A Woman’s Touch

By DeVonte Roberts, St. Paul Field Crew Leader / AmeriCorps Member

It is National Women’s History Month, so I am taking this moment to recognize the ladies that labor in our particular line of work. CCMI has come a long way since the “SheSheShe” Camps in the 1930s. And Minnesota, as a state, has had an even longer climb acknowledging the contributions of women in the field. The history of this land holds fingerprints of Native American women who developed, tended and gathered all that we still grow and cultivate Today. This heritage is home to many residents that still carry the cultural and political principles of those Dakota roots. Women like Korina Barry & Dr. Kate Beane, who similarly did not deeply engage in their tribal backgrounds til they were students at the University of Minnesota. Now Barry is an Action Managing Director of the NDN Collective where she makes policy decisions on public health and eco-sustainable solutions based on Indigenous practices. Bean, a descendant of the Dakota leader that inhabited Lake Calhoun, is no further removed for she is the reason why the original name of the lake is properly changed back to Bde Maka Ska. Winona LaDuke may be one of the more famous names in the fight for the environment, for she ran for vice presidency under the Green Party back in 1996 and 2000. Part of what makes LaDuke a powerhouse for her people is she has founded many organizations that have benefited Native women, amongst them is an environmental justice group called Honor the Earth that currently still fights racial capitalism and reclaims Indigenous land within Minnesota. Another woman who honors her Ojibwe ancestors is Sharon Day | Asabiikonezaagaiganing. Founder of the Indigenous Peoples Task Force, a public health service that provides housing and living resources; Day also leads women in a ceremonial tradition with Water Walks and the spirits that bless them. Like Sharon Day, there have been new protectors sharing the same awareness and bloodline connected to sacred bodies of water, They’re named the Indigenous Women’s Water Sisterhood. Thankfully we have a range of local, hardworking women who represent the modern brilliance of our North Star States’ value on sustainability that are all within reach. Organizations like the Women’s Environmental Network & the Women’s Environmental Institute represent ladies of all cultures that share this conviction. We hope you feel encouraged to give thanks for the ladies that have maintained our land of 10,000 lakes.