Brigette is an advocacy consultant dedicated to eradicating human trafficking, leveraging her personal experience to connect with social justice organizations. She is an award-winning advocate known for influencing policy changes and collaborating with stakeholders to support prevention and survivor initiatives. Additionally, she mentors emerging advocates through workshops and coaching, sharing her knowledge and fostering resilience. Her unique blend of personal insight and professional expertise inspires change in communities fighting against human trafficking.

Brigetterobargeconsulting.com

Kris Dantzler is a certified bike mechanic, former graphic/UX designer, prepper and outdoor adventurer with several years experience volunteer teaching literacy, math, languages and computer programming. 

In 2023, Kris founded Luki Bike Adventures to teach kids in Detroit how to ride bikes, provide low-cost bike repair services, give away bike helmets, locks and lights, lead mountain biking excursions, and foster stewardship, appreciation, and decolonization of outdoor spaces. She is also working to revitalize the sport of traditional Indigenous lacrosse, or baaga'adowe/stickball, a sacred game gifted by the Creator, deeply rooted in Indigenous identity, community, and wellness. 

When she's not leading a group of kids through the woods, Kris works with teens in the Special Education department of her son's high school. She enjoys playing bass guitar, working in her garden, learning languages and playing stickball.

LukiBikes.org

Nichole, spirit name Waaban-anang, is a tribal citizen of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Mishiike Dodem (turtle clan), and mother of three. A longtime grassroots activist who focuses on environmental justice as the foundational site of healing, she is a Water Protector, jingle dress dancer, and organic home gardener. Nichole works at Clean Water Action, organizing to Shut Down Line 5, resist data centers, and disrupt corporate corruption. Her primary focus is to uplift and advocate for the restoration of biodiverse habitats needed to welcome our more-than-human relatives back home.

Ru (they/them) is a Detroit-bred activist, visionary organizer, writer, and caregiver who also  nurtures land mainly via Alma Garden. Embodying the green thumb embedded in them by family + community matriarchs, they are committed to growing community through nurturing relationship to land, using facilitation to bring awareness of interconnectivity. Their love + dedication to fostering relationships comes from their many facets meeting in the middle by way of their professional background with a masters in urban planning, journalism, and community engagement while being deeply rooted in hyperlocal efforts. When joy + pleasure is centered, they can be found enjoying the beauties of nature, spending time with their son and other loved ones, or simply resting.

Writing

The Solutionaries Collective

Mother of 5, grandmother of 10, great grandmother of 1. I have been an advocate for life, freedom for as long as I can remember.  I grew up on a farm where I was taught all life is sacred. With that being my foundation for life, justice for all just comes naturally.

My public justice advocacy was supporting those who knelt and prayed at federal nuclear plants for them to be removed. I worked with the civil rights against discrimination for housing.  I supported the anti chemical contamination against Dow in Midland Michigan when the Rainbow warrior was destroyed. I demonstrated at Central Michigan University for the removal of mascot images. I started the 1st pow wow at Central Michigan 30 years ago.

I continue to support social justice issues by speaking against mascots throughout the state of Michigan.  I worked to remove all mascots that are disrespectful to all Native American Indians, such as the Redskins across Michigan. I stood at Standing Rock against the black snake of oil across the Indian reservations.  I marched on Washington DC for Indigenous rights.

CRAFT

Citizens for Alternative to Chemical Contamination

A proud daughter, mother, and grandmother to seven grandsons, Schantell Taylor hails from Waianae, Oahu. Inspired by the majestic Kaala mountain and the healing waters of Ulehawa.  Her spirit is ignited and nourished by the wind called the Kaiaulu wind. 

Deeply connected to her Hawaiian roots, Schantell passionately embraces her culture through hula, oli (chanting), and the art of making. She is the founder of the Polynesian Indigenous Knowledge Organization in Michigan, where she engages in healing work aimed at transforming generational patterns.

Her greatest achievement lies in sharing her aloha as well as leaving a legacy of cultural practices for those living away from Hawaii, ensuring that the rich traditions of her heritage continue to thrive.

I may never walk on the soil in the future where the seeds I am planting now are layed, but is my kuleana to plant for future generations.

He Hawaii au

mau a mau

Full spectrum Indigenous Doula (birthworker), Healer, Reiki Practitioner, Plant Medicine Worker/Practitioner and Cultural Support Specialist. Kaela’s practice is done from an Anishinaabe lense and world view and is rooted in Indigenous knowledge and ways of being. Her lifelong goal is to teach her 2 daughters the beauty of connecting the present world with the past, and to live a well-rounded healthy life with the knowledge of our ancestral ways. She is a board member on the Michigan Breastfeeding Network and a member of the MDHHS Doula Advisory Council. She is also the Co-Executive Director of Healing by Choice! Detroit. 

Healing with Dbik Ankwad Kwe

Kwabanimkee23@gmail.com

@Nativemami

Rosebud is a farmer, food producer, Indigenous food educator and community organizer serving the Detroit Indigenous Community and beyond. Her Indigenous food sovereignty work spans over the last 15 years; first as a breastfeeding educator and community health worker and then as a farmer and nutrition educator with food sovereignty projects in Detroit and Northern Michigan. Rosebud also works with the Wiba Anung team, a collaborative partnership between Michigan State University and the Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan to support the health and well-being of indigenous children and families in Michigan. 

Rosebud is the co-director of Education and Engagement at Keep Growing Detroit, a non-profit urban farm with the mission to cultivate a food sovereign city where the majority of produce consumed by Detroiters are grown In Detroit by Detroiters. 

Within this work, Rosebud is able to dream and build with an amazing collective of chefs, farmers, producers and activists who care for the land and understand that food is medicine. 

Jaike is a decolonization practitioner, and  an educator, emphasizing on themes of Indigenous erasure in America. She also provides mediation and facilitation services for communities who may not have access to conflict repair principles. 

Jaike organizes with Thečhíȟila Collective, a Native led mutual aid and Land Back Collective based out of Waawiyaatanong (Detroit, MI). 

The collective is currently stewarding 9 lots in the SW neighborhood, rematriating a ceremony and culture space to provide members of First Peoples communities and their accomplices and allies place of purpose.

Bios coming soon!

Andie is a visual artist in Northwest Detroit, raised in Waterford, MI. Her creative practice includes a BFA from College for Creative Studies with a focus on furniture making with primarily wood and metal. She is currently investigating functional and non functional works such as jewelry and wall sculptures that incorporate materials from formerly breathing sources, including bones, teeth, claws and hides. 

As a mother and Michigander, she feels strongly about getting the word out about protecting our waters and land from polluters. She encourages anyone to use creative methods to spread the truth behind Line 5 and encourages any level of involvement. From hand making info stickers, wearing a t-shirt that starts the conversation, giving public comment, or direct donation to oilandwaterdontmix.org

Shanna Dempsey is a visual storyteller, filmmaker, activist, animator and visual artist. She has over ten years of experience editing commercials, films, documentaries, music videos, social media content, animation, sound editing, and motion graphics. Her work is driven by contemporary Native Stories, Identity and Preservation. Shanna grew up on the Flathead Reservation in Montana immersed in her Séliš and Ktunaxa culture. That experience shaped her as both as an artist, storyteller and activist. Learning traditions based in deep ancestral connection to the land taught Shanna how imperative that relationship is for our survival and inspires her work to preserve culture.