storyteller and a retired wildland firefighter, as well one of his tribe’s Rice Chiefs. As an interpreter, educator, and learner, Northrup wants to gain knowledge from the earth. Akinomaage, “Teaching from the Earth,” is the Ojibwe word for what Northrup seeks to do with his photography. 

Using only the camera or his smartphone, Northup captures the setting of where he grew up, creating a nostalgia for those familiar with the area, and a curiosity for those who aren’t. He uses photography as a tool to educate both himself and the viewer about the rhythm of nature, the preservation of tradition, and the relationship between resilience and sustainability. Northrup recognizes the ability of the land to act as a narrator and uses photography to reveal the story in landscapes.​

PhD Candidate
Department of Earth and Environmental Science, University of Minnesota

Maddy Nyblade is a PhD candidate in Earth and Environmental Sciences with a graduate minor in American Indian and Indigenous Studies. She grew up in central Pennsylvania and is a descendant of Euro-American settlers. In her graduate research, she studies the impacts of climate and land-use change on Manoomin/Psiη (Wild Rice) ecosystems as part of a tribal-university research collaboration.

Indigenous Consultant
Good Sky Guidance 

Bazile Minogiizhigaabo Panek is an Indigenous Consultant with his roots coming from the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe where he was born and raised. His culture is an integral part of his life, as he consistently participates in cultural events and ceremonies. In 2022, Bazile graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Native American Studies from Northern Michigan University. Bazile has a passion for sharing Indigenous knowledges. His passion has led him to work with numerous organizations, governmental agencies, and universities across the nation. He has offered ways to respectfully engage with tribal communities and Indigenous Knowledges. Bazile's guiding philosophy in life is to "honor my ancestors by becoming an honorable ancestor for future generations.”

MS Student in Applied Ecology
Michigan Technological University

Cassandra Reed-VanDam (settler) is a second-year Masters student in Applied Ecology at Michigan Technological University (MTU). Cassandra grew up in Houghton, MI in a family of gardeners, educators, and environmentalists. After finishing her Bachelors in Gender Studies at University of Michigan and working as an environmental educator for the past six years, Cassandra is working in partnership with the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC) on manoomin (wild rice) restoration efforts for her graduate studies. In her free time, she enjoys gardening, foraging for berries, stargazing, and baking treats to share with others.

Director
Fond du Lac Reservation Cultural Center & Museum

Jeff Savage is the Director of the Fond du Lac Reservation Cultural Center & Museum, as well as the head of its language program. He is also an award-winning sculptor and artist. An enrolled member of the Fond du Lac Band and lifelong ricer, Jeff grew up in the area where he now resides -- on the Fond du Lac Reservation. He lives there with his wife, children, and grandchildren.

Water Projects Coordinator
Fond du Lac Office of Water Protection

Nancy Schuldt serves as the Fond du Lac Water Projects Coordinator. She developed the Band’s water quality standards and monitoring program. She has directed research into fish contaminants and sediment chemistry to characterize mercury impacts to Fond du Lac Band members, collaborated on research into wild rice ecology and toxicity, as well as watershed hydrologic modeling to inform management and restoration efforts. She participates in numerous local, regional, and binational working groups to ensure the tribal perspective is represented, and initiated a cooperative wastewater management project with the non-tribal community to protect Big Lake, a heavily developed lake on the Reservation. She initiated the tribe’s nonpoint source management program, and leads the Band’s environmental review of mining and energy industry impacts to trust resources.

Remote Sensing and GIS Data Analyst
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (Minnesota DNR)

Molly Shoberg is a Remote Sensing and GIS Data Analyst with the Minnesota DNR Resource Assessment team. Molly has contributed to the NWI update, Lake Inventory update, Forest Inventory, Aerial Photography, and data distribution. Molly is especially interested in initiatives requiring collaboration across government and non-government agencies.

Genawendang Manoomin
Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC)

Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC)

Kathleen Smith is an enrolled tribal member of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC), located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. She holds a position in the Division of Biological Services at the Great Lake Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC) in northern Wisconsin. Her job title is in ojibwemowin as the Genawendang Manoomin, which translates to “She who takes care of the wild rice.” She implements the GLIFWC wild rice stewardship plan and works with 11 member tribes in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. As wild rice is of great cultural significance to its member tribes, GLIFWC focuses on the preservation and enhancement of wild rice in ceded territory lakes. She provides expertise and public information to partners through research and partnerships, and supports tribal members to ensure treaty rights are exercised. She incorporates her traditional and modern ways of thinking to give a voice to the nations that cannot speak. She is a Anishinaabekwe water walker and facilitates two annual water walks, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC) Annual Water Walk and the People of the Heart Water Walk where she advocates for Nibi (water) through ceremony and prayer. Also serves on the Board of Regents at the Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College.

Geospatial Services Supervisor
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (Minnesota DNR)

Lucas Spaete works for the Minnesota DNR as Geospatial Services Supervisor at Resource Assessment in the Division of Forestry. Lucas has 20 years of GIS and Remote Sensing experience with special focus field data collection method development and large-scale remote sensing projects.

Shallow Lakes Specialist
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (Minnesota DNR)

Melissa is the Shallow Lakes Specialist for the Minnesota DNR’s Shallow Lakes Program, based in Tower, Minnesota. She is responsible for assessing, facilitating, and overseeing the management of wild rice and wetland wildlife habitat across 6 counties in northeastern Minnesota. Melissa works closely with tribal natural resource agencies in the arrowhead region to share knowledge, build partnerships, and paddle the canoe together to protect and enhance wild rice waters. When not in a canoe, Melissa and her husband are keeping their 3 children alive (5 yr old, 1.5 yr old twins).

Resource Management Division Director
1854 Treaty Authority

Darren Vogt is the resource management division director at the 1854 Treaty Authority.  He has been employed there since 1996, and along with overseeing the resource management division, he leads the wild rice program. Darren possesses a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from the University of Minnesota Duluth, and a Master of Arts degree in management from The College of St. Scholastica.

Elder
Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe

Niizhogaabo indizhinikaaz. I am Anishinaabe from Gaa-zaagashkajimikaag Zagaa’igaaning. Member of the eagle clan born and raised in Achaabawning. I grew up hunting, fishing and gathering. I graduated from high school and entered the military serving in the army. I am a disabled veteran, my permanent duty station was at Fort Bragg, NC with the 82nd Airborne Division. After the military I attended college and graduated with a degree in biology. I am a licensed teacher. My interest is in art, reading, and creating cultural items that have always been made in our community. I am married to Delina White and we have 7 children between us with 7 grandchildren.

Plants Program Assistant Manager
Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe - Divsion of Resource Management

Boozhoo, Gimiiwan indizhinikaaz, Chachabahning indoojibaa, Migizi doodem. My name is Raining, I'm from the village on the Big Bowstring River, also known as Inger, MN, and am a proud member of the Pillager Band of Leech Lake Nation. I grew up loving the water, with a special fondness for Gichi Gummee, or Lake Superior and Bowstring River, where my home was located. My parents instilled a love of the outdoors, water, and life in me from a young age which I carry on currently. I practice my culture through language, traditional food harvesting, arts, craftmanship, ceremony, and listening to the humans and non-humans around me, while maintaining interest and skills in modern technology and science.

I am lucky to work for my tribal nation, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe (LLBO), in the Division of Resource Management Plant Resources Department. Starting as a Seasonal Tech in 2018, I currently am the Program Assistant Manager and help manage day to day activities, invasive species, threatened and endangered species, culturally important species and a multitude of other things as they relate to LLBO's natural resources.

Fisheries Biologist
Bay Mills Indian Community

Frank Zomer is the Inland Fisheries Biologist for Bay Mills Indian Community and leads the manoomin restoration program for the tribe. He is the co-chair of the Michigan Wild Rice Initiative (MWRI) and co-chair of the MWRI monitoring and restoration subcommittee. Frank enjoys spending time outdoors in Michigan’s beautiful upper peninsula with his wife and three children.