Join us in Welcoming Arianna Nason; MCH’s Tribal Organizer
Arianna Nason is an Anishinaabe citizen of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and is the Tribal Organizer for the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless. Outside of her job at MCH, Arianna is a community organizer and educator. Working within a collective of consultants and activists, Arianna works towards creating sustainable and thriving change led by community initiatives. She attended Hamline University for History and Conflict Management and held additional focused studies in Non-Profit Management. Arianna has also been a part of Ayni Institute’s Momentum Training, Voices for Racial Justice 2016 Community Organizing and Racial Justice Apprenticeship Class, and is a 2017-2018 Policy Fellow at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs.
I chose to work within the world of housing and economic equitable security because I truly see it as one of the most basic needs of my community at large. After working within the movement against commercial sexual exploitation, I really developed the understanding that one of the greatest vulnerabilities the community youth in particular experience is a lack of safe and secure housing. The idea of organizing within and around MN Tribes really appealed to me simply because I recognize the ways in which we are not visible to the greater world. If we are not at the table, to begin with, how could any particular law, funding, proposal, etc, actually be for us? Our needs as Indigenous people is rooted in upholding our traditions and our sovereignty. This leaves an interesting and complicated intersection to navigate, and I hope to make this work more accessible to my communities as a whole, but I also hope to help foster a better understanding of Indigenous peoples on a wider scale.
On a lighter note, I LIVE for fall! I love the transition period, of when the earth is taking some time to cool off and settle before the blanket of snow covers the ground. Well, hopefully, covers the ground. This season is a reminder that I get to be warm and happy, and gives me a change to celebrate all of the beautiful work that happens in the summer. I love fall. I love the crispness of the air and the soft wind that carries the resilience of rest on the tail end of breeze.Home to me is water. I grew up on the shores of Lake Superior, and water overall is very sacred to my people. I feel at ease around large lakes and rushing rivers. Home is where I can float away if I want to.
