astra martá writes under a pen name. With the great spirit in mind,
chi miigwech was birthed by the desire to elaborate on saying "thank you for the food and everything that made it possible" before a meal. It is also an expression of gratitude and respect for everything that exists. astra is Anishinaabe from Manitoba and a survivor of the Sixties Scoop who grew up in the unceded Mohawk territory of Tiohtià:ke (Montreal).
Jordan Stranger is an Anishinaabe artist and graphic designer originally from Peguis First Nation, is known for his colorful style represented through both massive murals and minuscule Apple app store icons. He’s designed logos and graphics for Festival du Voyageur, APTN, Shopify, Audible and Apple. His murals and artwork using cultural influences and symbolism can be found throughout the city of Winnipeg, and he is the designer and artist behind the Winnipeg 150 logo. Stranger’s work is deeply rooted in the traditions within contemporary Indigenous culture, and he uses his life experiences and spiritual practice learned through Ojibwe teachings to drive his artistic passions.
Angela Mesic currently teaches the first year Anishinaabemowin course at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UWM) and provides online long-distance learning for Yale University. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in the field of psychology at UWM and is currently working on a master of community psychology at Alverno College. Angela has a strong interest in research focused on the psychology of learning and curriculum development. Through the Electa Quinney Institute for American Indian Education at UWM, she assists the director, Dr. Margaret Noodin, in making significant revisions to language curriculum, and handles curricular queries from various internal and external partners, including Indian Community School, several colleges and universities throughout the United States, and tribal communities.
Margaret Noodin received an MFA in creative writing and a PhD in linguistics from the University of Minnesota. She is currently a professor at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, where she also serves as director of the Electa Quinney Institute for American Indian Education and a scholar in the Center for Water Policy. She is the author of Bawaajimo: A Dialect of Dreams in Anishinaabe Language and Literature and two bilingual collections of poetry, Weweni and Gijigijigikendan: What the Chickadee Knows. Her poems are also anthologized in New Poets of Native Nations, Poetry, the Michigan Quarterly Review, Water Stone Review and Yellow Medicine Review. Her research spans linguistic revitalization, Indigenous ontologies, traditional science and prevention of violence in Indigenous communities.
