Matriarchs in the Making

In Honor of Women's History Month we partnered up with the Appleton Area School District's Native American Indian Education Program and Andrea Baird, of the Oneida Nation who led a session of painting, as we met with our middle and high school aged girls.

We shared about First Nations Outreach, Inc and the work we do in the community.

We gave a summary of the amazing women we have honored and celebrated over the past years as part of our Women's History Month Celebrations.

This year's theme Matriarchs in the Making was a way to share our younger leaders and change makers, within the Indigenous Community, that have made significant impact and positive contributions. They may have started off small, but these same actions of courage and strength have led to huge accomplishments.

Autumn Peltier, Wiikwemkong First Nations, became a Water Protector at the age of 8, she addressed the United Nations as a way to bring awareness of not having clean water to drink in Indigenous Communities to the forefront, which is also a global issue for many.

Isabella Coolack, Cote First Nations, a 10 year old girl shamed for wearing a ribbon skirt to school on formal day, sparked a national movement leading to an act of Parliament naming January 4th as National Ribbon Skirt Day. Her school now holds an annual ribbon skirt day.

Mia Charnon, Oneida Nation of WI, became Miss Oneida at the age of 25. Being Royalty gives her a way of lifting voices, sharing stories, and carrying forward the identity that makes her Oneida. She previously worked as a photojournalist for the Kalihwisaks in Creative Services, that led her to working with the Oneida Nation as a Social Media and Digital Specialist. Storytelling has always been her platform, she says, "Because our stories carry more than entertainment. They carry medicine." She also has done some modeling within the community and was featured in the Native Max Magazine wearing Sunny Webster's MMIW+ Collection, created to tell a story through fashion. We shared with our students it doesn't matter if you live on the reservation or not, or where you go to school, you can learn about your culture and share it with others at any age. The impact you make doesn't have to be Nationally or Globally, you can still make a significant and positive impact with others.

Ariana Guerrero, Menominee Nation of WI, at the age of 21 transitioned into a position with the Title VI Indian Education Program at the Appleton Area School District, a program that has been around for over 40 years in the fox cities community. She was able to share her own personal story with these students. As a student she helped to change our community for the betterment of our Indigenous children and their children's children. The next seven generations and our community members will continue to be thankful that she stood up for our civil and religious rights. And because of her actions... all Native American students who choose to walk across the stage during graduation within the Appleton Area School District have the honor of wearing an Eagle feather, with pride of all their accomplishments over those years that were spent in education from Pre-K thru 12th grade. This is just one of the positive impacts she has made within our community. A lead I hope other district in WI will follow.