What does it mean to you to celebrate Native American Heritage Month?
Celebrating Native American Heritage Month recognizes our traditions and languages, and honors our ancestors and the legacy they left for us
What are the most pressing environmental challenges facing your community today?
The environmental challenges we face include being able to access lands to use traditional stewardship practices to help support our plants, medicines, and foods which then helps our community with access to the plants, medicines, and foods; revitalizing traditional fire practices on the land.
What are some ways that non-Native people can be better allies to Native communities?
Ask Native people to participate in projects, ensure that when Native people are asked to participate their time is respected; and have one one-on-one informal conversations to build relationships with our Native communities.
About Teresa
Teresa, with three other Indigenous women, established a non-profit, the Native Coast Action Network to assist West Coast Indigenous communities build capacity and assist in implementing cultural and traditional ecological initiatives with a focus on revitalization of cultural burning in Chumash Ancestral lands. She previously served as the Environmental Director for the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash and has deep experience building partnerships, collaborations, and relationships across diverse communities.
She is a member of the Syuxtun Plant Collective—a traditional plant collective focused on tending, gathering, and preparing traditional plants. Teresa serves on Boards of the Indigenous Stewardship Network, Land Trust for Santa Barbara, the Central Coast Joint Venture, and the Advisory Committee for the Central Coast Climate Justice Network. Teresa enjoys spending time at the ocean, at traditional gatherings, and sharing time with her family and in community.