Native American Heritage Celebration

Nicole Friederichs is a Practitioner-in-Residence at Suffolk University Law School in Boston, MA where she teaches International Human Rights Law and Federal Indian Law and directs the Human Rights and Indigenous Peoples Clinic. The Clinic serves the native nation building needs of tribal nations and assists indigenous communities with their international human rights advocacy. Under Nicole’s leadership, the Clinic represents the victims in Caso Pueblos Indígenas Maya Kaqchikel de Sumpango y Otros vs. Guatemala, a case before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights which addresses the freedom of expression, cultural and media rights of indigenous communities. In 2024, Nicole and three other lawyers were awarded the Columbia Global Prize on Freedom of Expression for Excellence in Legal Services for work on this case. Nicole holds an LLM in Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy from the University of Arizona College of Law, a JD from Suffolk University Law School, and is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College and the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Alvin D. Harvey is a postdoctoral fellow in aeronautics and astronautics and citizen of the Navajo (Diné) Nation whose research is focused on Indigenous Research Methodologies and Methods (IRM&M) in aerospace engineering. Alvin’s graduate research encompassed studies of partial gravity human performance and mechanisms of simulating partial gravity environments, and a doctoral thesis shaped by several goals: co-creating and applying Diné and Indigenous pillars of knowledge in aeronautics and astronautics; developing Indigenous space ethics, astrophilosophy, astrobiology, and shared engineering methodology; and capacity building and pathfinding in systems and complex theory, curriculum design, and bioastronautics. As a postdoctoral fellow Alvin’s work includes centering Indigenous systems theory and knowledge in sustainable human and satellite space systems engineering, developing the first Indigenous Space Conference, and training a research team for a space analog mission grounded in Indigenous Methodologies.

Kylie Bemis is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Khoury College of Computer Sciences at Northeastern University. She holds a Ph.D. in Statistics from Purdue University. In 2013, while at the Canary Center at Stanford for Cancer Early Detection, she developed the Cardinal software package for statistical analysis of mass spectrometry imaging experiments, for which she was awarded the John M. Chambers Statistical Software Award in 2015. She joined Northeastern University in 2016, where she now teaches data science. Her research interests include machine learning and statistical computing for bioinformatics. She is an enrolled member of the Zuni tribe, and she is a writer of fiction and poetry. Her short fiction has appeared in the anthologies Nameless Woman: An Anthology of Fiction by Trans Women of Color (2018), Maiden Mother Crone: Fantastical Trans Femmes (2019), and Transcendent 4: The Year’s Best Transgender Themed Speculative Fiction (2019).

Jesse, an Ojibwe and Nakoda citizen, is a professor in Northeastern University’s chemistry and chemical biology department and affiliated with chemical engineering. Before joining Northeastern, Jesse earned his A.B. at Dartmouth College, double majoring in chemistry and Native American Studies. He completed his Ph.D. at the University of California, San Diego, studying carbene chemistry under Prof. Guy Bertrand as an NSF Graduate Research Fellow. His research focused on the use of singlet carbenes to advance the frontiers of nanoclusters, catalysis, and luminescent copper complexes. Following this, he was a President’s and Ford Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at UC Berkeley, where he worked with Prof. Jeffrey Long on modifying metal–organic frameworks for gas separations. Now, Jesse is establishing a research lab focused on sustainable materials, with applications in energy storage, gas purification, and greenhouse gas capture. He recently received the American Indian Science and Engineering Society’s Most Promising Scientist award for 2024.

Rodrigo E. L. Córdova Rosado (Osage Nation) is a final year PhD candidate in the Astrophysical Sciences Department at Princeton University. He studies the properties and impact of black holes on galactic evolution by measuring the arrangement of active galaxies (known as quasars) on the sky. Rodrigo was born and raised in Puerto Rico, and lived there until he graduated from high school. He majored in Astrophysics and Physics at Harvard University. He also did an MPhil program in the Archaeology of the Americas with a focus in Archaeoastronomy at Cambridge University as a Gates Cambridge Scholar. As part of his archaeological work, he is interested in monumental architecture and the ways it may encode the way ancestral communities saw the cosmos.

After discovering her passion for automation & AI from web development later in life the way many do—years of "doing it for funsies", and for free—Nicole embarked on a journey of [self-]exploration through connecting chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT with consumer-level automation.

Increasingly impressed by the duo's massive benefit to developers and society at large, she garnered attention focusing on Apple's Shortcuts app as an easy-to-use, accessible entry point to consumer automation and programmatic thinking.

Today, she consults businesses and individuals on AI and automation and develops productivity apps—for "paid funsies"—while educating and demonstrating the massive potential of integrated generative AI on Twitch in a fun, casual capacity through her membership.

Dr. Claudia A. Fox Tree is a multi-racial international speaker who uses Indigenous contributions to understand the impact of racism and oppression on the invisibility of Indigenous Peoples.

New Inca Son brings to life the ancestral music and dance of the Inca and Aymara people. Its vibrant melodies and folk dances promise people of all ages an unforgettable journey to the Andes Mountains.

Pumawari Tusys Boston is a non-profit organization 501(c)(3) that promotes the customs and traditions from Peru through traditional dances.

It is composed from Peruvian-American kids and their parents from different towns around Boston. We hope you enjoy our performances and with traditional dresses and customs brought from Peru.

Aztec dance worksop sharing the permit for dance and the beauty of Mother Earth/TONANTZIN traitional Aztec dance and songs from prehispanic times.

Chali’naru Dones Boriken Taino, member of Iukaieke Guainia, United Confederation Of Taino People, and Kasibahagua Dance group. Chali’naru focuses attention on Indigenous erasure, Indigenous sovereignty, and improving school curriculum for Indigenous students.

Native American Dance Troupe sharing Indigenous history, dance, music and stories

Cultural Survival is an Indigenous-led nonprofit that advocates for Indigenous Peoples' rights and supports Indigenous communities’ self-determination, cultures, and political resilience. For over 50 years, Cultural Survival has partnered with Indigenous communities worldwide.

Italian Americans for Indigenous Peoples Day supports Indigenous-led efforts in Massachusetts to establish an Indigenous Peoples Day holiday in place of Columbus Day every second Sunday of October.

The Innovators Society is the Museum of Science's group of young professional supporters (ages 21-40). Innovators are the next generation of STEM and community leaders passionate about inspiring a lifelong love of science in everyone!

An indigenous led trauma informed peer community that focuses on wellness trainings, respite houses and a community center in Worcester, Ma.

Pumawari Tusys Boston is a non-profit organization 501(c)(3) that promotes the customs and traditions from Peru through traditional dances.

It is composed from Peruvian-American kids and their parents from different towns around Boston. We hope you enjoy our performances and with traditional dresses and customs brought from Peru.

Our mission is to create and implement programs, using awareness of cultural differences, to make our community more welcoming and inclusive to all.

NAICOB was originally established in 1969 as the Boston Indian Council when it served as the hub of social and civil rights activities for the American Indian/Alaska Native and First Nations urban Indian community in Boston. The Boston Indian Council was first headquartered in Dorchester and moved to Jamaica Plain in 1974. The center was reorganized as the North American Indian Center of Boston in 1991. Since then, we have provided a wide range of cultural, social, educational, and professional services to Native peoples in the Commonwealth. As the oldest urban Indian center in Massachusetts, our mission is to empower the Native American community with the goal of improving the quality of life of Indigenous peoples.

AISES is dedicated towards the advancement and representation of the native student body at MIT. We are a source of Indigenous culture, an advocate for native rights and causes, and a support network for our students and allies.

Performing Arts Teacher from BPS and guest Artist at BHCC, engages the audience with Pre-hispanic Music and Aztec Dances from Mexico bringing understanding among none Indigenous audiences.

FLIP is founded on the mission to improve American Indian/Alaska Native health and eliminate existing health disparities. We also strive to empower emergency medicine health care providers serving Indigenous populations and to provide the highest quality care through educational, clinical and administrative partnerships as well as the development and support of youth healthcare career pathway programs.