Gedakina is a multigenerational endeavor to strengthen and revitalize the cultural knowledge and identity of Native American youth and families from across New England, and to conserve our traditional homelands and places of historical, ecological and spiritual significance.
About Kristen
Kristen Wyman is a member of the Natick Nipmuc tribe of Massachusetts and a longtime advocate for access to public lands, environmental justice and rights to self-determination for tribal peoples.
In her position as program manager with GEDAKINA, Kristen fills an important role of building youth and women’s leadership across tribal communities of the northeast. Her anti oppression work is deeply personal as an indigenous woman rendered invisible in her own homelands. Reclaiming the import role of women as landholders, farmers, nation builders, and culture bearers is necessary, not only to carry on her ancestor’s legacy, but to repudiate the narrative that Nipmuc people are extinct. Over the past decade Kristen has worked as a consultant with nonprofit organizations, state and federal agencies, and tribal governments to ensure indigenous knowledge is represented and incorporated in youth development, education and public programs.
