Indigenous Leaders to Follow for Native American Heritage Month

This month is Native American Heritage Month. We’re honoring indigenous communities, who have historically stewarded the lands we cherish. In Vermont, we recognize the Abenaki people’s role in caring for the mountains we love.

To honor the contributions of these communities, we’re sharing the indigenous leaders, native influencers, and resources we enjoy learning from. Let us know who we missed!

Titles by Native Authors to Read:

• Remembering Aboriginal Names, by Rich Holschuh
• The Mountains through a Different Cultural Lens, by Melody Walker
• Gathering Moss: A Natural & Cultural History of Mosses, by Robin Wall Kimmerer
• Dwellings: a Spiritual History of the Living World, by Linda Hogan
• The Inner Journey: Views from Native Traditions, by Black Elk, Leslie Silko, N. Scott Momaday, & Linda Hogan
• Roots of Our Renewal: Ethnobotany & Cherokee Environmental Governance, by Clint Carroll
• Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants, by Robin Wall Kimmerer

Indigenous Influencers to Follow:

• Abenaki Trails Project identifies sacred cultural sites to record their meaning and uses for Abenaki people historically and today; protects land for generations to come
• Indigenous Women Hike focuses on healing through connection to land
• Jolie Varela, founder of Indigenous Women Hike, advocates for connection to land and body positivity
• Karen Ramos founded Vamos Afuera (Get Out, Stay Out), an indigenous, youth-led nonprofit reconnecting to the outdoors
• Native Women’s Wilderness brings Native womxn together to support each other as they explore wilderness and native lands
• IndigeQueers empowers stories at the intersection of indigeneity, gender liminality, and nature
• Pinar Sinopoulos-Lloyd, cofounder of Queer Nature and IndigeQueers, centers nonbinary, two-spirit, and trans Natives in the outdoors
• Natives Outdoors empowers Indigenous communities through its products and storytelling for a sustainable world

State Recognized Tribes in Vermont:

• Elnu Abenaki Tribe, recognized 2011
• Nulhegan Band of the Coosuk Abenaki Nation, recognized 2011
• Ko’asek Abenaki Tribe, recognized 2012
• Missisquoi Abenaki Tribe, recognized 2012