Native Movement was formed in 2003 out of Arctic Village, Alaska with a vision of grassroots-led movements and healthy Indigenous nations building strong, healing, and sustainable communities for all and Mother Earth. Native Movement understands that in order to make meaningful and lasting change it is critical to address root-causes that reshape oppressive systemic power structures.

Native Movement is dedicated to movement building grounded in an Indigenized worldview and decolonizing practices. We support movement building via three major baskets of work: Action and Advocacy, Community Education, and Movement Infrastructure support.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Galbreath was born in Fairbanks, Alaska and the first 20 years of his life were spent in Fairbanks and the Village of Mentasta, where his family is from. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts – Amherst with a Bachelors in English and a minor in Plant, Soil and Insect Sciences. He has worked as an Improvement Specialist for the Southcentral Foundation, a nonprofit healthcare organization providing care to Alaska Native and American Indian people.
Galbreath hopes to help foster meaningful dialogue about food security that is happening nationally and globally and to blend his traditional knowledge with his education about Western agriculture, “In Alaska, standard approaches to agriculture are resource intensive and often not feasible. However, I believe there is still an incredible opportunity to pursue creative solutions that can be successful in multiple ways to create local and regional economic opportunities, increase diversity of food available, and to address concerns that may exist about food security.”

TIKAAN GALBREATH

Lilian is Quechan & Hopi, a former Native Movement Collective member, and a long-time advocate for Food Sovereignty.

LILIAN HILL

Malinda is an enrolled tribal member of Anvik, aDeg Hit’anDene’village, located in Alaska’s interior region, at the confluence of the Yukon and Anvik Rivers. Malinda works as the Tribal Resilience Liaison for the Alaska Climate Adaptation Science Center, in partnership with the Aleutians Pribilof Islands Association, to support tribes in their resiliency and self-determined efforts in addressing climate change. Her experience is in community planning, non-profit management, Native language revitalization, post-secondary distance education and Alaska Native education. Throughout her work life, Malinda is fortunate to work closely with prominent Alaska Native Elders and talented Alaska Native educators in indigenous curriculum and professional development initiatives that perpetuate and share the knowledge, beliefs and strength of Alaska Native Peoples.

MALINDA CHASE

OLIVER TYRRELL

Jenny Irene Miller (she/her, they/them), Inupiaq, is an artist working primarily with photography whose practice is grounded in place, storytelling, Indigeneity, queerness, and familial and community relations.

Jenny holds an MFA in Photography from the University of New Mexico, as well as a BFA in Photomedia and a BA in American Indian Studies from the University of Washington. Originally from Nome, Alaska, Jenny lives and works on Dena'ina Ełnena in Anchorage, Alaska.

JENNY IRENE MILLER
In Memoriam

ADVISORY BOARD

Nutaaq (Inupiaq) has seen 70 winters. "But I feel younger than when I was 19. I gave birth to two sons and a daughter and adopted my sister's boy. I have 13 joyous grandkids and one great granddaughter." I also care deeply for our Mother Earth and want to do what I can to help keep her clean and safe. We are all her family.

NUTAAQ SIMMONDS
Inupiaq - Utqiagvik

K’asheechtlaa is from the Tlingit Nation. She is Kiks.ádi (Raven Moiety – Frog Clan) from Sheet’ká Kwaan – Sitka, Alaska. The women of her clan are known as Ka Xat Jaa Shaa – the Herring Ladies because of their cultural and spiritual ties to the herring through original instructions passed down for generations through oral historians. Throughout her career, she has witnessed how Alaska Native peoples have been pathologized in the media and western education. Her vision includes teaching the mainstream culture about the strengths that remain in Tlingít communities and Tlingít history from an Indigenous perspective.Louise has been working with a grassroots group for four years, centered on herring. Her involvement in this group has increased cooperation, collaboration and a sense of unity. This is accomplished through involving non-Natives of Sheet’ká to participate in not only the Yaaw Koo.eex’ (Herring Feast), but in the preparation. The essence of the koo.éex’ is found in the phrase – ceremony as sovereignty. If people are open to the teachings it helps them understand the importance of, not only our relationships to our ancestors and to each other,  but also our relationship to the environment.  This changes our responsibility to each other and to the environment so we become part of the whole and quit seeing ourselves as entitled to exploit the environment, and start seeing ourselves of a larger community that owes respect to everyone and everything that is part of our community. She worked in the human services field for several decades in the fields of substance abuse, women’s advocacy and tribal court and tribal social services. She is an award winning filmmaker, releasing Carved from the Heart in 1996. She also co-produced and co-directed Yaa At Woone - Respect for all Things- a short documentary premiering at the Anchorage International Film Festival the first week of December. — K’asheechtlaa is from the Tlingit Nation. She is Kiks.ádi (Raven Moiety – Frog Clan) from Sheet’ká Kwaan – Sitka, Alaska. The women of her clan are known as Ka Xat Jaa Shaa – the Herring Ladies because of their cultural and spiritual ties to the herring through original instructions passed down for generations through oral historians. Throughout her career, she has witnessed how Alaska Native peoples have been pathologized in the media and western education. Her vision includes teaching the mainstream culture about the strengths that remain in Tlingít communities and Tlingít history from an Indigenous perspective.
Louise has been working with a grassroots group for four years, centered on herring. Her involvement in this group has increased cooperation, collaboration and a sense of unity. This is accomplished through involving non-Natives of Sheet’ká to participate in not only the Yaaw Koo.eex’ (Herring Feast), but in the preparation. The essence of the koo.éex’ is found in the phrase – ceremony as sovereignty. If people are open to the teachings it helps them understand the importance of, not only our relationships to our ancestors and to each other, but also our relationship to the environment. This changes our responsibility to each other and to the environment so we become part of the whole and quit seeing ourselves as entitled to exploit the environment, and start seeing ourselves of a larger community that owes respect to everyone and everything that is part of our community.
She worked in the human services field for several decades in the fields of substance abuse, women’s advocacy and tribal court and tribal social services. She is an award winning filmmaker, releasing Carved from the Heart in 1996. She also co-produced and co-directed Yaa At Woone - Respect for all Things- a short documentary premiering at the Anchorage International Film Festival the first week of December.

LOUISE BRADY K’asheechtlaa - Tlingit Nation

Dr. Rosemary Ahtuangaruak (Inupiaq) is a community health aide from Nuiqsut, Alaska who has held a variety of local leadership positions. Rosemary is a long-time advocate of community rights in light of the oil development occurring in close proximity to her village. She speaks of dramatic health effects and impacts on subsistence activities that she has seen throughout her community, many of which correlate with emissions, pollution, and development.

ROSEMARY AHTUANGARUAK Inupiaq - Nuiqsut

Mae (Inupiaq) is a long-time community organizer and leader. Mae lives in her home community of Point Hope.

MAE HANK
Inupiaq - Point Hope

Doug is a Tsimshian Elder. He worked for years as a Addiction and Substance Abuse Counselor in Kotzebue, AK.

DOUG MODIG
Tsimshian

Amy Modig is a Deg Hit’an Athabascan of Shageluk and Holikachuk by birth and Tanacross by adoption. In her beginning, she spoke her language and lived in fish camp but was later adopted by non-Natives at the age of seven and forgot her language and Native ways. Working all her life, she has traveled to over 120 villages in Alaska. Her husband Doug and she have worked in sobriety and helped coordinate the RPCs from 1985 to 2024. Her long life has allowed her to find healing for many complex traumas and she is re-finding her Native ways and is studying her Deg Xinag language. She loves and admires her children, some of different mothers, and adores her grandchildren. The blessing of a long life is stepping on the Elder path and learning how to support all the generations to help and heal themselves and each other.

AMY MODIG
Deg Hit’an Athabascan

Kathleen Hildebrand Meckek is Dene’ – Lower Koyukon Athabascan an enrolled tribal member of the Native Village of Nulato. Kathleen has been an educator and Alaska Native/American Indian family advocate for many years with the University of Alaska, and Fairbanks Northstar Borough School District, also an education specialist/liaison with SERRC-Alaska Ed Resource Center, Statewide.
Growing up in rural Alaska along the banks of the Yukon River shaped Kathleen’s worldview. One is close to nature and holistically learns how to pay attention to the environment and its offerings. She has learned that each season has gifts the People have harvested in respectful ways for millennia, and that balance with nature is key to wellbeing.

KATHLEEN MECKEL

Sam is from the village of Holy Cross and has been active in the community of Fairbanks and beyond in many capacities over the years. Sam served in the U.S. Army and was Licensed by the U.S. Coast Guard for Interior Water-Ways. He also served as President for Deloycheet Inc, Holy Cross Village Corporation (1986-87), Chairman & Acting President of Doyon Ltd. (1982-84), Fairbanks Native Association President (1988-1993). These are just a few of the ways that Sam has been involved in Indigenous leadership in the interior.

SAM DEMIENTIEFF
Holy Cross

EVA DAWN BURK
Denaakk’e (Koyukon) & Lower Tanana Dene’

Ka.oosh is Tlingit from Kake. He is a retired magistrate judge and founder of the Kake Circle Peacemaking Court and a peacemaker practitioner for the last 20 years. Ka.oosh has helped to shape a rich cultural context for implementing peacemaking in Southeast Alaska.

MIKE KA.OOSH JACKSON
Tlingit - Kake

I am an Inupiat, descendent from King Island. My Eskimo name is Aisena after my great grandmother. I am married to the love of my life and we have 10 kids and 15 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren. I have lived in the lands of the Dena’ina for over 40 years.
I am dedicated to guiding people to utilize the strengths from their culture, from ancestors and today. I have a passion for pulling together Traditional Healing and Western Modalities to present a blend of information that is good for all human beings. Over 27 years’ of experience creating and presenting a multitude of informational/education/cultural groups, classes and workshops from child sexual abuse, domestic violence, addictions and co-occurring disorders to bath and body care workshops using Alaskan plants, and varying Alaskan wild and traditional plant workshops and presentations.

AISENNA-TIA HOLLEY
Inupiaq - King Island

ALANNAH HURLEY
Yup’ik - Bristol Bay region

BRIANNA GRAY
Unangax & Black - Agdaagux Tribe, King Cove

Ruth is a Dena'ina Athabaskan and Ashkenazi Russian Jewish woman, raised in Anchorage, Alaska. She is a member of the Curyung Tribe, and also has roots in Bristol Bay, where her family descended downriver after leaving the Lake Iliamna region. She i… — Ruth is a Dena'ina Athabaskan and Ashkenazi Russian Jewish woman, raised in Anchorage, Alaska. She is a member of the Curyung Tribe, and also has roots in Bristol Bay, where her family descended downriver after leaving the Lake Iliamna region. She is a recent graduate from Brown University, built on occupied Wampanoag and Narragansett lands, and received a BA in Critical Development Studies with a focus on Indigenous resistance and liberation. She has worked many years towards Indigenous rights advocacy and climate justice in Alaska, as well as in Rhode Island and the south of Chile. She centers themes of wellness and community care, and is thinking a lot about growth and regeneration and imagination in our activism work. Ruth also does International Indigenized climate justice work with the United Nations Association and SustainUS. Most of all, she loves singing as her Grandma Ruth did, practicing traditional beadwork with her mother late at night, slowly discovering her Dena'ina language, and building radical communities of love!

RUTH MILLER
Dena'ina Athabaskan and Ashkenazi Russian Jewish - Anchorage

ADELAINE AKŁAASIAQ AHMASUK
Inupiaq & Yup’ik - Nome

P16x_Oct19_deenaalee_@go_barefoot6956-2.jpg

DEENAALEE
(They/She) Dene-Sugpiaq -Gitr’ingithchagg & Qinuyang

MARJORIE TAHBONE
Iñupiaq & Kiowa - Nome

MELISSA SHAGINOFF
Nay'dini'aa Na Kayax - Chickaloon Village

SARAH WHALEN-LUNN
Inupiaq - Anchorage

ANNAUK OLIN

ROBERT CHARLES WRIGHT SR.

NAOMI MICHALSEN, KAASEI
Tlingit

STAFFING TEAMS

DIRECTORS TEAM

Enei (*she / they )* is of the Diné & Tohono O’odham nations, she is Tachiinii and To’dichiinii clans. Her partner is of the Gwich’in nation from Arctic Village, Alaska; together they parent four children. Enei is a longtime community organizer, trainer, facilitator, and advocate around issues of environmental justice, economic justice, climate justice, and the rights of Indigenous peoples. Enei is a co-founder of and active member of the Fairbanks Climate Action Coalition and the Black Mesa Water Coalition. She has served on various national social justice boards, she was named one of Utne Readers “50 visionaries who are changing our world," but more importantly she is a dirt loving, vegetable growing, fabric addicted, bookworm, and a fierce mother. She was educated both on Dinétah --the land of her people-- and the halls of Stanford University. She lives in Fairbanks, Alaska with her partner and children.

Enei Begaye
Executive Director

Amanda or Kaa Saayí Tláa (Mother of Names) is Teikweidi (Eagle Moiety of the Brown Bear clan) and she was raised in Yaakwdáat (Yakutat) in Southeast Alaska and spent summers on the Situk and Alsek Rivers as her father and uncles fished commercially. Kaa Saayí Tláa graduated from the University of Alaska, Southeast with a Bachelors of Liberal Arts in English and Social Science and a minor in Tlingit Language. She has over 15 years experience in project management and program development / evaluation. Kaa Saayí Tláa has helped to secure over $11 million dollars in federal funding for Alaskan Tribes. She worked with both the Yakutat Tlingit Tribe and the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska to open the first two immersion language nests in the state—both for the Tlingit language. She additionally helped to release the first Tlingit language app, Yakutat Tlingit, on the App Store. Kaa Saayí Tláa also has six years of experience in Tribal Health Administration, including overseeing Behavioral Health Services. Before that, she served as the Cultural Heritage Director for the Yakutat Tlingit Tribe and worked closely with a group of fluent speaking Tlingit Elders. This time was vital in shaping Kaa Saayí Tláa’s understanding and approach to community empowerment, including advocating for the understanding that *haa kusteeyí yei kuguxsaneix* - Our Ways of Life will heal us. Kaa Saayí Tláa spends her time between Dena’ina, Anchorage, with her husband and children, and her homelands of Yaakwdáat.

Amanda Kaa Saayí Tláa Bremner
Deputy Director of Advocacy & Impact

Nikan-cóa (*he/they)* is Afro-Taino of Guaynía, Boriken, colonially known as Ponce, Puerto Rico. They are an educator, artist, community organizer, and advocate currently living in lower Tanana Dene lands. They arrived in Fairbanks, AK in the summer of 2014 and have since then called Alaska their home. Jo is active in various community organizations and projects centering the experiences of BIPOC and Queer people in Alaska. They have been involved at the University of Alaska as a staff and faculty member, working with students to develop their sense of identity, leadership, and activism. Jo received their B.S. in Geosciences from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and their Masters of Public Administration from the University of Alaska Southeast, focusing on Equity and Policy.

Nikan-cóa Malbert Narvaez
Deputy Director of Operations

Marilyn (*they / them )* is a Tsimshian & Haida person and was born in Fairbanks, grew up in Metlakatla & Ketchikan, and is now living on Dena’ina Lands in Anchorage. They spent most of their adult life professionally preparing food while also studying cultural and linguistic anthropology. They are excited to explore new facets of professional work while maintaining focus on how culture, community, advocacy, & knowledge empowers joy-centered nourishment (just as food does!) Wayi wah!

Marilyn Denton
Community Education Director

Maka/Keixé Yaxtí ( *she / her )* is an Indigenous artist from Yakutat, Alaska. Łingit, Filipina, and Kanien'kehá:ka, she is of the Raven moiety, Copper River Clan, House of the Owl. Her Tlingit name is Keixé Yaxtí meaning “Morning Star.” Her partner is of the Tuwharetoa Iwi from Aotearoa. She learned from her late grandparents, Elaine Chewshaa Abraham, and George Wooshjix̱oo Éesh Ramos and has a Bachelors of Science in Indigenous Studies and a Masters of Public Health. Maka is the designer of Moonture, a design brand that seeks to create at the intersection of cultural intention and coherent emotion.

Maka Monture Paki Communications
Co-Director

Brandon is a communications strategist, graphic designer, photographer and digital organizer. Brandon co-created "The True Cost of Coal,” an educational visual narrative of coal mining issues across Appalachia, with The Beehive Design Collective in … — Brandon, or B, ( *he / they )* finds home on Dena’ina lands near Chickaloon Village and the Matanuska River. They are a communications strategist, graphic designer, photographer and short-film producer, raised from European heritage on Abenaki lands near Portland, Maine. They co-created "The True Cost of Coal,” an educational, visual narrative of social and economic intersections of coal extraction in Appalachia with The Beehive Design Collective in 2007 and have since been intimately engaged with climate justice campaigns around the world. Brandon (B) was a videographer on a film series documenting mega-dams and Indigenous land rights in Malaysian Borneo, and co-produced the film "Chuitna: More than Salmon on the Line", winner of Best Environmental Film at The International Wildlife Film Festival in 2015. Their most recent short documentary film about Bear habitat adjacent to the proposed Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay premiered as part of the official selection at the Wild & Scenic Film Festival in 2020. He holds a B.A. in Natural History from Sterling College in Craftsbury, Vermont and is Alumni of the ReFrame Mentorship.

Brandon (B) Hill
Communications
Co-Director

Nadia (she/her) is an art historian, author, and community advocate from the Kachemak Bay region of Alaska. She is also a mother to three daughters. Nadia earned a PhD in art history from the University of Washington and has worked as a curator, arts administrator and university instructor. She enjoys spending her free time exploring Alaska, hiking, and baking. Nadia is a member of the Ninilchik Native Tribe and is honored to work in support of Indigenous peoples and our planet.

Nadia Sethi
Movement Infrastructure Program Director

Barbara (*she / her)* is an enrolled citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, and is of Chahta and Irish descent. Her family is originally from Chahta tribal lands in Oklahoma, but she was raised in Alaska, predominantly on Dena'ina Lands. Her spouse is of Kanaka Maoli and Northern Arapaho descent. Barbara has earned a B.B.A. in Accounting, and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Alaska Anchorage, with a focus on Indigenous rights and values in business. In her free time, she volunteers in animal rescue and as a tax preparer in rural areas.

Barbara Kahula
Director of Finance & Accounting

Jennifer is originally from Allakaket and is the daughter of the late Bob Maguire (from Lake Chelan, Washington) and the late Cora (Moses) Maguire from Allakaket. Jennifer's maternal grandparents are the late Johnson Bergman Moses of Allakaket and the late Bertha (Nictune) Moses of Alatna. Her paternal grandparents are the late Hugh and Irene Maguire of Lake Chelan, Washington. Jennifer and her husband Fred have three adult children.
Prior to joining NM Jennifer served as an assistant professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks in the department of Alaska Native Studies and Rural Development where she taught Indigenous economic development and entrepreneurship, grant writing and ANCSA type courses. Adams holds an MBA from UAF and has held other positions at the University of Alaska such as development director with UAF and rural director/business advisor with the Alaska Small Business Development Center (UAA). Jennifer is a grant writer by trade and has worked for an obtained funding for Tanana Chiefs Conference; Fairbanks Native Association; IRHA; Denakkanaaga and more. She also served as a director on the board of the Doyon Foundation from 2019-2025.

Jennifer Adams
Nankat Holdings Director

Yatibaey Evans is part of the Tsisyu clan from Mentasta, Alaska. She grew up in Fairbanks, Mentasta, Seattle, and Marquette. Yatibaey is the mother of four amazing young men and is looking forward to getting married to Alphonzo Allen. Her experience includes being a professor of Indigenous Studies at UAF, managing Graf Rheeneerhaanjii, a mental health facility for teens, Creative Producer for the Emmy award winning tv series, *Molly of Denali*, advisor and co-creator for museum exhibits at Science World in Vancouver, Canada and St. Louis, Missouri, as well as Director of Alaska Native Education for the Fairbanks school district. Yatibaey gives back to our communities in Alaska in a multitude of ways such as being a Serve Alaska Commissioner, Alaska Humanities Forum Board member, and advisor to Doyon Foundation’s Indigenous language projects. She has also served nationally as president of the National Indian Education Association, and locally as president of the United Way of the Tanana Valley and as a leader in the Fairbanks Coalition Builders, and other non-profits.

Yatibaey Evans
People, Culture, & Belonging Director

Princess is Neets'aii Gwich'in from Arctic Village, Alaska. She is the former Executive Director of the Gwich'in Steering Committee. She is also a published writer, actor and film director. She is currently a producer on the PBS animated series Moll… — Princess is Neets'aii Gwich'in from Arctic Village, Alaska. She is the former Executive Director of the Gwich'in Steering Committee. She is also a published writer, actor and film director. She is currently a producer on the PBS animated series *Molly of Denali*.

Princess Johnson
Advancement Director

ACTION & ADVOCACY TEAM

Amanda Kaa Saayí Tláa Bremner
Deputy Director of Advocacy & Impact

Casey Okroak Peavy (they/she)
Casey is Inupiaq, with paternal roots in Wainwright on the Arctic coast of Alaska. Living in Anchorage most of their life, Casey has over 20 years of experience working in Indigenous and conservation organizations. They have had the great honor of traveling to dozens of Villages throughout Alaska, building relationships and working for positive change. Casey has studied Anthropology at the University of Alaska, completing a minor in Alaska Native Studies. Always with a heart to help their People, Casey has served in many leadership roles such as Chairperson for the Tribal Head Start Policy Council, CIRI Shareholder Participation Committee member, 7 Gen AN/AI Behavioral Health Center of Excellence Leadership Academy, Arctic Institute for Indigeneous Leadership, and numerous management positions. They have lived a life of sobriety and balance for over 16 years; and have worked in a Peer Support capacity, earning their Traditional Peer Support Professional III certification. Casey is a proud Aaka with 1 grandbaby, a pet parent, and an avid road tripper, camper and music lover.

Casey Okroak Peavy
Southern Team Manager

Sonny (*she/her)* is an Iñupiaq and Hispanic woman born on Dena’ina Ełnena, Anchorage, AK. Her grandparents and mother are from UtqiaGvik/Barrow, Alaska. Her father is from Jalisco, Mexico. She has had the privilege of living in many places, including Wisconsin and Oregon. She currently resides on Lower Tanana Dene lands, also known as Fairbanks, AK. She earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology and minor in Spanish while in Oregon and is pursuing a Master’s in Indigenous Studies at University of Alaska - Fairbanks. When she’s not studying or working, she’s beading, reading, collecting new hobbies, and spending time with friends. She has experience organizing NVDA, especially around climate action and continues to be grounded in Iñupiaq values and care for future generations.

Sonny Ahkivgak
Northern Team Manager

Sasha (*she / her)* is an Indigenous artist and writer from Bristol Bay, Alaska. I was raised in the village of Pilot Point, a community of about 70 residents. I’ve spent time in Durango, CO where I received my Bachelor of Studio Arts with an emphasis on painting. I currently reside in Anchorage, AK. I am an advocate for disability awareness and inclusion, and have spent several years providing support to individuals with disabilities. I recognize the interconnectedness of marginalized identities, and the bond that that trauma creates. This means that the path towards healing and growth is also interconnected, and starts with uplifting and building community wherever you are.
I have spent a lot of time mourning the loss of the cultural heritage I was meant to receive from my elders; in the past I’ve felt that this was lost to me permanently. Every attempt to regain that knowledge has been a step towards decolonizing and reexamining my perspective of self and community. Though I know that I can never replace what could have been, I have learned to celebrate the way indigenous cultures have survived and evolved. My artwork, writing, and worldview is an attempt to bridge the gap between learning about the traditions of my ancestors, and recognizing that those traditions would have evolved no matter what.

Sasha Kramer
Gender Justice & Healing Organizer

Dorothy Shockley ( *she / her)* – Upper Koyukon Dene’ of the Caribou moiety; grew up in Manley Hot Springs, Alaska. Her late mother Judith Starr Woods was from Cros Jacket & Tanana, her late Father Walter Woods was from Rampart & Stevens Village. She is the proud mother of three adult children and several grandchildren in Alaska & Missouri.Dorothy’s community service started in high school and continues today. She has served on many local, regional, and state boards advocating for Indigenous rights in health, education, food security, and overall wellbeing. She currently serves as Co-Chair to the Fairbanks Diversity Council, and board member of the Yukon River Drainage Fisheries Association; Eastern Interior Federal Subsistence Regional Advisory Council & Healing Native Hearts Coalition.Work has been a personal healing journey. It has taken Dorothy places she never dreamed of – Seven years in Stevens Village reconnecting and learning the ways of her ancestors on the land and river while working with the 10 surrounding villages creating an Elder Academy and implementing their knowledge and traditional practices into the UAF Early Head Start curriculum for families and community wellness. Eight sessions in Juneau working for an Alaska Native Senator/Leader. It was one of the most accelerating, tough, and rewarding jobs ever. Everyday was an opportunity to work with Legislators, Governor and Commissioners from transportation, fish & game, homeland security, forest fires, floods, children services, water & sewer, child support, school, and community funding to very personal issues of incarceration, medical examiners and search and rescue. Not to mention legislation/bills and policy work.In her spare time, Dorothy spends time with family and friends sharing food and going out on the land picking berries, hunting and or fishing. She recently joined a traditional dance group and is learning old songs her ancestors sang over a hundred years ago.

Dorothy Shockley
Policy Justice Legislative Lead

Hello, my name is Lauryn Lucille Ulaaq Baldwin (*she / her)*. My Iñupiaq name, Ulaaq, is after the late Martha Pruitt of Noatak, Alaska. I am Iñupiaq from Kotzebue and Kiana, and I am Japanese from Kagoshima Prefecture. I grew up in Anchorage and completed a thirteen year Japanese immersion program through the Anchorage School District. Connecting and learning about my Japanese language and culture made me curious to learn more about my Iñupiaq language and culture. I attended Fort Lewis College and completed a Bachelor's degree in Communication Design with a minor in Native American and Indigenous Studies. During my time at Fort Lewis College, I was a fellow for All our Kin Collective, and learned about Indigenous language revitalization and preservation. I am interested in continuing my education and earning a Masters degree in Indigenous Law. In my free time I enjoy backpacking, berry picking, painting, traveling, and spending time with my loved ones.

Lauryn Baldwin
Policy Justice Legislative Fellow

Brihannala Morgan (Bria) (she/her) was raised on Ho-Chunk lands in Wisconsin and on Kayan and Kenyah lands in Indonesian Borneo. For over fifteen years, Bria has worked as a campaigner focusing on fighting corporations responsible for deforestation for palm oil and paper production and supporting community and Indigenous-led movements for land rights in the tropics. Bria is also a direct action trainer, specializing in direct action strategy, coordination, and climbing actions. Through this work, she’s supported various movements around bike advocacy, union movements for fair wages and benefits, and global movements for self determination (most prominently Students for a Free Tibet). Bria now gratefully calls Dena'ina land in Anchorage home and gets a lot of joy from gathering and processing wild foods, spending time alone in wild places, and playing with family including her daughter, Aster, and pup, Tufa.

Brihannala Morgan (Bria)
Environmental Justice Campaign Development Lead

Emily (*she / her)* was born on Canarsie and Munsee Lenape lands in Brooklyn and has lived on Dena’ina land in Anchorage since 2009. She has a civil engineering degree from the University of Maryland with a concentration in environmental and water resources. She has worked for over a decade in environmental health and justice focusing on water and wastewater, solid waste, toxic chemicals, advocacy, civic engagement, and climate justice. She is passionate about building and tending to relationships in all of the work that she does. She feels the most grounded when she is surrounded by community, viewing the aurora, or dancing.

Emily Kloc
AK Coalition for Justice Coordinator

COMMUNITY EDUCATION TEAM

Marilyn Denton
Community Education Director

Oliviah Franke (*they/them*) was born and raised in Portland Oregon, on lands that have been stewarded and occupied by Cascade, Clackamas, and Multnomah Bands of the Chinook Tribe. They have called Dena'ina Elnena home since 2018 and are honored to have been cultivating a caring and driven community since then. Oliviah is a biracial Cáhita person, their ancestors are from the Río Mayo in Sonora and Río Fuerte in Sinaloa Mexico. They are dedicated to reconnecting to their heritage after separation through foster care and adoption. They have spent time studying and working in environmental science, outdoor education, place based service learning, social justice, and racial equity advocacy. They love asking questions and digging into complexity- but most importantly are driven by creating more just and beautiful spaces for all people. They spend their free time beading, organizing BIPOC cycling spaces through BSpoke, and tending to their garden.

Liv Franke
Facilitation Lead

Michaela Stith (*she / her*) is a Black, mixed-race Alaskan raised in Anchorage. She is the author of Welp: Climate Change and Arctic Identities, a travel memoir exploring environmental justice in the Arctic. She previously worked as a Program Assistant at Polar Institute, Wilson Center, where she organized the Arctic in 25 Years Youth Symposium and managed the publication Polar Perspectives. Prior, she worked in Tromsø, Norway as a Hart Leadership Fellow and later as an Associate at the Arctic Council Indigenous Peoples’ Secretariat. As a first generation college student, Stith graduated with distinction from Duke University in environmental science and policy.

Michaela Stith
Youth Education Lead

Quinn Christopherson (he/him) is an Ahtna and Inupiaq artist, storyteller, and community-based facilitator born, raised and based on Dena’ina Ełnena in Anchorage, Alaska. Through music, writing, and program design, his work centers on narrative sovereignty. Quinn has led workshops with Indigenous youth across Alaska, creating spaces for participants to explore their voices through songwriting and recording. Quinn’s work is rooted in the belief that storytelling is a tool for healing, empowerment, and resistance.

Quinn Christopherson
Community Education Coordinator

MOVEMENT INFRASTRUCTURE TEAM

Nadia Sethi
Movement Infrastructure Program Director

(she/her) “Ggoadm ′Teebn, dee waayu. Gganhaada dee hokshgu.
Halimoack, waan a dee noayu.
Aak’w Kwa'an dee will dsoacku.”
In my traditional language of Shm′algyack/Sm′algyax, I stated my traditional Ts'msyen name, clan, my mother’s Ts'msyen name and where I currently live. My great-grandmother Lizzy Eaton from the Gitlan tribe (people of two passing canoes), house of the gganaow (frog), gganhaada (raven clan). Married James Peele of Kassan, Alaska September 18th, 1913, who was the son of Chief Saanaxeit aka Wilson S.Peele of Old Kasaan. He died 18th of January 1912, New Kasaan. Lizzy and James had two surviving children Sara Peele (my grandmother) and Victor Peele (the man I was named after). My Shm′algyack/Sm′algyax teacher John Reese (99-year-old elder) was good friends with my beeb (uncle) Victor Peele. As a descendent of the Tsimshian people and a speaker of the language I would like to create awareness of Indigenous languages.
The winter of 2013 I began studying the Shm′algyack/Sm′algyax language with Terri Burr and Elder John Reese. Previously, I worked as a language apprentice at Ketchikan Indian Community and taught Beginning Shm’algyack at Ketchikan High School. In the Fall of 2020, I was selected to be one of two Ts'msyen language scholars with the Pathways Scholars through Sealaska Heritage Institute. Which provides Indigenous language students from Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian a three-year full scholarship and housing at the University of Alaska Southeast. August 2022 I successfully completed my master’s degree in First Nations Linguistics from Simon Fraser University. Last year I returned home to Metlakatla to teach Ts'msyen studies. Currently I am studying for my PhD in Indigenous Studies from the University of Fairbanks Alaska.

Victoria McKoy
Indigenous Philanthropy Fellow

Dewey Kk’ołeyo (*he / him)* is originally from Ruby, Alaska. His Koyukon Athabascan name Kk’ołeyo was given to him by his grandmother Lillian Olin, after her grandfather Big Jim; it means “walking around.” He has been working for many years to support youth development through cultural education and language revitalization. He has a love of language learning and worldly cultural exchanges.

Dewey Kk’ołeyo Hoffman
Movement Fund Redistribution Lead

Lev Greenstein (*he / him*) is nonprofit supporter focused on making the nitty gritty administrative work of social change as easy as possible. With experience in education, facilitation, and nonprofit operations, he combines his backgrounds to assist community leaders, lending backend capacity to support their frontend focuses. Before joining Native Movement, Lev worked with Alaska Venture Fund and Alaska Humanities Forum. He is committed to supporting programs that are grounded in community and that honor the deep relationships, histories, and futures possible in Alaska.
Lev comes from Lenni Lenape territory (Philadelphia) and now lives and learns on Dena’ina lands in Anchorage. You can find him tucked away drinking coffee or zooming around town on rollerblades, depending on the season.

Lev Greenstein
Community Affiliate Collective Manager

Nathan Rabang (he/him) was born and raised on Dena’ina Land and started his career in academic research. He is enrolled in Shxwhá:y Village in British Columbia. One of his favorite things is being outdoors with his dog. His research interests includes bioethics and Indigenous public health.

Nathan Rabang
Community Affiliate Collective Coordinator

NANKAT TEAM

Jennifer Adams
Nankat Holdings Director

Bill Henderson
Nankat Grounds & Maintenance

**Robin** (they/she) is originally from Colorado but has lived in Alaska for most of their life and has truly fallen in love with Fairbanks. They enjoy getting to work with the community and has worked a wide variety of jobs across Fairbanks. Outside of work they enjoy painting, reading, and spoiling their pet cat.

Robin Snowberry
Nankat Properties Coordinator

COMMUNICATIONS TEAM

Brandon, or B, ( *he / they )* finds home on Dena’ina lands near Chickaloon Village and the Matanuska River. They are a communications strategist, graphic designer, photographer and short-film producer, raised from European heritage on Abenaki lands near Portland, Maine. They co-created "The True Cost of Coal,” an educational, visual narrative of social and economic intersections of coal extraction in Appalachia with The Beehive Design Collective in 2007 and have since been intimately engaged with climate justice campaigns around the world. Brandon (B) was a videographer on a film series documenting mega-dams and Indigenous land rights in Malaysian Borneo, and co-produced the film "Chuitna: More than Salmon on the Line", winner of Best Environmental Film at The International Wildlife Film Festival in 2015. Their most recent short documentary film about Bear habitat adjacent to the proposed Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay premiered as part of the official selection at the Wild & Scenic Film Festival in 2020. He holds a B.A. in Natural History from Sterling College in Craftsbury, Vermont and is Alumni of the ReFrame Mentorship.

Brandon (B) Hill
Communications
Co-Director

Maka/Keixé Yaxtí ( *she / her )* is an Indigenous artist, storyteller, poet, and traditional performer from Yakutat, Alaska. Tlingit (Łingit), Mohawk, Filipina, and Canadian Kanien'kehá:ka, she is of the Raven moiety, Copper River Clan, House of the Owl. Her Tlingit name is Keixé Yaxtí meaning “Morning Star.” Her partner is of the Tuwharetoa Iwi from Aotearoa. She learned from her late grandparents, Elaine Chewshaa Abraham, and George Wooshjix̱oo Éesh Ramos and has a Bachelors of Science in Indigenous Studies and a Masters of Public Health. Maka is the designer of Moonture, a design brand that seeks to create at the intersection of cultural intention and coherent emotion.

Maka Monture Paki Communications
Co-Director

Jeff Chen **陳奕正 (***he / him )* is a multimedia producer who creates film, photo, and audio stories. He lives in Anchorage on Dena'ina lands, and has worked primarily in multimedia production, journalism, and youth-centered land stewardship. He's a child of Taiwanese immigrants with roots in Ka-gī. Jeff has a degree in Broadcast Journalism, minor in Vocal Performance, and a concentration in Environmental Science & Technology from the University of Maryland.

Jeff Chen 陳奕正
Multi-Media Production Lead

Purruq Erica Khan (she/they) is Iñupiaq and Pakistani, born and raised in Utqiaġvik, Alaska. Her grandparents Thomas and Dorothy Panningona are from Sirraq Base, later renamed "Flaxman Island" or "Leffingwell Camp Site," and Atqasuk, as they traveled normally prior to the "dissemination" period. Her grandparents Ghulam Sarwar Khan and Bibi Hussain are from Rusalpur Juttan and Lahore, Pakistan. Aside from calling the Arctic her home, she was also raised in the Hohokam nation in Arizona, and spent a number of years on Kanaka Maoli/Oiwi lands earning her undergraduate degree in Ethnic Studies from the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. Purruq's current nest resides on Dena'ina land where she spends much of her time with her niece, partner, and community, engaging in art builds, crafts, storytelling, organizing, foraging, hiking, harvesting, and investing time for rest and expansion of self. She's grateful to be a part of the NM team as it's always been a space for decol, Arctic advocacy, land back initiatives, and re-imagining a more just community than what currently exists.

Purruq Erica Khan
Communications Manager

Káak'utxhéich Kai Abraham Monture (*he / him*) is Lingít, Kanien’kehá:ka’, and Filipino. He is the grandson of Chuushah Elaine Abraham and Woochjixoo Eesh George Ramos. He is born into the K'ineix Kwáan (Copper River Clan), and Ts'iskw Hít (Owl House). He is a member of the Yakutat Senior Mount Saint Elias, and Juneau Woosh.ji.een Dance Groups. He is currently working to revitalize traditional Lingít warrior training for the youth.

Kai Monture
Associate Producer

Courtney Tatellgaq Rose Griechen (She/They) is a mixed Sugpiaq, Yupik, and Russian multidisciplinary artist and musician from Pilot Point in Bristol Bay. Currently residing on Dena’ina land, and a lifelong passion for the arts, their creative expression spans across illustration, oil painting, beading, animation, and songwriting. Courtney has a history of education in the arts having attended IAIA and UAA with a focus in fine arts.

Courtney Griechen
Creative Communications Coordinator

Andrés Javier Camacho is a filmmaker, sound designer, and perennially aspiring poet who hopes to co-imagine radical and restorative futures alongside Alaska communities.His mother is Mexican-American and his father immigrated from Colombia. From the Rio Doce in Brazil to Sheet’ká in Lingít Aaní, his work is often attuned to how extractive industry shapes land, water, and government policies. Andrés lives on Áakʼw Ḵwáan Aaní in Juneau where he loves to cook and regularly humble himself by learning how to ice skate and other new pursuits.

Andrés Javier Camacho Always Indigenous Media Producer