FOR URBAN NATIVES BY URBAN NATIVES

Delilah is a Taino descendant who was born in the Bronx, NY. She has spent her life organizing, advocating, and mentoring for some of New York City's most underserved communities. This includes youth in foster care, the LGBTQ community, and the BI-POC community. Helping others was something Delilah had always been passionate about, but she started taking it more seriously after she placed herself into the foster care system at 15 years old. Being part of New York City's foster care system opened her eyes to the lack of available resources and opportunities for the young people around her. Who happened to identify as BI-POC and LGBTQ. She learned advocacy and organizing at The Center for environmental justice, food justice, and homeless youth during this time. Since then, Delilah has accumulated over 10 years of experience in the non-profit sector, working for organizations such as The Boys and Girls Club as an educator and at Good Shepherd Services, where she worked in development. Delilah's goal at UIC is to use her experience, knowledge, and community-building skills to uplift other urban natives in Lenape Hoking (NYC).

[email protected]

  Delfina Roybal is of Diné Mexican and Jewish descent. She grew up and currently resides on occupied Lenapehoking territory aka New York City. Delfina recently graduated from Borough of Manhattan Community College with a degree in liberal arts. During her time there she led the Pre Law Society where she worked with fellow students interested in pursuing various degrees in law and led weekly meetings centered on current political issues. She is hoping to continue her education in the fall and eventually pursue a degree in Federal Indian Law with a minor in Communications and Environmental Studies. Delfina is a water protector and land defender who uses social media and communications to help with fundraising, mutual aid, and support her community through organizing. She is also currently a communications intern at Water Protector Legal Collective, and has worked alongside other Indigenous led groups including Indigenous Peoples Day NYC to organize across the city. As an urban native who grew up isolated from her community she seeks to support others who struggle to find a place where they feel like they can be a part of a support system that is welcoming and holds space for healing and community. 

[email protected]

 Austin is a member of the Chicoran Shakori tribe of South Carolina. Austin is descended from Indigenous and white sharecroppers on his mother’s side, and New York City Italian-American settlers on his father’s side. As part of the Great Migration of the 60s, Austin’s ancestors walked away from sharecropping alongside other peoples of color by migrating to the northeast “for the good union jobs”. Growing up as a Two-Spirit urban native in the Simsbury area of Hartford, Austin has found himself at powerful intersections between the forces of Technology and Globalization. During and after pursuing his degree in Technology and Globalization at NYU Gallatin, Austin continued to enhance his Product Design skills as the Chicoran Shakori Tribal Web Developer and the Lead Product Designer at Up2Code, ZED Aerospace, and Blue World Inc. While pursuing his degree at Gallatin, Austin worked for Apple at one of their HQ locations, and observed the structural changes presently roiling the global economy firsthand. Finding himself at another powerful global crossroads, Austin is currently focused on the intersections between Indigenous communities, Sustainability, and Product Design.

[email protected]

Trini is Afro Indigenous of the Mattaponi and Pamunkey people from rural Virginia. She currently attends New York University and is based in Lenapehoking (NYC).

She is a multidisciplinary student of the world with her studies and work centering community-based research and translating the cultural experience of Black and Indigenous groups transfigure beyond often forsaken, soiled parameters into actual, tangible policy. She is passionate about discussions of CSA and SA among Black and Indigenous women/femmes and has aspirations of advocating for survivors of war crimes and human rights violations at an international level. She is a dedicated poet and essayist.

While much of her work would be academic, she has aspirations for cross-lingual modes of creative writing and storytelling. 

Primitiva is a queer Quillasinga (pasto) and Muyska (sopo) woman. She was born in the traditional territories of the Arhuaco (or Ika), Wiwa, and the Kogi on the Caribbean coast of Colombia.

Primitiva is currently double majoring in Women and Gender Studies and Psychology, with a minor in Theater at Rutgers-New Brunswick. On campus, they are the Treasurer for LLEGO: The LGBTQQIA People of Color Union and RU Indigenous Turtle Island Club, as well as a Diversity Peer Educator at the Center for Social Justice Education (SJE) and LGBT Communities. Primitiva is also a multimedia artist and lifelong Cumbia and Colombian folclorica dancer and singer. 

Marianne Zhetot Kwe Almero is a first generation Potawatomi and Pilx MSW candidate at the Columbia School of Social Work. Marianne earned her Bachelor’s degree from UC Berkeley, where she researched art-therapy as treatment for PTSD in collectivist societies. Since her graduation in 2019, Marianne has worked in the mental health field as a strong means of support for youth struggling with addiction, self-harm, trauma, suicide attempts and ideation, eating disorders, mood dysregulation, psychosis, and other challenges surrounding mental health. 

For the past year, Marianne has used these experiences in the field to support the Urban Native community in New York City by providing mental health counseling and advocacy services. With the understanding of the relationship between mental health and oppressive systems that marginalize Native communities, Marianne also engages in social justice advocacy to decolonize education institutions, climate justice, incarceration and police systems, and health accessibility. 

Marianne is spending her last year of graduate school as an intern with Urban Indigenous Collective, developing programming on MMIP, direct-care mental health services, and community health initiatives. On her free days, you can find Marianne participating in local social justice initiatives, supporting local drag artists, exploring new music, foraging, and spending time with her loved ones.

Alyssa Mosley comes from the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Tribal Nation of Bridgeton New Jersey. Alyssa is a passionate advocate for Indigenous empowerment, with a focus on cultural revitalization and community-driven initiatives. As a UNITY 25 Under 25 honoree, she has worked to bridge fashion and cultural preservation, notably through workshops like “Thrift and Thrive.” With a background in business and experience in social media management, and community engagement, Alyssa is dedicated to uplifting Native voices and promoting sustainable growth within Indigenous communities.