WE - Executive Director: Shirley Williams, RN
WE - ONE MIND FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE WORK
WE - ONE MIND FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE WORK
Kusemaat became a licensed nurse in 2002. Twelve years were spent working within the scope of a western licensure. Now, like a salmon swimming upstream, she is focused on Indigenous Public Health. Her passion for holistic healthcare of ancient time began when she started to work for her own community, which is the federally recognized tribe of Lummi Nation, located in the upper most corner of the Pacific Northwest.
Today, because of Seli7 etse Sxwo’le – Spirit of the Sxwo’le (reef-net), Kusemaat addresses root cause of trauma for Indigenous Peoples and Nature. She is bound to protecting the sovereignty of the Salish Sea for 7th generation sustainability. She envisions these ancestral homelands as a medical office based in nature, for without mother earth, we do not have our health.
Taking the guidance of her respected elders and the spiritual signs of her ancestors, she is guided by these words:
As Indigenous ways of knowing merge with modern science and research, she states, and as neuroscience, epigenetics, adverse childhood experience and resilience is now showing memory is stored in DNA.
Today, because of Seli7 etse Sxwo’le – Spirit of the Sxwo’le (reef-net), Kusemaat addresses root cause of trauma for Indigenous Peoples and Nature. She is bound to protecting the sovereignty of the Salish Sea for 7th generation sustainability. She envisions these ancestral homelands as a medical office based in nature, for without mother earth, we do not have our health.
Taking the guidance of her respected elders and the spiritual signs of her ancestors, she is guided by these words:
- The Creator gave us the sacred responsibility to the land, water, salmon, reef-net and language that belongs to it and if it is not supported it is cultural spiritual genocide.
- The first part of any healing process is to know who you are and where you come from.
As Indigenous ways of knowing merge with modern science and research, she states, and as neuroscience, epigenetics, adverse childhood experience and resilience is now showing memory is stored in DNA.
WE DEVELOPMENT & COMMUNICATIONS
WE - ONE MIND FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE WORK
WE - ONE MIND FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE WORK
Lisa integrates her recent MA in anthropology with a 30-year background in film and video production, mixing ethnographic research methods with production methods in storytelling. In 1990, Lisa documented the international environmental preservation work of two Lummi tribal members, in a film project called Without the Trees, the Sky Will Fall. In 2007, she traveled to Kenya to produce The Best Medicine, and Ombogo Girl, films about resilience during the AIDS crisis. In 2013, Lisa formed SpicerDent Productions, LLC to produce short films for nonprofit agencies, including the award-winning web series Homeless in Bellingham, a four-year episodic series of stories told by people experiencing homelessness. Lisa has taught documentary production courses at Western Washington University and with Bellingham Film. Grant writing is key part of documentary work, and she applies this skill to the nonprofit sector. She uses her grant writing and communication skills to support Indigenous resurgence, a movement that is good for everyone, including nature. In this way, Lisa has served as Development Director for Native Action on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation in Montana, and today, provides grant writing and communication support to Whiteswan Environmental. vimeo.com/lisaspicer
WE INTERNS
WE - ONE MIND FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE WORK
WE - ONE MIND FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE WORK
- Free Eagle Borsey, Northwest Indian College
- Jaden Phair-Williams, Northwest Indian College
- Daniel Holmes, California Running Start
- Sadie Olsen, Northwest Indian College
- Christina Kisskeys, Western Washington University
- Alice Heibert, Western Washington University
WE - ORGANIZATIONAL CAPACITY BUILDING NEEDS:
- Chief Financial Officer
- Executive Assistant
- Intern & Volunteer Manager
- Interns
- Operations & Development Associate
- Project Manager
- Program Associates
- Partner Engagement Manager
|
|
Whiteswan Environmental relies on donations from the community to make this vision a reality.
|
