Living Breath Team

Dr. Charlotte Cote

Dr. Charlotte Coté is a Professor in the Department of American Indian Studies at the University of Washington. She also serves as editor for the UW Press’ Indigenous Confluences Series. Dr. Coté has dedicated her personal and academic life to creating…

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Dr. Dian Million

Dr. Dian Million (Athabascan) has been teaching in AIS since 2002. Dr. Million received her M. A. in Ethnic Studies in 1998 and her Ph. D. from the University of California at Berkeley in 2004. Currently Dr. Million is an Associate Professor in American Indian Studies and an Affiliated faculty…

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Susan Balbas

The co-founder and executive director of The Na’ah Illahee Community and a community organizer, Susan Balbas holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of Science in Teaching. From 2007 to 2012, she was a training and technical assistance specialist for multiple tribal…

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Bridget Ray

Bridget Ray (Ojibwe/michif) is Director of Philanthropic Relations for the Na’ah Illahee Fund. Bridget is of mixed cultural heritage born and was raised by the Salish Sea immersed in coastal Indigenous traditions. She graduated from Evergreen State College in 2003 with a BA/BS in Liberal Arts and…

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Tia Yazzie

Tia Yazzie is a Diné woman (Navajo) from the Navajo Reservation located in Arizona. She is from the One-Who-Walks-Around clan, born for the Bitter-Water clan. Her maternal grandparent’s clan is One-Who-Walks-Around and her paternal grandparent’s clan is Coyote Pass.

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Natalie Vaughan-Wynn

Natalie Vaughan-Wynn (Fort Peck Assiniboine Sioux Registered Descendant) is a Ph.D. Candidate in the University of Washington’s Geography Department and is working toward her Certificate in American Indian and Indigenous Studies. Her educational path entails a G.E.D., attending…

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Chase Puentes

Chase Puentes (Mexican/Mestiza) is a PhD student of Geography at the University of Washington. Her work investigates the intersections between Indigenous food sovereignty, climate change, and gender, particularly in the North.

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Michelle Henry

Michelle Henry is a citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Michelle currently attends the University of Washington as a doctoral student in anthropology where her focus relates to human and environmental relationships, symbolism…

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