Membership

Members receive our bi-annual journal that has been published since the 1930s. Members also receive our monthly e-newsletter with ways to help protect cultural sovereignty. Members can vote for members of our Board of Directors and for changes to our corporate charter and by-laws during our annual membership meeting. Join today for just $25 a year or $500 for a lifetime.

103rd Annual Membership Meeting

Thank you to everyone who joined us — members, supporters, and allies alike. Your participation carried the spirit of this year’s theme and strengthened the work ahead.
The Association’s 103rd Annual Membership Meeting brought together members, allies, and viewers from across Native Country for a fully virtual gathering centered on “Becoming Allies: Stories That Inspire Action.” The livestream featured powerful teachings and performances from leaders such as Carly Harvey (Eastern Band Tsalagi and Tuscarora descendant), Elder Wassabenokwe “Punkin” Shananaquet (Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Potawatomi Indians), and Jody Gzhadawsot Mattena (Citizen Potawatomi Nation), alongside reflections on justice, storytelling, and collective responsibility. While the event uplifted these voices, it remained grounded in its core purpose: member governance, including the formal election of new and returning board candidates. The video captures the spirit of the day — the connection, the accountability, and the shared commitment to advancing sovereignty for the next generations.

Special Guests for the 103rd Annual Membership Meeting

Kimberly Guerrero (Colville, Salish) is a contemporary storyteller who enjoys a career in film, television, and theatre. Kimberly’s most recent work includes the HBO Original Series, It: Welcome to Derry. streaming hits Reservation Dogs and Rutherford Falls, the gritty revenge thriller, Catch the Fair One opposite Emmy nominee Kali Reis, the breakout animated Netflix hit, Spirit Rangers, Amazon’s Outer Range and The English opposite Emily Blunt and Chaske Spencer. On stage, Kimberly originated the role of “Johnna” in Tracy Letts’ Tony Award-winning play August: Osage County on Broadway. For years, Kimberly worked extensively with Native peoples across North America using filmmaking as a tool to empower youth and promote wellness in tribal communities, and she currently serves as a Professor in the department of Theater, Film and Digital Production at UC Riverside empowering a new generation of storytellers.  
Gary Farmer (Cayuga/Mohwak/Tuscarora) is a celebrated actor, musician, and trailblazer in Native media. Born on Six Nations along the Grand River, Ohsweken, Ontario, he is widely recognized as a pioneer in the development of Indigenous media in Canada. Gary was the founding director of an urban Indian radio network, Aboriginal Voices Radio Network. He also published Aboriginal Voices Magazine from 1993 - 2003. 
 
Nominated for three Independent Spirit Awards for Best Supporting Male in the films: Powwow Highway, Dead Man, and Smoke Signals. Recent credits include Resident Alien, Reservation Dogs, The English, The Curse,Quantum Cowboys, Blood Quantum, Hey Viktor!, and An Ode for Leviticus. 
Pura Fé (Tuscarora/Taino/Black/Scottish) is an Indigenous activist, singer-songwriter, and storyteller known for her distinct, soulful vocals and founding the world-renowned Native women’s a Capella singing group Ulali

Pura Fé has been a part of the Silk Road Ensemble under the direction of Rhiannon Giddens, started by Yo Yo Ma and recently touring with the performances American Railroad and Uplifted Voices.

Pura Fé was recently honored with the Dora Mayor Moore Award for Outstanding Music Composition and Sound Design for Miigus: Underwater Panther. While touring Europe with Music Maker Blues Review under Dixie Frog and Nueva Onda French labels, she won Grand Prix du Disque from L'Académie Charls Cros (French Grammy) for Best World Album in 2006 for Tuscarora Nation Blues, and a Native American Music Award (NAMMY) for Best Female Artist for Follow Your Heart’s Desire in the same year.

Today, Pura Fé lives in Canada and is working on the film Reclaim My Skin with Screen Sirens Film Productions and Rezolution Pictures. Her latest album Ancestral Waterways will be released in 2025.
Wassabenokwe Punkin Shananaquet (citizen of the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of the Potawatomi Nation, Elder and Midewikwe from the Three Fires Midewiwin Lodge) is a matriarch, activist and artist who witnessed and took part in the beginnings of the American Indian Movement (AIM) and witnessed the impact the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 (AIRFA) had on her community. She's spent her life learning about the ways of her Ancestors and the ways in which the American school system and forced assimilation has continued to create barriers to learning Bodwewadmi Knowledges for the next generation. 

Punkin founded the Pink Shawl Project in 2003 to honor her mother-in-law's battle with breast cancer and it grew into a nation-wide movement bringing strength and support to other Native women battling breast cancer. She has lead and been a part of many activism movements and has spoken at protests and gatherings about Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP), sites of mass gravesites at Residential Boarding Schools, and teaches the next generation traditional knowledges and ceremonies. She is currently the lead Elder advising the Potawatomi Nation Tattoo Society who is working to reawaken Bodwewadmi body modifications. 

She is committed to the protection and survivance of culture, traditions and language and her stories, life and purpose always centers bimaadiziwin—journeying through life in a good, heart-centered way.
 Jody Gzhadawsot Mattena (Citizen Band Potawatomi, Loon Clan and a descendant of the Ojibwé, Ottawa, and Bodéwadmi) lives with her family on a small farm in Tennessee, where she combines traditional lifeways with a deep commitment to Indigenous Food Sovereignty. As a Lifeways Consultant with the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi (NHBP), she hosts their Indigenous cooking show, part of the Food Sovereignty Series now in its fifth season. 

In 2023 Gzhadawsot welcomed her first Indigenous cookbook, Gbaton Néshnabé - Cook Something Néshnabé; How to Decolonize your Diet and Pantry, which focuses on decolonizing diets and increasing the health of Indigenous peoples. Her next cookbook is now in process of completion with a tentative publication date of Autumn 2027. 

Known online as BossLady Anish’, Gzhadawsot 
shares teachings on foraging, cooking, and Indigenous foodways. She draws culinary inspiration from her grandmothers, mother, and community, believing that food is both medicine and connection. A founding board member of Tabibu Africa, Inc., she works to bridge Indigenous knowledge across continents. Her work is rooted in cultural healing, language revitalization, and the power of Spirit-led community and Food Sovereignty. 
Shaun Taylor-Corbett (Blackfeet) was in the Original Broadway Company of In the Heights and closed the show in the role of Sonny. He played Frankie Valli in the 2nd National Tour of Jersey Boys. 

Shaun is an original cast member of the Obie-winning show, Between Two Knees (written by the 1491s, creators of Reservation Dogs/Rutherford Falls), directed by Eric Ting, with original choreography by Shaun. 
His original Indigenous musical, Distant Thunder, co-written with his mother, legendary Lynne Taylor-Corbett and writing partner Chris Wiseman, received its Off-Broadway production last October. The show is based on Shaun’s deep connection with his Blackfeet community in Browning, Montana.

You can hear Shaun’s voice in the role of Coyote on the new Netflix animated series Spirit Rangers, and over 100 audiobooks. Watch him in the original series The Artist, starring Mandy Patinkin on The Network. 

102nd Annual Membership Meeting

Thank you to everyone who joined us in person or virtually to celebrate our shared successes, shape our future, and enjoy a special event created just for you!

We laughed, learned, and connected at an unforgettable event! This special LIVE edition of Red Hoop Talk featured the hilarious and groundbreaking comedian JR Redwater. A citizen of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, a U.S. Navy veteran, and a pioneer in Native comedy, JR captivated audiences with his sharp wit and compelling stories, including his role in Showtime’s Goin' Native: The Indian Comedy Slam, the first show of its kind in Native Country. Held in collaboration with our Annual Membership Meeting, the event celebrated the power of Native voices, humor, and storytelling.

The event took place on December 4, 2024, at Soboba Springs Golf Club in San Jacinto, California, with both in-person and virtual attendees joining us. 

Thank you again for making this an evening to remember!

Past Membership Events
On November 21, 2021, the Association on American Indian Affairs held its 98th Annual Membership Meeting "Envisioning our Future" and showcased young and emerging Native artists to celebrate supporting Native Country programs.

​Co-hosts of "Envisioning our Future" are Cheyenne/Arapaho author Tommy Orange, Colville/Salish-Kootenai/Cherokee actor Kimberly Guerrero, and Blackfeet actor Shaun Taylor-Corbett. The video shares the fantastic work of writer Azie Dungey, comedian Siena East, YouTuber Raquel Quinones, hoop dancer Patrick Willie, artist Ryan Young, and musician Raye Zaragoza!
As part of our 100-year anniversary, the Association hosted a live streaming event on Saturday, December 3, 2022 at 2 p.m. ET on our social media from multiple Tribal Museums to celebrate Tribal Museums Day.

The live streaming event was emceed by Shannon Martin, Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians, and included many wisdom keepers from Native Country. 
Thank you for joining us for the 101st Annual Membership Meeting on November 9, 2023! ​​We thanked our members with a special Ink & Impact: Our Stories Make a Difference event where the following panel of amazing Native authors shared their stories and their work:

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