Jim Dina has spent a lifetime learning the Lifeways of Indigenous Peoples. He is a renowned Connecticut-based Primitive Technologist who has built a variety of Native Peoples structures and tools as well as pottery, cattail mats and more. After graduating from MIT with an advanced degree in engineering, Jim also trained as a classical guitarist.
Judith Dreyer is a Master Gardener and teacher with more than 20 years of experience developing workshops and classes, speaking and writing about holistic health, edible and medicinal plants, dreams and more. She has degrees in Nursing and Nutrition Science and has taught Holistic Health Studies and Nutrition Science at both university and college level. Judith has traveled a wheel of diverse learning and experiences, and has Iroquois/Mohawk in her lineage.
Allen Hazard is a renowned jewelry sculptor, Wampum artist, and member of the Narragansett tribal nation. After learning from his mother, he has been making wampum for more than 30 years. His shop, The Purple Shell, is located in Charlestown, Rhode Island.
Bonnie Plourde (BA Anthropology, Minor Archaeology, Honors Program Scholar, Lambda National Honors Society) has served as Lead Archaeologist on a variety of Connecticut sites and specializes in presenting technology and archeological techniques to students of all ages in order to further the understanding of New England’s Native Peoples.
Chef Sherry Pocknett is part of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, People of the First Light. She grew up on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and became keenly aware of the seasons and their integral role in Native American cuisine. Chef Sherry is the former food and beverage manager at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center. She is continuing to promote local Native American food traditions through her new venture, Sly Fox Den Restaurant in Preston, Connecticut.
Annawon Weeden is an enrolled member of his mother’s Mashpee Wampanoag tribal community located on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. He currently works in the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation (MPTN) Cultural Resource Dept. as the Eastern Woodland song/dance instructor for his father’s tribal community located on their reservation in southeastern Connecticut. Growing up on the Narragansett reservation in south coastal Rhode Island, Annawon was instructed on the traditional dances & customs of New England natives throughout his entire life. As an adult, traveling abroad and visiting many other tribes across the U.S., Annawon has developed a comprehensive understanding of the vast diversity among many native customs. Annawon’s passion for preserving the culture has been clear throughout decades working at Plimoth Plantation and Boston Children’s Museum, and he has shared his tribal culture with many institutions, such as Smithsonian, National Geographic, Scholastic, PBS, History/Discovery Channel and Harvard University.