Wild & Indigenous Foods with Akaya (Amanda) Ruiz, Bringing the Sacred Back to the Black Hills HeSapa
Environmental Members of Our Community
Saturday, November 9th, 2024 – 10:30am MT in the Stanford Adelstein Gallery
Interactive learning about wild & indigenous foods from Akaya (Amanda) Ruiz, that can be foraged throughout the HeSapa (Black Hills) and prairies of Western South Dakota. Come explore your senses as you learn plant identity through touch & smell at my interactive booth.
Akaya (Amanda) Ruiz is currently a PhD student at SDSU. She recently earned her Master’s Degree in Plant Sciences and is an alumni of Oglala Lakota College where she earned a dual degree (Bachelors of Science in Natural Science and an Associates Degree in Lakota Studies) during the global pandemic.
Amanda has earned an array of certifications, awards and accomplishments both internally and among Indigenous national conferences. Amanda is deeply rooted in her passion for serving the He Sapa (Black Hills) community, and has been involved in youth education for almost her entire life (but we won’t publicly age her!) Her braided background in STEM, community gardens, youth education and enhancing local food security systems through culturally significant plants has led to a vast array of internships at NASA, USDA-ARS and things she had to practice annunciating.
She currently serves as the Vice President of The Bringing the Sacred Back to the Black Hills HeSapa and volunteers on the Black Hills Region Youth and Family Services (YFS) Garden planning committee. Her current passion project is designing an Indigenous youth demonstration and education memorial garden.
