Director of NACP - christopher.newell@uconn.edu

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Nation: Passamaquoddy Tribe

Chris Newell is co-founder/director of education for Akomawt Educational Initiative; a majority Native-owned educational consultancy based in Connecticut and author of Scholastic's If You Lived During the Plimoth Thanksgiving. He is a multi-award-winning museum professional born and raised in Motahkmikuhk (Indian Township, ME) and a proud citizen of the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Indian Township. He also serves on the Board of Trustees for the New England Museum Association, Tides Institute, and Maine Public.
Chris is a long-time singer with the acclaimed Mystic River singers based out of Connecticut and has traveled the US and Canada singing and participating in cultural celebrations, pow wows, and live stage performance. Chris was the Senior Advisor for the Emmy-award winning documentary Dawnland and co-director of the short documentary Weckuwapok (The Approaching Dawn) (2022) chronicling a historic sunrise concert collaboration in 2021 with Wabanaki musicians/storytellers and 18-time Grammy-winning cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

Graduate Assistant - jillian.watt@uconn.edu

(she/her/hers)

Masters Candidate: Health Promotion Sciences

Nation: Mohegan Tribe

Jillian Watt (Whitefeather) is a graduate student from Norwich, CT, and she is a proud member of the Mohegan Tribal Nation. She is working towards a Masters in Health Promotion Sciences. Jillian is the Graduate Assistant for the Native American Cultural Program (NACP) and a participating member in the Native American and Indigenous Students Association (NAISA). Jillian is also a participating mentor in the UConn Indigenous Nations Cultural and Educational Exchange (UCINCEE).

As a first-generation, Native American college student, Jillian's primary research focus is on understanding the opinions that Elders of both the Mohegan Tribe and sister Tribes have on the roles that Traditional foods play in health and what types of cultural foods they value in different environmental settings. The ultimate goal of her research is to better inform efforts to encourage healthy eating in Mohegan Tribal members with messages and materials that are grounded in culturally important food beliefs and patterns through qualitative interviews with elders of the Mohegan Tribe and sister Tribes about the meaning of foods and practices and culturally relevant nutrition education, as well as perceived availability of culturally relevant and healthy foods in their environment.

Jillian also works as the Project Manager to Dr. Christina Ross in the UConn School of Nursing to provide educational materials on sexual health and reproduction to African American adolescents in the form of an app. Additionally, she is a part of the UConn Healthy Family CT Nutrition Team, making frequent posts in the Healthy Toddlers private Facebook group for parents of toddlers. Outside of the classroom, Jillian is a fourth-year veteran of the UConn Dance Team, and she is employed as a Chiropractic Physical Therapy Assistant at Thames Chiropractic and Acupuncture Center. She is also an intern in the Nurses Improving Care for Hospitalized Elders Program at UConn Health. Jillian aspires to attend UConn Medical School and become a Reproductive Endocrinologist.

Student Staff - nina.reines@uconn.edu

(she/her/hers)

Major: Animal Science  Minor: Wildlife Conservation

Nation: Mam

Nina is a Junior from Sherman, Connecticut. She is a member of the Indigenous Mam Tribe located in Guatemala. She is majoring in Animal Science with a Minor in Wildlife Conservation. Nina is a Student Coordinator for NACP as well as the Vice President of the Native American and Indigenous Students Association (NAISA). Outside of working with NACP, she is the Vice President for Paws and Claws.

Student Coordinator - kylene.chino@uconn.edu

(she/her/hers)

Major: Human Rights

Nation: Santa Ana Pueblo, Acoma Pueblo, and Navajo Nation