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Stephanie Morningstar

9620 Savage Road, Holland, NY 14080 716.383.8069

Theory of Change

Cross-cultural, collaborative approaches to biocultural restoration rooted in reciprocity, mutual respect, and relational accountability are the medicine required to reshape the visions, structures, systems, and cultures that impact humans, non-humans, and the ecosystems for which we are responsible.

Education

January 2022present

PhD Student

SUNY College of Environmental Sciences and Forestry, Center for Native Peoples and the Environment, Syracuse, NY

Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies: Earth, Land, Water & Air

Focus: Biocultural Re-story-ation of Conserved Land

June 2015Aug 2017

Bachelors of Science

McMaster University, Hamilton, ON

Anthropology- Faculty of Social Science

Sep 1993Dec 2000

Bachelors of Arts

State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY

Special Major: Photojournalism & Women's Studies

EXPERIENCE

January 2022present

Graduate Research Assistant

SUNY College of Environmental Sciences, Research Foundation, Center for Native Peoples and the Environment, Syracuse, NY

Research project in partnership with the Nature Conservancy New York to create a new narrative that restores Indigenous Peoples’ engagement to their ancestral homelands. The Re-story-ation Project engages Indigenous Peoples and their perspectives in interpretation, community education, stewardship practice and provide access for Indigenous Peoples to TNC’s preserves. Key responsibilities include development and delivery of community engagement and knowledge mobilization.

Jan 2020July 2022

Co-founder, Co-director, Faculty

Seed, Soil & Spirit School, Inc., Guelph, ON

Seed, Soil, and Spirit School is a 100% women of color-run educational organization that offers culturally respectful, self-determined, decolonial approaches to plant medicine, land stewardship, and community care education and knowledge exchange. Developed the program, “Don’t Just Take, Take Care: Wild Foraging in Right Relationship” which highlights and engages Traditional Ecological Knowledge with and for BIPOC communities regarding kincentric, biocultural approaches to land relationship, wild foraging, and plant medicine that will result in increased outcomes in community resilience, biodiversity, respectful intercultural relationships, and climate resilience.

Jan 2020May 2021

Research Assistant

York University, Relational Accountability for Indigenous Rematriation (RAIR), Toronto, ON

Research and project facilitation to support grassroots Indigenous rematriation and (re)connection to land. We seek to support the convergence of food sovereign peoples in ways that advance dialogue and action for Indigenous land rematriation. This work centres Indigenous women and two-spirit presence, experiences and relationships to land and traditional territories. In turn, our work is grounded in emergent feminist, decolonial, and activist methodologies.

Jan 2019present

Co-founder, Executive Director; Relationships & Reciprocity Co-director

Northeast Farmers of Color (NEFOC) Land Trust, Northeast US

Operationalizes NEFOC Land Trust's vision through the development, maintenance, and refinement of the structures, systems, and processes required to build and steward a BIPOC-centered northeast regional land trust. On the program level, we have co-created the Indigenous Reciprocity and Partnerships program, the "We The Land!" Annual Convergence and solidarity seed refresh growouts in partnership with Indigenous nations. Successfully raised $1.5 million in repeating yearly funding. Redistributed over $500,000 in reparations funding and catalyzed $500,000 in funding to BIPOC farm projects in partnership with the Liberating Investment in the Farm Ecosystem (LIFE) alliance.

2018present

Indigenous Dispute Resolution Training Facilitator

Peacebuilder Mediation, Hamilton, ON

Developed new Indigenous Dispute Resolution and Conflict Transformation Core Competencies training for legal and mediation professionals focusing on the effects of Indian Residential School concerning the Canadian Criminal Justice and Child Welfare systems. Includes new, expanded material focusing on the origins and effects of racialized systemic oppression.

2015present

Herbalist, Educator & Small Scale Farmer

Sky World Apothecary & Farm, Holland, NY

As an Indigenous herbalist and small scale farmer and agroforester, I grow medicines and foods organically, biodynamically, and in alignment with the Haudenosaunee growing cycle. I steward native species ecosystems and practice refugia. I strive to work and teach through a decolonial lens that celebrates the synergy of Indigenous and Western herbal medicine knowledge and healing of ancestral lineage through a combination of action, alchemy, and spirit. 

April 2018Nov 2020

Indigenous Knowledge Mobilization Specialist

Global Water Futures, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON

Movement of knowledge from 10 formal research projects into active use by sharing of knowledge between research producers and users (policy professionals, decision-makers, participants, organizations, and communities) for an interdisciplinary, multi-partner hydrological research consortium focused on adaptive measures to address climate change in cold regions.

May 2016April 2018

Researcher & Trainer-Indigenous Dispute Resolution

Six Nations Justice Program, Ohsweken, ON

Performed focus group research, literature review, survey analysis, and stakeholder engagement of Indigenous Dispute Resolution train the trainer curriculum for IDR/AADR professionals. Curriculum development, writing, editing, and coordination of advisory committee meetings. Training 16 groups throughout Ontario in 4-day train-the-trainer sessions.

Jan 2012June 2014

Research Assistant- Archive Creation

Deyohahage Indigenous Knowledge Center (IKC), Six Nations Polytechnic, Six Nations (Ohsweken, ON)

Sourced, installed, and implemented new digital archive for the IKC. Included development of a Haudenosaunee-specific lexicon for accessions; review and digitization of current archives and importation of digital copies of the JNB Hewitt Collection via the Smithsonian Institute. 

Dec. 2012May 2016

Practice Manager

Juddah's Place, Six Nations of the Grand River Territory

Assisted in the establishment of a new healthcare centre integrating Western and Haudenosaunee medicine on Six Nations reserve. Responsible for the daily operation of the clinic, including office management, patient triage, and scheduling, community engagement, medical billing, accounts payable and receivable, maintenance of all IT, including electronic medical records. Responsibilities facilitate the smooth flow of office and clinical operations resulting in a culturally competent, safe and barrier-free healing environment for all patients.

Jun 2011Aug 2012

Indigenous Communications and Liaison Officer

McMaster University, Indigenous Students Health Sciences, Education Services, Hamilton, ON

Development and implementation of a communications strategy for an office that supports Indigenous Health Sciences students’ increased preparedness, entry and completion of Health Sciences programs within the University.

recent invited appearances

November 2022: "Adirondacks for All Symposium Part 2: Wilderness For All"- Adirondack Experience

October 2022: "Grasping at the Root of Ecofacism: A Conversation on Climate Change, White Supremacy, and the Need for Radical Educational Projects" Syracuse University Gander Lecture Series

July 2022: "Biocultural Re-Story-ation- Healing Forward Together by Re-Storying our Relationships to Self, Land, and Ancestors" - Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism Clinical Herbalist Program

May 2022: “Decolonization, Indigeneity, Appropriation, and Race Shifting: A primer on how to be an ally, not an a%$hole”- Vermont Center for Integrative Herbalism Clinical Herbalist Program

April 2022: "The Land - Sovereignty, Ownership, Reparations, and Conservation" Yale New Horizons Conference Plenary

July 2021: Opening Keynote: First Light Benefit Concert for Indigenous-led Land Return- Knoll Farm, Waitsfield, VT

July 2021: "Building Equitable Land Tenure Models for Northeast Farmers" in collaboration with Agrarian Trust (Virtual)

February 2021: "Advancing Land Access in N'Dakinna"- Northeast Organic Farmers Association VT Winter Conference

January 2021: "Braided Legacies, Sovereign Futures: Composting grief to make space for collective liberation" joint presentation with Leah Penniman- Center for Whole Communities (Virtual)

November 2020: "Cultivating Change: A just transition to a regenerative food system" (virtual)

November 2020: "Giving Thanks & Land Access: Reciprocity & Honoring Indigenous Sovereignty" NESAWG San Kofa Webinar Series (Virtual)

October 2020: Rooted + Ready Panel discussion- HEAL Food Alliance (virtual)

September 2021: "The Earth is an Indigenous Woman: Redefining Resilience and Community Care" opening keynote & facilitated discussion; Berkshire-Taconic Regional Land Trusts

March 2020: "Co-Creating Indigenous Futures: Finding My Place as a Haudenosaunee Woman in Academia, Land Sovereignty, and Healing Justice." WiSE Lecture- Syracuse University

November 2019: Opening co-keynote: "From 'Good Grief' to 'Good Mind': Illuminating the Constellations of Reciprocal Relationship with Land, Self, and Stars." Biodynamic Association Conference, Lake George, NY

November 2019: "Migration, Displacement, Organizing and Resilience: Dispossession, Restoration, and Reparations" NESAWG Conference Plenary panel 2019

June 2019: "The Ethics of Threatened Native Medicinal Plants in Commercial Trade— How do we as an herbal community instill ethical sourcing of plants we know are threatened?" Panel discussion participant-  International Herb Symposium, Massachusetts

May 2019: "Land Reparations and Rematriation: A Conversation with the Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust" Co-keynote with Leah Penniman. Saratoga Springs, NY

February 2019: "Rethinking Land Ownership in Honoring Vermont’s Original Inhabitants." panel discussion participant- Northeast Organic Farmers Association-Vermont, Winter Conference

Publications

  • Morningstar, S. (2022). Iontó:rats (Hunter). In L. McLoughlin (Ed.), Writing the Land (Ser. Foodways 1). essay, Nature Culture LLC.

  • Contributor: Quick Hall, K. (2021). A Conversation With Stephanie Morningstar, Coordinator of the Northeast Farmers of Color Land Trust. In G. Kirk (Ed.), Mapping Gendered Ecologies. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.

  • Morningstar, S. (2019). Healing Through Connection to Land, Self, and Stars. Peak Magazine, 58(1), spring 2019.

  • Merrill, S., Goucher, N., Martz, L. W., Morningstar, S., Munkittrick, K., & Spring, A. (2019). Transdisciplinary Knowledge Mobilization for Effective Solutions to Changing Water Futures in Canada and other Cold Regions of the World. AGUFM, 2019, GC23F-1464.

  • Martz, L. W., Merrill, S., Spring, A., Goucher, N., & Morningstar, S. (2018). Knowledge mobilization in Canada's multi-institutional Global Water Futures research collaboration. AGUFM, 2018, PA41D-1353.

Summary