Plenary Speakers
Opening Plenary
Mariah Gladstone (Piikuni/Blackfeet and Tsalagi/Cherokee), Founder of Indigikitchen
A RECIPE FOR RESILIENCE
Session Description: Mariah Gladstone will share the history of Indigenous food systems and the relationship between cultural identify, health, and native plants and animals to support child and family health.
Mariah Gladstone, Piikuni (Blackfeet) and Tsalagi (Cherokee), grew up in Northwest Montana on and near the Blackfeet Reservation. She graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Environmental Engineering and returned home where she began her work on food advocacy. She developed Indigikitchen, an online cooking platform, to revitalize and re-imagine Native foods. She then earned a Master’s degree at SUNY-ESF in the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment. Mariah has been recognized as a Luce Indigenous Knowledge Fellow by the First Nations Development Institute, as well as a 2025 Castanea Fellow by the Earth Island Institute. She has shared the importance of reconnecting to traditional foods at events throughout North America and abroad, as well as through appearances on the Today Show, CBC, and numerous podcasts. In addition to all this, Mariah offers a variety of cultural experiences for visitors to the Blackfeet Nation and Glacier National Park. Mariah released her first book, Mountains to Oceans: Kids’ Recipes from Native Land, in January 2025. In April 2026, Mariah appeared on Food Network’s Chopped Indigenous chefs’ challenge.
Day 2 Plenary
Tess Abrahamson-Richards, PhD, MPH, (Spokane Tribe), Assistant Professor of Native American Community Health, University of California, Berkeley School of Social Welfare
CENTERING NATIVE KNOWLEDGE IN HOME VISITING THROUGH COMMUNITY-LED DATA STORYTELLING
Session Description: Tess Abrahamson-Richards will highlight Native communities' unique contributions to home visiting knowledge and the potential for data sovereignty to advance family well-being and community self-determination.
Tess Abrahamson-Richards, PhD, MPH, is a citizen of the Spokane Tribe. Dr. Abrahamson-Richards serves as Assistant Professor of Native American Community Health at the University of California, Berkeley’s School of Social Welfare. She also works closely with Hummingbird Indigenous Family Services, where she previously served as the Director of Data Sovereignty. Hummingbird Data Sovereignty’s community-led data and evaluation work focuses on Indigenous home visiting, doula services, guaranteed income, and other related issues in the Western Washington region and nationally. Tess also works on research projects outside of Hummingbird focused on Indigenous reproductive justice, maternal health and economic policy, data justice, and holistic family wellbeing. Tess is a mother of two and is enjoying getting to know her new home in California with her family.
Closing Plenary
Dorene Waubanewquay Day (Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe)
CULTURAL RECLAMATION AND HEALING
Session Description: Dorene Waubanewquay Day will discuss how families and communities can create access to Cultural Reclamation and Indigenous healing modalities for living “Mino biimaadiziiwin,” our “Good Life.”
Dorene Waubanewquay Day is an enrolled member of the Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe and an Indigenous knowledge holder and midwife for the past 48 years. Waubanewquay has dedicated her life to reclaiming traditional birth and healing practices. As a midwife trained in Indigenous birthing, she is committed to bringing together traditional healing and western medicine training to gatherings such as the Native Communities Home Visiting Meeting. Providing Indigenous Doula training, Cultural Safety training, and Spiritual/Cultural supports in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota for the past 11 years has increased access to informed care and traditional practices, greatly encouraging healthier birth outcomes for Indigenous communities. Efforts such as these have strongly aided our efforts of cultural reclamation and the healing for our future generations.
Contact Us
If you have any questions, please contact us at NHVM@jbassoc.com.