Welcome to the 29th Annual Tribal Leaders Summit, an empowering and transformative gathering tribes from across the nation! Hosted by United Tribes Technical College, the Summit will be held in Bismarck, North Dakota from September 9-10, 2026.
Over the two days, the Tribal Leaders Summit will feature thought-provoking keynote speakers, engaging panel discussions, interactive workshops, and networking opportunities that will foster understanding, promote cultural exchange, and foster collective progress. Our diverse range of topics will touch upon vital issues such as healthcare, education, culture, economic development, and much more.
Whether you're a Tribal Leader, community member, policymaker, or an ally in supporting indigenous voices, the 29th Annual Tribal Leaders Summit is an event you won't want to miss. Join us for meaningful dialogue, collaboration, and powerful conversations that uplift our Nations, strengthen partnerships, and advance our collective future.
Agenda
Tuesday, September 8
12:00 PM - 5:00 PM
1:00 PM - 5:00 PM
1:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Early Registration/Check-In
Located in the Main Lobby
Wednesday, September 9
7:30 AM - 8:30 AM
7:30 AM - 8:30 AM
Breakfast
Hall D
8:00 AM
8:00 AM
Event Start
8:30 AM - 9:50 AM
8:30 AM - 9:50 AM
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Tradeshow Opening
Hall B
10:55 AM - 5:00 PM
10:55 AM - 5:00 PM
Track 1: Economic Development
Track 2: Physical, Mental, and Public Health
Track 3: Education
Track 4: Governance
Track 5: Criminal Justice
Track 6: Culture
Track 7: Social Justice
Track 8: Agriculture and Food Sovereignty
11:00 AM - 11:50 AM
11:00 AM - 11:50 AM
Session I - Hall A
Penicillin and Partnership: The Tribal Response to Syphilis in the Great Plains Area (Track 2)
Presenter: Taylor Davison and John Godoy
Choosing An Entity- Pros and Cons of state law, tribal, or section 17 incorporation for your 638 entity (Track 4)
Presenter: Clifford Rhodes
Indian Highway Safety Program: Traffic Safety Issues Engagement (Track 5)
Presenter: Justin Wendland and Kimberly Belone
Teaching Heart, My Life from Native American Boarding School to Leader in Education (Track 3)
Presenters: Ramona Klein and Dr. Matt Villeneuve
Session I - Prairie Rose Room 105
Food Sovereignty Tract - Opening Prayer, Youth Singers (Track 8)
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Lunch
Hall D
1:00 PM - 1:50 PM
1:00 PM - 1:50 PM
Session II - Hall A
Bridging Community Support and Clinical Care Within a 638 Behavioral Health System: The CWOY Model (Track 6)
Presenter: Keaton Widow
Building Care Together: Implementing Integrated Care Teams at Oyate Health Center
(Track 2)
Presenter: Allison Joachim, Fawn Janis, Jackie Yotter
Human Trafficking in Indigenous Communities: How to raise awareness, prevent it, and how to respond (Track 7)
Presenter: Deanna Prue
Sovereign Systems: How Organizational Development and People Operations (HR) Strengthen Tribal Governance (Track 4)
Presenter: Tori Whipple and Elle Swan
Indigenous Food Sovereignty and Public Health (Track 8)
Presenter: Tahni Parisien, Amanda Strauss, Chris Taylor
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
American Indian College Fund Board Training – by invitation only
American Indian College Fund Board Training – by invitation only
Tree Rooms
2:00 PM - 2:50 PM
2:00 PM - 2:50 PM
Session III - Hall A
Wastewater system and its potential to transform utility management on the reservation
(Track 1)
Presenter: Joseph Serna
Dialysis Burden and Gaps in Care Among American Indian and Alaska Native Medicare Enrollees (Track 2)
Presenter: Chen Wang and Zarah Mattox
Supporting Native Civic Engagement Through Community-Led Facilitation (Track 4)
Presenters: Nathaniel Ruleaux & Jessica Glidden
Community Mycology in Uncertain Times (Track 8)
Presenter: Amanda Padron
2:30 PM - 3:30 PM
2:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Afternoon Snack
Enjoy an afternoon snack served in Hall B.
3:00 PM - 3:50 PM
3:00 PM - 3:50 PM
Session IV - Hall A
Advancing Tribal Data Infrastructure: The Contemporary Story of Winter Count
(Track 7)
Presenter: Larry Bearking
Economics and Political Power of Indigenous Data Sovereignty (Track 4)
Presenter: Joseph Yracheta
Storytelling as Pedagogy: Indigenous Perspectives in Social Studies Education (Track 3)
Presenter: Mathew Foolish Bear-Hale
Building Wókpȟaŋ Kits: Traditional Medicines & 988 Awareness (Track 2)
Presenter: Terrance Roy
Session IV - Prairie Rose Room 105
4:00 PM - 4:50 PM
4:00 PM - 4:50 PM
Session V - Hall A
Transforming Tribal Oral Health: Care Circles and the Care Progression Pathway (Track 2)
Presenter: William Colson
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA): Building Financial Strength With A Community Based Program (Track 1)
Presenters: Cheryl Deaton
"Democracy is Indigenous" (Track 7)
Presenter: Daniela Aki & Dr. Cheryl Kary
Grow Your Intentions: Build Habits That Support You (Track 3)
Presenter: Dr. Sheeresa Begay
Session V - Prairie Rose Room 105
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Social Hour
Hor de vours and door prizes in Hall B
5:15 PM - 7:15 PM
5:15 PM - 7:15 PM
Sponsored by Fort Abraham Lincoln Foundation. Limited Tickets Available. Not open to the public.
7:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Thursday, September 10
7:30 AM - 8:30 AM
7:30 AM - 8:30 AM
Breakfast
Hall D
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tradeshow
Hall B
8:30 AM - 9:50 AM
9:55 AM - 5:00 PM
9:55 AM - 5:00 PM
Track 1: Economic Development
Track 2: Physical, Mental, and Public Health
Track 3: Education
Track 4: Governance
Track 5: Criminal Justice
Track 6: Culture
Track 7: Social Justice
Track 8: Agriculture and Food Sovereignty
10:00 AM - 10:50 AM
10:00 AM - 10:50 AM
Waniyetu Wowapi Khetkopawingxe: A Thousand Winters of History (Track 6)
Presenter(s): Dakota Goodhouse, Butch Thunderhawk, Dennis Neumann
The Cost of Carrying Everything: Nervous System Stress, Leadership Pressure, and Identity in Indigenous Students (Track 2)
Presenter: Whitney Nordvold
On the Process of Ideation for Designing Novel Materials based Processes for commercialization (Track 1)
Presenter: Surojit Gupta
Sustainability: Social Equity, Balance, People First (Track 7)
Presenter: LLoree Dickens Two Crow
Session I - Prairie Rose Room 104
Session I - Prairie Rose Room 105
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Hechena Waniyetu Wowapi Wichohx'an: The Winter Count Tradition Continues (Track 6)
Presenter(s): Dakota Goodhouse, Butch Thunderhawk, Dennis Neumann
From Winter Counts to Data Hubs: Reimagining Public Health Data Through Tribal Sovereignty (Track 7)
Presenter: Sarah Shewbrooks
Connecting Kids to Coverage, Medicaid Application/Renewal Assistance for Children, Families, and First-Time Moms (Track 2)
Presenter(s): Travis Johnson, Barbara LeBeau, Kristar Shouldis
Session II - Prairie Rose Room 103
Session II - Prairie Rose Room 104
Session II - Prairie Rose Room 105
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Lunch
Hall D
1:00 PM - 1:50 PM
1:00 PM - 1:50 PM
Session III - Hall A
Growing Native Enterprise: Resources, Partnerships & Progress (Track 1)
Presenter: Brek Maxon
Session III - Prairie Rose Room 102
Grant Management Toolkit (Track 2)
Presenter(s): Tinka Duran and Miranda Whitman
Session III - Prairie Rose Room 104
Session III - Prairie Rose Room 105
2:00 PM - 2:50 PM
2:00 PM - 2:50 PM
Session IV - Hall A
Session IV - Prairie Rose Room 101
Session IV - Prairie Rose Room 102
Session IV - Prairie Rose Room 103
Session IV - Prairie Rose Room 105
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Healthy Relationships, Healthy Futures for Native Communities, and the Next Generations (Track 2)
Presenter: Opal Jones & Cody Ingle
2:30 PM - 3:30 PM
2:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Afternoon Snack
Enjoy an afternoon snack served in Hall B.
3:00 PM - 3:50 PM
3:00 PM - 3:50 PM
Session V - Hall A
Session V - Prairie Rose Room 101
Session V - Prairie Rose Room 102
Session V - Prairie Rose Room 103
Session V - Prairie Rose Room 104
Session V - Prairie Rose Room 105
4:00 PM - 4:50 PM
5:00 PM
5:00 PM
Event End
Speakers
Growing Native Enterprise: Resources, Partnerships & Progress
Sacred Pipe Resource Center
Brek Maxon, Director of Business Engagement, Sacred Pipe Resource Center
"Democracy is Indigenous"
Sacred Pipe Resource Center
Dr. Cheryl Kary, Executive Director
"Democracy is Indigenous"
Sacred Pipe Resource Center
Daniela Aki, Director of Civic Engagement
Grow Your Intentions: Build Habits That Support You
Bright Ember Insights, LLC
Dr. Sheeresa Begay
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA): Building Financial Strength With A Community Based Program
Stakeholder Partnership Education & Communicati...
Cheryl Deaton, Area Director and Acting Executive Director of SPEC
Community Mycology in Uncertain Times
UTTC Land Grant
Amanda Padron, Land Grant Operations Specialist
Storytelling as Pedagogy: Indigenous Perspectives in Social Studies Education
United Tribes Technical College
Mathew Foolish Bear
Supporting Native Civic Engagement Through Community-Led Facilitation
Native Governance Center
Jessica Glidden, Leadership Development Program Manager
Supporting Native Civic Engagement Through Community-Led Facilitation
Native Governance Center
Nathaniel Ruleaux, Community Engagement Specialist
Sustainability: Social Equity, Balance, People First
Two Crow Development LLC - Two Crow Gardens
LLoree Dickens Two Crow - Speaker Owner
Building Wókpȟaŋ Kits: Traditional Medicines & 988 Awareness
GPTLHB
Terrance Roy: 988 Program Navigator
Healthy Relationships, Healthy Futures for Native Communities, and the Next Generations.
GPTCHB
Cody Ingle (Lost & Found Senior Research & Evaluation Specialist)
On the Process of Ideation for Designing Novel Materials based Processes for Commercialization
University of North Dakota
Surojit Gupta
Waniyetu Wowapi Khetkopawingxe: A Thousand Winters of History Hechena Waniyetu Wowapi Wichohx'an: The Winter Count Tradition Continues
United Tribes Technical College
Waniyetu Wowapi Khetkopawingxe: A Thousand Winters of History Hechena Waniyetu Wowapi Wichohx'an: The Winter Count Tradition Continues
United Tribes Technical College
Waniyetu Wowapi Khetkopawingxe: A Thousand Winters of History Hechena Waniyetu Wowapi Wichohx'an: The Winter Count Tradition Continues
United Tribes Technical College
Dakota W. Goodhouse, M.A. , History & Indigenous Studies Instructor
Bridging Community Support and Clinical Care Within a 638 Behavioral Health System: The CWOY Model
Great Plains Tribal Leaders Health Board
Keaton Widow, Program Manager
Economics and Political Power of Indigenous Data Sovereignty
Native BioData Consortium
Joseph Yracheta, MS Executive Director
Healthy Relationships, Healthy Futures for Native Communities, and the Next Generations.
GPTCHB
Opal Jones (Program Manager) and Cody Ingle (Lost&Found Senior Research & Evaluation Specialist)
Grant Management Toolkit
Great Plains Tribal Epidemiology Center
Miranda Whitman, MPH, TECPHI Program Manager
Connecting Kids to Coverage, Medicaid Application/Renewal Assistance for Children, Families, and First-Time Moms
Great Plains Tribal Health
Kristar Shouldis, Enrollment and Retention Specialist
Connecting Kids to Coverage, Medicaid Application/Renewal Assistance for Children, Families, and First-Time Moms
Great Plains Tribal Health
Barbara LeBeau, Enrollment and Retention Specialist
The Cost of Carrying Everything: Nervous System Stress, Leadership Pressure, and Identity in Indigenous Students
Whitney Nordvold, MSW, CSW, QMHP
Connecting Kids to Coverage, Medicaid Application/Renewal Assistance for Children, Families, and First-Time Moms
Great Plains Tribal Health
Travis Johnson, Program Manager
Grant Management Toolkit
Great Plains Tribal Epidemiology Center
Tinka Duran, MPH, Great Plains Tribal Epidemiology Center, Director
Transforming Tribal Oral Health: Care Circles and the Care Progression Pathway
Great Plains Tribal Leaders Health board
William Colson - Senior Director of Allied Services
Advancing Tribal Data Infrastructure: The Contemporary Story of Winter Count
Great Plains Tribal Health
Larry Bearking, Chief of our Informatics and Analytics Department
Teaching Heart, My Life from Native American Boarding School to Leader in Education
Dr. Matt Villeneuve
Teaching Heart, My Life from Native American Boarding School to Leader in Education
Dr. Ramona Charette Klein
Wastewater system and its potential to transform utility management on the reservation.
Avanza CLEANTECH
Joseph Serna
Human Trafficking in Indigenous Communities: How to raise awareness, prevent it, and how to respond.
Great Plains Tribal Leaders' Health Board
Deanna Prue - Program Manager - Trauma & Violence Prevention Initiative/MMIR Task Force Leader
From Winter Counts to Data Hubs: Reimagining Public Health Data Through Tribal Sovereignty
Great Plains Tribal Epidemiology Center
Sarah Shewbrooks, MPH, Data Coordinating Unit Director and Lead Epidemiologist
Sovereign Systems: How Organizational Development and People Operations (HR) Strengthen Tribal Governance
GPTLHB
Elle Swan, Sr. Director of People Operations
Sovereign Systems: How Organizational Development and People Operations (HR) Strengthen Tribal Governance
GPTLHB
Tori Whipple, Vice President of Organizational Development
Dialysis Burden and Gaps in Care Among American Indian and Alaska Native Medicare Enrollees
GPTLHB
Indian Highway Safety Program: Traffic Safety Issues Engagement
BIA OJS Indian Highway Safety Program
Kimberly Belone, Program Coordinator
Key Note Speaker
University of Arizona
David Beeksma - Director of University of Arizona'a Udall Center
Building Care Together: Implementing Integrated Care Teams at Oyate Health Center
GPTLHB-Oyate Health Center
Jackie Yotter, RN- Vice President of Clinical Care
Building Care Together: Implementing Integrated Care Teams at Oyate Health Center
GPTLHB-Oyate Health Center
Fawn Janis, RN-Senior Director of Nursing
Indigenous Food Sovereignty and Public Health
American Indian Public Health Resource Center
Chris Taylor-Community Public Health
Indigenous Food Sovereignty and Public Health
American Indian Public Health Resource Center
Amanda Strauss-Community Public Health
Indigenous Food Sovereignty and Public Health
American Indian Public Health Resource Center
Tahni Parisien-Indigenous Food Sovereignty Project Manager,
Penicillin and Partnership: The Tribal Response to Syphilis in the Great Plains Area
Great Plains Tribal Epidemiology Center
John Godoy, MPH | Program Manager
Penicillin and Partnership: The Tribal Response to Syphilis in the Great Plains Area
Great Plains Tribal Epidemiology Center
Taylor Davison, MPH | Program Manager
Building Care Together: Implementing Integrated Care Teams at Oyate Health Center
GPTLHB-Oyate Health Center
Allison Joachim, RN-Senior Director of Integrated Care
Choosing An Entity- Pros and Cons of state law, tribal, or section 17 incorporation for your 638 entity
GPTCHB-OHC
Clifford Rhodes, General Counsel, Great Plains Tribal Leaders Health Board
Dialysis Burden and Gaps in Care Among American Indian and Alaska Native Medicare Enrollees
GPTLHB
Dr. Cheng Wang
Indian Highway Safety Program: Traffic Safety Issues Engagement
BIA OJS Indian Highway Safety Program
Justin Wendland, Program Director
Opal Jones (Program Manager) and Cody Ingle (Lost&Found Senior Research & Evaluation Specialist)
Deanna Prue - Program Manager - Trauma & Violence Prevention Initiative/MMIR Task Force Leader
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