R.E.A.C.H. Fest 2023
Join us on
November
17th 3p-7p & 18th 9:30a-7p
The second annual R.E.A.C.H. Fest
a Native American Heritage Festival, to celebrate Native American Heritage Month
There will be Indigenous music & dance performances, along with vendor booths.
There will also be speakers dedicated to reconciliation, representation, education, equity, advocacy and allyship and community, ceremony and healing
Located at the
Dayton Metro Library -
Main campus the Downtown Location
This event is free to attend
Check Out the Fests Featured Artist and Performers
I am more than a "Savage Birch"
I am an Indigenous Matriarch wielding Ancestral Knowledge
Jillian Waterman
Artist/Fashion Designer/Reality Shifter
Jillian Waterman is an Anishinaabe Cultural bearer, Philosopher, Artist and Fashion Designer.Jillian Waterman is an Anishinaabe Cultural bearer, Philosopher, Artist and Fashion Designer. She is a Citizen of the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe of Michigan and descends from Potawatomi, Odawa and Ojibwe ancestors from Western and Central Michigan. Consumed by her curiosity,
Malcolm McDonald
Mthebnéshiniyêk
Bodwéwadmi miné Neshnabé
(Gun Lake Tribe Band Of Pottawatomi)
Native American Hoop Dancer
culture, humanity and senses, she has always driven to seek as much traditional Indigenous knowledge as she could. Over the past decade she has focused her efforts on the role revitalization of traditional knowledge in healing and strengthening indigenous communities within the Great Lakes Region. Working within the tradition of Anishinaabe bark art, she creates pieces such as canoes, wigwams, baskets, dishes and fashion items which range from the more traditional and practical to those which push the medium into exploring new and contemporary cultural spaces. Her work has been nationally and internationally featured on runways, in museums, galleries and publications.
Jillian enjoys traveling to native communities throughout the region where she often collaborates with other tradition bearers on sharing knowledge and harvesting materials. She frequently teaches classes on bark work to a variety of age groups at Universities, Museums, Nonprofits and Tribal programs and has partnered with other artists to build multiple birchbark and American elm bark canoes. She has served in the formal role of Artist in Residence at Trent University’s First People House of Learning, Bkejwanong First Nation, Akwesasne First Nation and Saginaw Chippewa’s Ziibiwing Cultural Center where she led community builds of birch bark canoes and basket making workshops. As well has lectured on Indigenous philosophy, social and cultural issues. She has also been a lead instructor for multiple years at the Great Lakes Traditional Arts Gathering and the Great Lakes Intertribal Food Summit.
She has also moved into textiles and fashion design taking the traditional knowledge and turning them contemporary. You can see her work on the runaways from New York to Santa Fe and Detroit. In places such as New York Fashion Week September 2023, New York Fashion Week February 2023, Santa Fe Free Indian Market, Eiteljorg , Honor our Legacy Fashion Show, Vibes with the tribes, Detroit ndn Market, Parade of Colors Indigenous Fashion Show and Michigan Fashion Week.
Jillian Waterman
Gary Farmer is an actor and musician, born on Six Nations along the Grand River, Ohsweken, Ontario. He is widely recognized as a pioneer in the development of Indigenous media in Canada and was the founding director of an urban Indian radio network, Aboriginal Voices Radio Network. He also published Aboriginal Voices Magazine from 1993 - 2003.
Gary began performing on stage, working in theater from 1975 - 1987 in Canada. Winning Dora Mavor for best new play in 1989 for Tomson Highway’s, Dry Lips Oughta Move to Kapuskasing.
Gary has been nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards for Best Supporting Male in the films: Powwow Highway (1989); Dead Man (1995) which won the1996 European Academy Award for Best Foreign Film; and Smoke Signals (1998).
He has also directed several popular short films, both independent and for television, and was the executive producer and a director of the APTN entertainment series Buffalo Tracks.
Recent credits include series regular on Resident Alien, Reservation Dogs, The English, The Curse and Independent films: Quantum Cowboys, Blood Quantum, The Incredible 25th Year of Mitzi Bearclaw and Run Woman Run. Appearing in Cody Lightning’s new hilarious hit feature, Hey Viktor!
Gary Farmer and the Troublemakers album, Fool For Love, won Best Americana Album at the 2023 New Mexico Music Awards.
Sing That Song reached #5 on the Top 40 Indigenous Music Countdown in Canada.
The Troublemakers 7th album, Lucky 7, released June 12, 2023, on Gary’s 70th birthday, features original cover artwork by Travis Shilling. Gary Farmer and The Troublemakers All Stars, featuring two-time Juno Award winner Derek Miller, toured Ontario, Canada July, 2023. Their music can be found on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music and YouTube.
future generations. She hopes that the booklet will plant a seed and grow interest in fingerweaving for anyone who reads it.
Ga soh na yoh stoh, Marilyn Isaacs is a Skarū'rę? (Tuscarora) weaver. Marilyn has been fingerweaving for 35 years and is one of the few fingerweavers in the Hodinohso:nih Confederacy who teaches it. Her style of fingerweaving combines archival and traditional sash motifs with contemporary warp-face weaving. Marilyn's teaching and work is a vital practice of continuance. The booklet that she has completed is an intertribal act of solidarity in the efforts to keep Indigenous weaving practices going for
Velma Brehm, born and raised on the Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington State. Graduated from Wellpinit High School in 1997. Moved to Ohio in 2000, then back to Washington in 2001. After the passing of her grandmother in 2003, moved back to Ohio in 2003 and lived in Portsmouth, Ohio until 2012. Graduated from Shawnee State University with a Bachelor's degree in History. In 2012, moved back to Washington state to take care of her mother until her passing, and to begin her teaching career at the Spokane Tribal College. Became Chair of the Native Studies Department before moving on beginning her Language Warrior journey at the Spokane Tribal Language Program. As a teacher, I have taught every grade level from head start to Jr. College. But the passion in my life comes from working to save and preserve my traditional language and then to pass it on to my students.
We are Thunder Nation! Its members hail from parts of Ohio areas and Pittsburgh originated in 2000 with close family and friends. We thank our past and current singers for keeping this drum and our songs alive. We have evolved tremendously within our group; slowly Thunder Nation grows with the arrival of our descendants. Today our goal is to show our children and the world what we like to do, so that it continues in the generations to come. It is our duty to demonstrate perseverance (or to be an example of perseverance). We are very thankful for this and strive to do our very best each time we sing, traveling throughout the United States. It is our goal each time we sing to make people feel good, make them tap their feet as they sit around the arena; make 'em dance. Thunder Nation is about our families especially our little ones, our elders, and our friends. We would like to share with you our songs. Please accept our most heartfelt greetings. Richard Cwalina began Thunder Nation in 2000 with his father, grandfather, brothers, stepmother and friends as a way to keep drum music alive and preserve stories and teachings. The group has evolved over the years and has 13 members.
We are Iron Lightning a drum that consists of several different tribes. We have connected for many years, by doing so to inspire our future generations to come. We gather together to sing for the people, in hopes that they enjoy our Northern Sounds of songs that were passed down, and also composed by our singers.
Our drum consists of The Cherokee nation, The Lakota nation, The Seminole Nation, and The Annishnabe (Odawa) Nations. Our Ancestors are our teachers, and our inspiration.
