Event
Native America Speaks - Hike - Iron Shield Creative
Fee:
Free.Location:
Meet at the South Shore Trailhead (next to the Two Medicine Lake Boat Dock), Two Medicine ValleyDates & Times
Date:
Time:
Duration:
Type of Event
Description
Members of the Blackfeet Nation and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes share personal knowledge of their history and culture as part of the Native America Speaks program.
This program began in 1982 and is the longest running Indigenous speaker series in the National Park Service. Native America Speaks is made possible by donations to the Glacier National Park Conservancy.
This special Native America Speaks program is a cultural presentation and hike along the South Shore Trail in the Two Medicine Valley.
Iron Shield Creative
Lailani Upham is an Amskapi Pikuni (Blackfeet Nation) tribal member and a descendent from the Aaniiih, Nakoda, and Dakota tribes. Lailani grew up on the Blackfeet and Fort Belknap Indian reservations where she explored her home landscapes as a kid and got into trouble for taking off into the mountains without notice on adventures. She grew up hearing the stories and history of her tribal people and was grounded in identity through the passing down of oral traditions from her grandparents on both sides of her family and tribal lineage. Lailani is the Blackfeet Tribe Tourism and Economic Development Administrator leading to make the Blackfeet homelands a destination spot in Western Montana. She is also the visionary behind Iron Shield Creative LLC, a consulting platform crafting Indigenous stories and holding creative Indigenous workshops from indoors to the outdoors. She is a multidisciplinary journalist, photojournalist, and filmmaker specializing in Indigenous storytelling, land stewardship, and culturally relevant activities. She is passionate about land conservation efforts as well as traditional and contemporary Blackfeet and Native cultures. She says her experience and passion have led her to a closer connection to nature and like-minded storytellers while vamping up a hunger to encourage others to tap into their voice through written and visual storytelling. Above all, Lailani loves being a grandmother, mother, daughter, sister, auntie, and friend; and takes these roles very seriously. Lailani is a U.S. Army veteran and Indigenous woman business owner where she promotes tribal and cultural values every day by living her best, strongest, fearless, and hilarious life.
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