Meet Our Team
Our team members encompass various talents and are committed to our mission and local communities. They strive to support, enrich, and uplift Indigenous culture and Mother Earth.
Leadership Team
Birdie
President
Keri, Ph.D
I’m the co-founder and Executive Director of the 501c3 nonprofit, Don’t Call Me Josephine, where we seek to raise awareness about and test solutions to social determinants of health, from a trauma- and community-informed perspective. The world of trauma chose me during my graduate training in clinical psychology, given my interests in psychophysiology and lived experience as a child exposed to domestic violence. I’ve always gravitated towards issues of health equity, given life long lived experience. I began studying trauma in 2000; and began diagnosing and treating its emotional and behavioral aftermath shortly thereafter. Insufficiencies in systems of care led me away from clinical work, and towards the clinical training ground that is academia, the applied world of state-funded behavioral healthcare, and the nonprofit world addressing social determinants. I recognize that insufficiencies in systems of care are worst for Indigenous communities, and that these insufficiencies are baked into historical, intergenerational, and ongoing trauma. I understand that food is a foundational, neglected, and oppressed medicine; and that investments in Indigenous Ways of Knowing are key to a conciliatory future across communities, where communities can collectively heal through past and ongoing trauma.
Treasurer/Secretary/ Documentary Works Manager
Erika, MSC
Erika Bailey-Johnson is the newly appointed Project Director of Sacred Bundle. Prior to her
current role she was at Bemidji State University for 20 years. She served for 16 years as the
first Sustainability Director, taught the People and the Environment academic program for
20 years, and served as the Founder and Director of the Niizhoo-gwayakochigewin project
to integrate an Indigenous lens into campus sustainability work and academic programs.
She worked in the Ganawendakamigaawigamig (Office of Earth-Caretaking or Sustainability
Office). She completed her BA in Biology from the University of Minnesota, Morris in 1998
and her Master’s degree in Environmental Studies from BSU in 2006. Her background is in
science teaching, and Erika and her husband taught for two years in Mexico and three
years in Kuwait before returning home to Northern Minnesota. In 2014, Erika was named
one of the top 40 under 40 business professionals in the region by Prairie Business
Magazine, and in 2015 as one of the top 40 under 40 professionals in the Midwest working
to accelerate America’s transition to a clean energy economy by Midwest Energy News.
She speaks at regional and national conferences on BSU’s unique sustainability model
which includes a wellness component and an emphasis on integrating Indigenous voices.
She served on Governor Dayton’s Committee on Pollinator Protection from 2016 to 2018.
Erika is currently on the board for Fresh Energy, the Ernest Oberholtzer Foundation, and
Happy Dancing Turtle. In 2022, Erika received the Minnesota State Board of Trustees
Service Faculty of the Year award. She is a founding member of the City of Bemidji
Sustainability Committee. Her first book project was recently published and is a bilingual
Ojibwe/English children’s book to connect children to the Ojibwe language and Mother
Earth. Erika is an enrolled member of the Red Lake Band of Ojibwe.
Vice President, Minwaadizi Project Manager
Daniel
Board Member
Logan
Board Member
Tom
Board Member
Terry
Board Member
Robert
Spiritual Advisor
Kim, MSC
Board Member
Tallie
Tallie is a member of the Comanche Nation of Oklahoma, Pena-tuka (strikes fast band) on
her father’s side, and Kwahadda-tuka (antelope eaters) are her bands. She graduated from the
University of Minnesota-Duluth in 2022 with a Master’s in Tribal Resource Environmental
Stewardship. Tallie holds a degree from Bemidji State University with a Bachelors in Native
Nations. While attending BSU she had helped develop curriculum with the Nizhoo
Gwayacochigaywin, an Indigenous Sustainability program where you can obtain a Bachelors
degree. She has taught at Red Lake Tribal College for one year in Anishinaabe Fitness and was
Private Investigator for three grants, the USDA Department of Food and Agriculture, Sovereign
Equity Fund, and Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education grant for two years all
focusing heavily on food sustainability, gardening, and culturally relevant events including
storytelling with the elders. Her title with Red Lake Tribal College was the Community
Coordintor. She currently teaches a quilling class at Mewhiza, a non-profit whose team are all
Indigenous women that have brought back traditional birthing in the community. Tallie’s
background has always been teaching the community about plants and food foraging. She is a
certified Wildnerness First Responder and enjoys being outdoors. Her background has
longstanding passion for teaching outdoors and having a connection with nature. She aims to
enhance Sacred Bundle advance in food sovereignty programs and teach food and exercise
classes while integrating an outdoors curriculum that focuses on native culture.
Board Member
Artley
Member of the Turtle Clan, Oneida Nation and a lifelong resident in Oneida, Wisconsin. My learning journey includes an undergraduate degree in Education, Master of Science degree in Administration, and a Doctorate in First Nation Studies. My current professional role is Oneida Nation High School Principal, Athletic Director for the Oneida Nation School System. I have also served the Oneida Nation in the professional capacity of Director of Economic Development and General Manager. My experience journey has provided the opportunity to work with Tribal Nations across the Turtle Island in nation building projects. My dedication to the seventh generation of our Indigenous Nations is motivated to encourage everyone to make a personal commitment to share good words and a good mind!
Board Member
Support Team
Dalton
Consultant
Corey, MSC
Consultant