Wakinyela Bear
Wakinyela (wah-ke-yuh-la) Bear, Mahpiya Ska Win (White Cloud Woman: traditional Lakota name) and Ttakenamega (She who leads alone: traditional Meskwaki name) is an enrolled member of the Meskwaki Nation (Sac and Fox Tribe of the Mississippi in Iowa) and is Sicangu Lakota and Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota. She currently attends Augsburg University as a student-athlete and is pursuing a Bachelors of Science in Exercise Science. Her career aspirations are to become an athletic trainer for college athletes, with an emphasis in supporting Native American athletes. Wakinyela is one of two Native athletes on the Augsburg women’s basketball program. In her downtime, she enjoys playing all sports, sewing, painting, traveling, and dancing at powwows.
Ambey (Amber) Clark
Ambey (she/her) is Diné from Salt Lake City, Utah. She earned a B.S. in Food Science and Human Nutrition from Colorado State University and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Social Work at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Her goals are to reimagine accessible healthy and traditional foods for everyone and listen to other’s stories in creating more equitable food systems. She also hopes to practice in clinical work to provide more holistic therapy for communities.
Ambey enjoys outdoor activities such as skiing, backpacking, and gardening along with indoor time spent reading mystery novels, baking, and petting her two cats.
Landon Frenchman
Landon Frenchman Cexji Xuunik Maniga (Little Walking Buffalo) is an enrolled member of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska. He attended Little Priest Tribal College as a Business Administration major where he also enjoyed talking and learning more about his culture and language. Landon has worked in his community for Ho-Chunk Inc (HCI), Twelve Clans Unity Hospital, and Winnebago Boys & Girls Club Through his professional and lived experiences, it’s important to keep working for his tribal community and Indian Country. In his free time Landon enjoys traveling across Indian Country with his family and friends to sing at powwows, notable southern drum groups like White Tail Boyz, and Motown, and others.
Adrian Gonzalez
Adrian Gonzalez is a member of the Bad River Band of Chippewa from Odanah, Wisconsin. Adrian a recent Ashland high school graduate. His goals are to gain as much knowledge as possible to assist in a future career in engineering. Adrian enjoys playing football, lifting weights, and spending time with family. Adrian is a recipient of “Oredocker of The Year” award, which requires excellence in multiple sports, and in the classroom, while being a good role model, and representative of Ashland high school.
Tomah Linwood
Tomah Linwood is a 28 years old member of the Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin. Tomah is a sophomore at Northwest Indian College, in Bellingham, WA. Tomah enjoys the outdoors, love of family, camping, and his traditional culture. Tomah has a love for hsi traditional language and his traditional Indian name is Little Beaver, which is the same name as his great grandfather. Tomah also loves being on the river in Wisconsin and has a love of the snow.
Jillian Pappan
Jillian Pappan is an Enrolled Member of the Omaha Tribe of Nebraska and Iowa; she currently works for Big Elk Development Corporation. Jillian’s interest in renewables started from my childhood fascination with sciences. She knew there was a better way, and that we as a collective could achieve it. She studied Business Administration at Nebraska Indian Community College and Jillian’s pursuit for knowledge didn’t stop there. She is a student enrolled at Wayne State College and working her way towards an MBA with expected graduation in December 2023. Her drive and passion lie in her primary role as mother to two amazing little humans. They give her purpose in this life and motivate her to make this world a better place for them. Jillian is excited to give back not only to her children, but her community all of the knowledge she is learning and looks forward to creating a renewable tomorrow.
Orrion Snyder
Orrion is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation and descendant of the Southern Ute tribes from Utah. He holds an Associate degree in Liberal Arts from Haskell Indian Nations University. Orrion is currently a senior at the University of Utah, where he is pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Ethnic Studies with a minor in Environmental and Sustainability Studies. Orrion expresses his cultural identity through Powwow dancing, as a grass dancer and participating in cultural ceremonies. He enjoys watching hockey, gaming, playing golf, and disc golf.
Keya Trujillo
Keya is a mother and solar installer who is an enrolled member of the Taos Pueblo from Taos, New Mexico as well as Sicangu Lakota, Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota, Meskwaki and Leech Lake Ojibwe. She previously worked with the Tribal Solar Team in Boulder, Colorado for the first time on a ground mount project. She is passionate about the many aspects of renewable energy and doing her part to preserve the land for future generations. Keya is also an artist; a photographer, dancer, and illustrator.