COMMUNICATIONS & PR DIRECTOR

Salt River Schools, Administration

Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community

2016-Present

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• Responsible for developing and implementing the Division’s communication plan, including management and oversight of Division news and information publication through multiple channels, including local media, web, and social media.

• Facilitated Division-wide strategic planning that won nationwide Districts of Distinction award.

• District web developer and content manager.

• Developed media/software, trauma, and cultural competency trainings for staff.

• Ensure the quality of all outgoing Division materials, including supporting sites and departments by ensuring consistency in content, voice, quality, and brand awareness.

• Respond to inquiries from the media, the public, parents, staff, and the Salt River Community.

• Serve as a Division public information officer.

• Taught elementary and high school yearbook classes.

 

EDITOR

Native Peoples Magazine

Phoenix, AZ

08/2015-12/2016

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• Lead and supervise 5 full and part-time staff, as well as 20+ freelance writers across the United States for a 30-year-old, bi-monthly, international niche magazine with 40K print readers, 12K website readers, and 10K digital app users.

• Manage magazine/web/app content and layout. Develop, assign, and edit all articles, video, and photos. 

• Produce monumental growth (70 percent within six months) in engaged social media following: 300K+ Facebook, 7K+ Instagram, 2K+ Twitter, and 10K+ views on YouTube.

• Develop and maintain partnerships with businesses, indigenous artists, and nonprofit organizations to increase advertising and subscription revenue.

• Expert use of Adobe, Mac, and Microsoft Office software; additionally, expert use of Nikon/Canon/Sony equipment.

• Oversee editorial direction, coordination and content of the magazine by conceptualizing/planning issues, researching articles, writing articles, editing articles, proofing issues, and collecting/coordinating photography and photo shoots with the publisher and creative director.

• Develop a 501c3 foundation, mission, and goals.

• Implement the financial and editorial budget per issue.

• Serve as spokesperson for NPM and its affiliated products and publications.

 

FAMILY ADVOCATE

CPCD Head Start

Colorado Springs, CO

08/2014-08/2015

 

• Empower underserved families with skills needed to achieve educational, employment, and social connection goals. Service caseload of 90+ families with 75% success rate (goal achievement).

• Facilitate bi-monthly diversity and cultural competency trainings to CPCD staff (topics include Gender & Sexuality; Indigenous Cultures; and HIV/AIDS Awareness & Prevention).

• Provide emergency assistance/crisis intervention to families indicating need.

• Direct agency’s “Two-Generation Approach” with regards to employment: Lead a monthly Job Club for parent clients interested in a career change or skills development; cultivate relationships with employment resources within the community; and meet with individual clients to develop résumés, cover letters, and interviewing skills.

• Assist with agency marketing and promotion efforts, including photography and video of CPCD programs and events (Fantasy Flight 2014 and Ballet Class 2015).

 

(FREELANCE) MULTIMEDIA JOURNALIST

Various

2003-Present

 

• Write op-eds, news, and features for various outlets, including Everyday Feminism, Native Peoples magazine, and Indian Country Today. Also photograph and produce video to accompany stories.

• As freelance journalist in Sioux Falls, wrote and produced Sunday Life centerpieces (1,500-2,500 words, plus photos and video, four to five times per year) for Argus Leader Media. Focused on Native American culture and human-interest issues.

• Specialize in Gannett-certified digital media, including photography (Canon and Nikon products), digital video (Sony and Panasonic equipment), and editing (Avid, InDesign and Photoshop).

• Covered county government, city desk news and features, and breaking cops/courts/crime news as a full-time reporter for Argus Leader Media (2006-2008); Lincoln (Neb). Journal Star (2004-2006); and the Rapid City (S.D.) Journal (intern, 2003). Produced 10-15 published pieces/week, including one-to-three front-page stories/week, as well as two interactive photo and digital video compliments.

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CULTURAL COORDINATOR &

LEAD CRISIS INTAKE SPECIALIST

​Volunteers of America, Dakotas

Sioux Falls, SD

03/2012-12/2013

 

• Supervised at-risk juvenile offenders, including goal-setting, curriculum development, and utilizing social learning theory and COA standards for after school Evening Report Center and the 24/7 crisis intake venue Reception Center, which decrease juvenile incarceration rates and save taxpayer dollars through the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (see www.jdaihelpdesk.org). Provided direct supervision to six staff.

• Built successful relationships with local and regional media outlets, in addition to coordinating community-wide partnership events to garner support of programming, including outreach and funding.

• Key researcher, writer and administrator of more than $400,000 in program grants.

• Co-chaired Minnehaha County Disproportionate Minority Contact committee, which provides oversight, training, and technical support of detention alternatives to regional court, law enforcement, and social services.

• Created and sustained program budget and database of all youth demographic and assessment information. Responsible for gathering, assessing, and reporting quarterly and annual findings to stakeholders. Expert user across all Microsoft Office platforms, as well as many online document-sharing interfaces.

• Facilitated monthly cultural awareness and diversity programs for the VOA agency and Sioux Falls community; reach audiences of 20-100 people. Among the more popular issues I have presented include Two Spirits, Indian Mascots, and Lakota Competency 101.

 

 

COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR

American Civil Liberties Union of South Dakota

Sioux Falls, SD

​09/2011-01/2012

 

• Managed public messaging and media relations, including TV, radio and print interviews, preparing press releases and developing media strategies.

• Tracked media trends and developed attention-grabbing messaging campaigns relating to civil rights issues.

• Recruited, cultivated and managed 200+ regional volunteers. Created agency’s first volunteer contact database.

• Designed, developed and managed user-friendly and stimulating content for newsletters, web sites, Facebook and Twitter. Doubled output and reach of these platforms within five months.

• Produced and coordinated the scheduling of advertising for media and event programs, including public events, information booths, and educational civil rights presentations for area colleges.

• Researched, analyzed and conveyed complex and controversial issues to narrow and broad audiences.

• Extensive civil rights and political outreach to Native American, LGBT, and immigrant communities. 

 

 

NATIVE AMERICAN SCHOLARS PROGRAM MANAGER

Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Sioux Empire

Sioux Falls, SD

03/2008-9/2011

 

• Grew program from 25 matches to more than 120 community-based mentoring relationships between positive adults and Native American children ages 7-18. Emphasized culture and academic success through events, after-school programs, and community gatherings.

• Recruited BIPOC volunteers and youth, performed interviews, background and reference checks, mentor training, and home assessments.

• Provided outreach via public speaking to area organizations, businesses and classroom environments regarding Native American culture, mentoring, and issues. Averaged 8-10 outreach activities/month.

• Successfully presented four annual appeals to United Way, resulting in increased annual program funding.

• Utilized outstanding analytical and writing skills to research Native American youth disparities information to apply for grants totaling $20K, which created an elementary-level after-school culture club that contributed to academic success and less absenteeism for participating youth.

“THE TRICKSTER RIOTS”

Taté Walker's debut collection of poetry, fully illustrated by 13-year-old trans/nonbinary artist Ohíya Walker

In this debut illustrated poetry collection, Two Spirit Lakota storyteller Taté Walker steps into the role of a contemporary trickster to continue the purposefully disruptive legacy of a cultural icon: Iktómi, the Spider. The Trickster Riots weaves through the origins of a lost baby queer in love and spiritache to shapeshift into a momma spider exploring what it means to be a good relative, an obliterator of status quo, and a builder of community.

Ohíya Walker (Lakota/Ojibwe/Mvskoke) translates their mother's poems into beautifully quirky and emotionally-driven illustrations, perfectly paring with the provocative wordplay to channel Iktómi as they examine Indigeneity. Buckle up: The Trickster Riots journeys through fury and disaffection, libratic ceremony, and the lightning bolts of a struggling future ancestor.

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“INDIGENOUS PHOTOGRAPH: A RESOURCE FOR VISUAL STORYTELLING – IN PICTURES”

Feature Photo Gallery in The Guardian | 2021 Photographer

Natives Photograph began in 2018 as a database of indigenous visual storytellers from across north America, providing a resource for those wishing to hire more inclusively – since mainstream narratives historically have been largely in the hands of non-indigenous people. Relaunched as Indigenous Photograph the site is expanding into a global community of photographers who seek to bring balance to the way stories are told about indigenous people.

 

NATIVE QUEER POETRY

Radio Show, Native America Calling | 2021 Radio Guest

A sampling of works by Indigenous LGBTQ2 poets, as well as discussion about how their deeply personal stories paint a vivid picture of adversity, strength, and their relationships with their culture and the world around them.

 

INDIGENOUS MATRIARCHS POETRY EVENT

Poetry Reading, Arizona State University Labriola Center | 2021 Event Host

Event description: Start the semester with Indigenous creativity. The Labriola Center with Two Spirit storyteller/creative writer Taté Walker (Mniconjou Lakota) would like to invite the ASU community to a Virtual Open House/Open Mic night: Indigenous Matriarch Poetry edition. Come listen to creative Indigenous voices online and learn about the Labriola Center. Local and regional writers will be sharing published and unpublished original work. We encourage community participation and welcome various subject matters. 

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THE GIFT

Traveling Art Exhibit, Center for American Indian Research and Native Studies | 2021 Selected Poet

The Gift is based on a traditional Lakota narrative about when an emissary from the Pte Oyate (Buffalo Nation), White Buffalo Woman, gave a sacred pipe to the Itazipco Oyate, one of seven oyates of the Lakota division of the Oceti Sakowin Confederacy. In the Standing Rock Reservation in 1911, Lone Man shared the narrative, “The White Buffalo Calf Pipe (Ptehin’cala Canonpa),” with Frances Densmore who published it in 1918. It is a wondrous account. My poem explores the modern-day impact of White Buffalo Calf Woman.

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QUEER POETRY SALON

Equality Arizona | 2020 Featured Poet

Event description: Equality Arizona is partnering with Arizona State University’s Virginia G. Piper Center for quarterly readings with a diverse, world-class cast of queer poets. We aim to strengthen and grow queer culture in Arizona by bringing the world's great LGBTQIA2s+ poets to our communities. In December, we are honored and delighted to feature an all-Indigenous cast of queer and trans poets. Tommy Pico, Jake Skeets & Smokii Sumac. Our readers will be introduced by Indigenous poets and artists from Arizona and Canada: Taté Walker, Cleo Kehna and Sareya Taylor.

 

SOUTH DAKOTA IN POEMS

South Dakota State Poetry Society | 2020 Anthology Poet

A capacious conversation among South Dakota and South Dakota-affiliated poets that speaks to our complex stories and experiences. Personal, political, historical, contemporary: this conversation in verse reflects the diverse lives of people who live here or have strong residential ties to the state.

 

MOMENTOUS HEALING FOR INDIGENOUS FUTURES

Breakthrough TV | 2020

Event description: Welcome to Breakthrough Spotlight, a video and podcast series featuring conversations with community leaders, activists, artists and partner organizations working to build a world that is more equitable, inclusive, and sustainable for all. In this conversation, we spotlight how COVID-19 is affecting Indigenous communities, and offer creative nourishment and healing. This conversation was recorded live on Tuesday, July 7, 2020, and was aired on Wednesday, July 29th, 2020 10am PT/ 1pm ET.

 

“IF THE CORONAVIRUS IS A WILDFIRE, COLONIALISM HAS FUELED THE BLAZE”

Op-ed Article for The Nation | 2020

Penned an article for national publication about the impact of COVID-19 on Indigenous communities.

 

“EVERYONE’S AN AUTHOR”

With Readings, 3rd Edition, W.W. Norton Anthology | 2020 Selected Journalist

Book description: Students today are writing more than ever. Everyone’s an Author bridges the gap between the writing students already do—online, at home, in their communities—and the writing they’ll do in college and beyond. It builds student confidence by showing that they already know how to think rhetorically and offers advice for applying those skills as students, professionals, and citizens. Because students are also reading more than ever, the third edition includes NEW advice for reading critically, engaging respectfully with others, and distinguishing facts from misinformation.

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ARTICLES OF A TREATY

Traveling Art Exhibit, Center for American Indian Research and Native Studies | 2019 Selected Poet​

Articles of a Treaty focuses on the articles of the 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty between the “different bands of the Sioux Nation of Indians” and the United States. The title is the first four words of the treaty. The 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty contains seventeen articles. Each article is interpreted by one or two artists. These thirty-two individuals are the visual artists of the exhibit. Poets and musicians also created works for Articles of a Treaty. There is one poem and one song associated with each article. Mine is one of 17 poems included in the exhibit.​

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VIOLENCE AGAINST INDIGENOUS WOMXN: SEXISM, SETTLER COLONIALISM & THE STRUGGLE FOR HEALTH EQUITY

Health Equity Learning Series, The Colorado Trust | January 2019 Keynote Speaker

Event description: On Jan. 10, 2019, Taté Walker (they/them) presented on the violence and marginalization faced by Indigenous womxn*, primarily due to the ongoing, chronic impacts of settler colonialism. Walker, who is Lakota and a citizen of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of South Dakota, is an Indigenous rights activist and award-winning multimedia storyteller. Walker observed that the U.S. murder rate for Indigenous womxn in some tribal communities is 10 times the national average; that one in three Indigenous womxn will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime; and that domestic violence rates are seven times higher for Indigenous womxn than womxn from other demographics. Walker’s presentation provided context to these and other violent realities from cultural, historical, systemic and gender-based viewpoints, and they provided strategies for demanding and achieving justice for Indigenous womxn and their communities.

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FIERCE: ESSAYS BY AND ABOUT DAUNTLESS WOMEN

Nauset Press | 2018 Essayist

Fierce: Essays by and About Dauntless Women features 13 writers discussing fierce womxn throughout history and from a variety of backgrounds. The book was released by Nauset Press on November 30, 2018. From the publisher: "Lakota writer and activist Taté Walker features Ptesáŋwiŋ (White Buffalo Calf Woman), from Lakota oral history in Origins. Ptesáŋwiŋ is invoked to weave a tale of pre- and post-colonial feminism with personal and political threads, a tale backed by statistical evidence. Walker’s storytelling will force an uncomfortable reckoning among readers of conscience with white and settler privilege, who—due to government-led genocide, media misrepresentation, and erasure of Indigenous people—often forget Indigenous women in their quest for justice. Origins compels readers to be better as allies, friends, and sisters." 

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NSPRA COMMUNICATIONS AWARD

National School Public Relations Association | 2018 National Marketing Honor

The postcard I designed to market my employer's event (Kindergarten Roundup) won an honorable mention from NSPRA, the National School Public Relations Association, during their annual awards recognition program, for which more than 1,000 entries were received. Everything about the postcard was my creation: The concept, the photograph, editing, text elements, production, and distribution. NSPRA also featured the Strategic Plan video I shot and produced in its weekly national newsletter.

 

UNCEDED HEARTS/UNCEDED MINDS

Northlight Gallery Photography Exhibition, Arizona State University | Co-Curator & Exhibitor

Here is the curatorial statement I wrote for the show: Unceded Hearts/Unceded Minds: Enduring Through Indigenous Photography represents a broad spectrum of experiential and creative images from artists living and learning in so-called Arizona. Displayed purposefully alongside portraits taken by Edward S. Curtis, who is quintessentially associated with artful—if romantically inaccurate—Indigenous imagery, the work of these artists explores the enduring power of perspective and self-representation through visual storytelling in ways that move viewers beyond one-dimensional depictions of a once-considered “vanishing race.” Enduring Through Indigenous Photography features the work of Jennifer Hubbell, Jacob Meders, Douglas Miles, Priscilla Tacheney, Taté Walker, and Indigenous students from Salt River High School and showcases Native narratives that empower audiences to reflect their own truths.

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TAKUWE

Traveling Art Exhibit, Center for American Indian Research and Native Studies | 2018 Selected Poet

Lakota word: Takuwe. In English: Why. The focus of this Center for American Indian Research and Native Studies exhibit is the 1890 massacre of Lakotas at Wounded Knee, but it will include historical context leading to the massacre, along with contemporary context related to land issues and opportunities at Wounded Knee today. I was one of seven poets (43 total artists) participating in this year's CAIRNS' exhibit. My poem, Root My Heart at Wounded Knee, plays on a similar title by Dee Brown , who depicts Natives primarily as pitiable victims. While that's not necessarily inaccurate (really, it's a great book), it's definitely not the whole story, especially when considering Wounded Knee's descendants.

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TAPUN SA WIN

Traveling Art Exhibit, Center for American Indian Research and Native Studies | 2017 Selected Poet

The Tapun Sa Win  exhibit focuses on a short narrative based in part on a story by James LaPointe (Oglala Lakota) that is in his 1976 book, Legends of the Lakota. Our exhibit divides the 1,095-word narrative into seven “passages.” My poem, For Tapun Sa Win, was included in the Center for American Indian Research and Native Studies' annual art exhibit. It centers the main character and reimagines her story as one of life and strength that I know Indigenous womxn to be filled with, rather than death and despair. Honoring the grand tradition of storytelling, my poem seeks to evolve and transform a womxn heretofore existing for the men in her life only (her husband, Waziya Wicahpi or the North Star, and her son Wicahpe Hihnpaya or Fallen Star). In my poem, Tapun Sa Win is a funny, fully-capable womxn who falls in love with someone who respects her enough to follow where she leads.

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NATIVE AMERICAN JOURNALISTS ASSOCIATION

National Media Awards Winner | 2016, 2015, 2014

Awarded top prizes in the "Professional Division III" category (8,000+ daily circulation):

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2016

• 1st Place - Best Column 

• 1st Place - Best Feature Photo 

• 1st Place - Best Feature Story 

• 3rd Place - Best Feature Story 

 

2015

• 1st Place - Best Feature Story

• 2nd Place - Excellence in Beat Reporting

• 2nd Place - Best Column

• 2nd Place - Best Feature Photo

 

2014

• 1st Place - Best Feature Story

• 2nd Place - Best Feature Story

• 2nd Place - Excellence in Beat Reporting

 

GREAT RACE

Traveling Art Exhibit, Center for American Indian Research and Native Studies | 2016 Selected Poet

The Center for American Indian Research and Native Studies put together an exhibit showcasing contemporary perspectives on the ancient story of the "Great Race," as retold by Lakota author James LaPointe in Legends of the Lakota (1976). "One of the innovative aspects of this exhibit is that each of the passages will be interpreted or illustrated by four types of artworks—a 2-D artwork, a 3-D artwork, a poem and a musical score or song—thereby creating what we are calling 'vignettes.' These eight vignettes will recount the Great Race narrative using LaPointe’s words along with artworks by 32 contemporary Lakota artists: eight poets, eight painters, eight musicians and eight 3-dimension artists."​ Here is more information about the specific vignette I interpreted into poetry: Sakpe.

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KOPKIND

Political Camp/Retreat for Journalists & Activists, Vermont | 2015 Participant

About Kopkind: "The Kopkind Center is a living memorial to the late journalist Andrew Kopkind, who wrote on politics and culture with a matchless style and depth for national and international publications until his death, in 1994. The project, which brings together journalists and filmmakers and grassroots activists, puts on seminars in Guilford VT for its visiting participants in the summer and hosts a number of free public events. Kopkind is a non-profit educational foundation. The Board’s president is renown journalist JoAnn Wypijewski."

 

GREAT PLAINS WRITERS' CONFERENCE

Emerging Tribal Writer Award, South Dakota State University | 2013 Winner

Inaugeral winner for fictional short story about surviving sexual abuse as a child. The award encourages tribal storytellers in the early phases of their writing lives and to honor those of extraordinary merit and promise. 

 

CITY OF SIOUX FALLS

Community Connections | Class of 2011

Selected as one of eight community members to participate in a six-month pilot program through the City’s Human Relations office. 

 

SIOUX FALLS AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Leadership Sioux Falls | Class of 2010

Selected as one of 25 participants for the Chamber’s premier leadership-building programs. Monthly sessions are highly interactive and thought provoking. 

 

SOUTH DAKOTA JUNIOR CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Ten Outstanding Young South Dakotans | 2010 Award Recipient

Nominated and awarded this prestigious statewide honor for volunteerism and community service. ​