Saturday, July 25, 10am-12pm

with Angela Russell and the Wolf Bear Drum Group

Saturday, July 25, 2-4pm

with Sharon Peregoy-Stewart and Heather Whiteman

Sunday, July 26, 10am-12pm

with JoRee LaFrance and Ben Pease

Sunday, July 26, 2-4pm

with Charlene Johnson and Jordynn Paz

Angela Russell is a devoted Apsáalooke woman who loves her people. She received a bachelor’s from Montana State University-Bozeman and a law degree from Tulane University. As an advocate and attorney, she has served in numerous civic positions serving Apsaalooke people, Big Horn County residents, as well as contributing to the greater state of Montana as a member of the House of Representatives from the 99th district. Angela is proud member of the Mighty Few District and is dedicated to efforts that advance Apsáalooke people.

Sharon Peregoy has been Montana state senator for District 20 since 2017 and has previously served as a legislator for the Crow Tribe, where she acted as Education Cabinet Head, as well as various positions with the Crow Tribe including Tribal Health Director.

Heather Whiteman Runs Him teaches at Arizona Law after work with the Native American Rights Fund in Boulder, Colorado, where she represented tribal clients on water rights and advised clients on claims relating to water, land, and other natural resource issues. Prior to that she was joint lead counsel at the Crow Tribe Office of Executive Counsel and an assistant public defender for New Mexico Public Defenders – Metro Division. Whiteman Runs Him received her JD from Harvard Law School, her BFA in studio art and art history from the University of New Mexico, and her AFA in museum studies from the Institute of American Indian Arts.

Ben Pease was born in 1989 and raised on the Crow Reservation. He says, “Throughout my life I’ve tried to soak up as many cultural, societal, and traditional aspects of what it means to be an aboriginal from North America in the whirlwind of today. I find my definition of being Native to this land as an interpersonal physical and spiritual relationship which is connected to all surrounding entities, beings, organisms, and geological features. I have been practicing as a professional Native Artist for almost four years around the country. My work and process are currently evolving because the more I learn, the less I know. I’ve recently crossed paths with the task of narrating the Aboriginal struggles and aesthetics through my personal interpretation. Whether my art focuses upon statements drawn from the aspect of an activist or based on cultural recording, I feel the need to educate and speak volumes. I will continue my transition from a so-called ‘Rez-Kid’ to a culturally rich contemporary storyteller.”

Jordynn Paz is Apsáalooke from Garryowen, MT on the Crow Reservation. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism & Native American studies from the University of Montana. Her passion is Indigenous storytelling and writing for her people.

Charlene Yarlott Johnson is the Executive Director and founder for Plenty Doors Community Development Corporation, established in 2018. She has lived on or near the Crow Reservation for most of her life. Prior to Plenty Doors, Charlene worked with the Indian Health Service for almost 25 years as a public health nutritionist and an administrator. Her interest in starting a nonprofit organization focused on community economic development while working with the Indian Health Service. Charlene acquired her education at Montana State University – Bozeman and the University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill. Charlene is a member of the Apsáalooke Nation in Montana.

Raised at the foothills of Iisaxpúatahchee Isawaxaawúua/Big Horn Mountains, JoRee grew up with a twin sister on a gravel road next to the Little Bighorn River spending most of their time swimming, riding horses, gardening, and lacing up their Nike N7’s to play basketball on a dirt court with a rim that had a plywood backboard. Iichiinmáatchileesh/Fortunate with Horses was the name given to her by Sue Takes Horse. She left home to attend Dartmouth College where she received a B.A. in Earth Sciences and B.A. in Native American Studies. She is now an aspiring water scientist studying surface water quality in the Little Bighorn River watershed as a PhD candidate in the Department of Environmental Science at the University of Arizona. She recently co-founded and now serves as the executive director of Apsaalooke Immiio. JoRee focuses on the Apsáalooke landscape ranging from water quality, energy justice, to women empowerment. She enjoys being a community organizer/advocate, hanging out with the elders and youth in her family, riding horses, playing with her two dogs, and beading.