About the Artists

Somah Toya Haaland is a queer + neurodivergent artist from the Pueblo of Laguna. They earned their BA in Theater from the University of New Mexico in 2017, where they lovingly pursued their passion for movement and storytelling that was instilled in them at a young age. They have been living as a guest on Munsee Lenape/Canarsie lands (Brooklyn, NY) since 2019. Their words have been featured in Teen Vogue, NBC News, The New Yorker, and American Theater Magazine. They have published two poems as a part of the collections found in Our Red Book and My Life: Growing Up Native in America. In 2021, they consulted and voiced the narration for the documentary film Our Story: the Indigenous-Led Fight to Protect Greater Chaco. Haaland currently serves on the Board of Directors for their beloved grassroots community organization, Pueblo Action Alliance. In addition to poetry, they love film, traveling, and photography, and are passionate about using art and language as a vehicle to build new worlds that protect and preserve our land, air, waters, and sacred places.

Lauren Peters Neepawus T8nupahs “Sun Turtle” is an enrolled member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe and a member of the Bear Clan. She leads a corn sister circle, a traditional three sisters garden on her tribal farm, paddles canoe, and teaches yoga in her community. She is a traditional Eastern Blanket Dancer and has danced her whole life. She has two young sons and recently completed her MBA in Paris. Working with her community, rematriating land and seeds and helping others is her passion and who she is at her core. She walks in both worlds with her background in corporate America living in NYC for almost 20 years, while keeping herself grounded in her traditions and always using yoga when she is away from her homelands. She has practiced yoga for 20 years and has been teaching for three. She completed her 200-hour Yoga Teacher Training with Native Strength Revolution in 2024.