Ten members of the UW–Madison community were honored by Madison365 in its annual list of most influential Native American leaders for 2022. A nonprofit online news publication, Madison365 has published annual power lists recognizing Wisconsin leaders from different racial and ethnic groups since 2015. The purpose of the lists is to “highlight the beauty of the diversity across our state” and lift up role models for Wisconsin’s young people, according to Henry Sanders, Jr., co-founder, publisher and chief executive officer of Madison365.

Kasey Keeler, Assistant Professor of Civil Society & Community Studies and American Indian Studies, is leading an interdisciplinary community-engaged project, “Mapping Dejope: Indigenous Histories and Presence in Madison,” which will collect histories from UW and Dejope community members — past and present — to reveal the Indigenous histories and presence of this shared environment.

“As a faculty member and Native woman, I have seen the need for more accessible Indigenous histories. Perhaps more importantly, not only what Native people have done in the past, but a way to share the work and lives of Native people today.”

A new website is available that details what Indigenous communities in the Upper Midwest are doing to conserve and protect water. Named Bimaadiziwin Nibi, Water is Life, the story map is divided into sections, each centered around a different environmental issue. These include wild rice, fish, nonlocal beings (invasive species), mining, contaminants and beach sampling. Within each section are photos, reports and videos from tribal natural resource departments and a summary of interviews with scientists.